Kings XI confirm pole position with tenth win

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKings XI Punjab ensured they would finish top of the table with their tenth win of the season, handing a comprehensive defeat to Rajasthan Royals. The result kept the final playoff spot open, with Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad’s hopes alive, along with Royals’, going into the final round of matches.All of the Kings XI top six, without the rested Glenn Maxwell, contributed to push them to 179 for 4 after they were asked to bat. Virender Sehwag and Manan Vohra provided the initial boost, Shaun Marsh and Wriddhiman Saha kept them going in the middle stages, and David Miller and George Bailey powered away to a big finish.Barring a shortlived starting surge from Karun Nair, Royals were never allowed to get ahead in the chase. Ajinkya Rahane and Sanju Samson were tied down, before Rishi Dhawan broke through with the wickets of Rahane and Shane Watson off successive deliveries. Legspinner Karanveer Singh, on IPL debut, struck twice in successive overs as Royals slid to 83 for 5 at the start of the 14th over, a position from which there was no coming back.Kings XI pulled ahead early when Sehwag started with three successive boundaries in the first over off seamer Vikramjeet Malik, who was playing his first match of the season. Sehwag fell soon for 18 off 8, and Manan Vohra took over. Vohra was in superb touch again, a smooth pick-up off Watson ending up way over the deep midwicket boundary. But Vohra ran himself out in careless fashion after Kings XI had built a solid base of 53 for 1 in six overs.There was little let-up in the scoring though as Wriddhiman Saha pulled and paddled Pravin Tambe for consecutive fours. Saha and Marsh kept finding at least a boundary an over against the legspinners Tambe and Tewatia. Even as Kings XI motored past 100, Marsh fell against the run of play, lofting Malik to long-on, before there was a short delay due to a drizzle.Only 20 runs came in four overs after the break, and Kings XI also lost Saha to a well-judged take on the straight boundary from Rahane off Tewatia. At 133 for 4 after 17 overs, Kings XI were still in need of a final assault, and Miller and Bailey provided it. James Faulkner was taken for 23 in the penultimate over as 46 came off the last three.Rahane struggled to score freely and though Samson began with a couple of boundaries, the partnership was always facing a climbing asking-rate. Dhawan’s double-strike in the ninth over hurt Royals, and Karanveer slowed them down further with aggressive, accurate legspin.Again, Brad Hodge and Faulkner came in with too much to do and too little time available. They tried their best, hitting frenetic thirties. It was credit to them that they brought down the margin of defeat significantly when 77 were needed off the last four. Faulkner kept slamming sixes till the very end, and it was a pity he could face only 13 deliveries.

Derbyshire suffer mid-season exodus

Derbyshire’s rocky season continues with the news that three players are leaving the club with immediate effect.Stephen Moore, the opening batsman, has announced his retirement, Peter Burgoyne, the allrounder who has not played this season due to a stress-related illness has mutually agreed an end to his contact, and Richard Johnson, the wicketkeeper, has opted to pursue his studies having also been out of the side due to illness.Moore quits midway through a season where he has been a regular in all formats and is currently Derbyshire’s leading run-scorer in the Championship with 474 runs at 31.60.”Stephen’s decision has come as a bit of a shock, but we respect that it’s right for him and wish him all the best for the future,” Graeme Welch, Derbyshire’s elite performance director, said. “A spot is now available at the top of the order, in all competitions, for our other batsmen to make their own and that’s an exciting opportunity for them.”Meanwhile, our strategy to target experienced match winners to blend with our promising young cricketers will continue.”Meanwhile, Burgoyne, who has been supported by the club and the PCA since his break from the game was announced in March, has said he still has ambitions to resume his career in the future.”It’s been a tough few months and a tough decision but I am really looking forward to playing club cricket again for a few months before making a decision about my future,” he said. “I eventually would like to return to the first-class game but only when I feel 100% ready to do so.”Chief executive Simon Storey said: “Peter is a promising young cricketer and we have seen several glimpses of his potential in his appearances for Derbyshire.”Whilst we are disappointed to lose his talent at this stage in his career, we have worked very closely with the player and the PCA over the last few months and given the circumstances, we respect his decision.”Johnson’s illness was confirmed more quietly by the club after he had started the season in the Championship side. He has recently been playing club cricket for Knowle and Dorridge in the Birmingham and District Premier League and has decided to relocate back to the Midlands to continue his commence studies.”I’d like to place on record my sincere thanks to my team-mates, the coaching staff and the admin team at Derbyshire for their support during my time with the club,” he said. “They have a terrific set-up which is not easy to leave but I know I’m making the right decision for my long term future.”Welch added: “It’s about the club supporting what’s best for Richard, a young man we all respect for his hard-work and dedication to his own development. Whether his future career is to be in cricket, or elsewhere, I know he’ll be successful and we wish him all the best.”Derbyshire’s season has been beset by difficulties, including the tragic events surrounding Tom Poynton who was injured in the car crash that claimed the life of his father.Tim Groenewald, who has been the club’s leading seam bowler in recent seasons, recently signed a loan deal with Somerset for the remainder of the season having said he would not agree a new contract with Derbyshire which subsequently led to him being dropped.

Rain ruins first set of games at USACA Nationals

Central East Region was the big winner after lightning and rain caused the first set of games at the USACA T20 National Championship to end with no result. Central East was sent in to bat by the South East in the first game played on the main stadium wicket. They were reduced to 40 for 7 at the 13 over mark when lightning interrupted play. Legspinner Camilus Alexander had figures of 3 for 10 in three overs to put his side on a sure path to victory before they were thwarted by the weather as the teams split points.North East Region got off to an impressive start against pre-tournament favorites New York before their match was interrupted in the 12th over. Aditya Mishra and Akil Husbands put on a 79-run stand for the first wicket. Mishra came out on top of an intriguing battle with former West Indies paceman Adam Sanford, hooking him for six on one occasion. He finished with 35 off 19 before he was stumped overbalancing on a sweep attempt against the offspin of Karan Ganesh. Husbands finished with 54 off 29, including six sixes, before falling to Rashard Marshall shortly before play stopped.Central West rocked South West early on behind early strikes from pace bowlers Usman Shuja and Jasdeep Singh to remove both openers without scoring. Ravi Timbawala and Nisarg Patel added 68 for the third wicket to steady the South West cause. Nisarg was unbeaten on 54 off 29 balls including six sixes when the players cleared off the field with one ball to go in the 10th over. The players waited patiently after leaving the field in dry conditions following a siren alert from the lightning alarm system installed at the Central Broward Regional Park, but after 90 minutes a torrential downpour commenced and play was eventually called off for the first round of matches.Rain and lightning continued on and off into the evening, causing the second round of matches to be postponed. They will now be played beginning at 9:30 am on Friday, with the third round starting at 1:30 pm followed by an evening slate of matches.

World Cup audition for South Africa reserves

Match facts

Thursday, August 21, 2014
Start time 0930 local (0730 GMT)Rilee Rossouw is expected to get a game, with Hashim Amla rested•Getty Images

Big Picture

There are times when a couple of days can make a difference but the ODI series between Zimbabwe and South Africa is an example of how breaks can have no effect.The first and second matches were near carbon-copies of each other, with the only real difference being the margin of Zimbabwe’s defeat. Although their bowling improved, particularly at the death, they made the same mistakes with the bat. Soft dismissals and lapses in concentration led to their unravelling and have left Sean Williams stuck with the tail, twice. Temperament is the missing ingredient but whether that can be found in such a short space of time remains to be seen.South Africa do not have many areas to tweak despite being bowled out by Zimbabwe’s hard-working but limited attack. Hashim Amla earns himself a rest, but the likes of AB de Villiers, JP Duminy and David Miller may want to improve on their returns but for the rest, the final match will simply be more of the same: an opportunity to get match time and with a World Cup looming. There is depth in bowling resources, but with the return of the first-choice trio of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander for the upcoming tri-series, competition for a place in the final XI is still high.The people to whom this final match might mean most to are the Bulawayo fans. This will be their last sighting of international cricket for at least another 12 months and as the crowds have shown, it is something they treasure watching.

Form guide

(last five completed games, most recent first)
Zimbabwe LLLLW
South Africa WWWLW

In the spotlight

Zimbabwe’s top order slumped to 34 for 3 and 45 for 4 in the first two matches and will want to avoid another repeat. They have already changed their opening pair and might shuffle it again with Hamilton Masakadza dropping to No.3 and Sikandar Raza fronting up first. Brendan Taylor will also be under pressure after only 20 runs from two outings.The strength of South Africa’s top order did not allow David Miller to be a factor in the opening match. Miller had similar issues in Sri Lanka and is realising the better the top four get the less time he may have at the crease. He will have to make an impact in short and sharp bursts while finishing an innings. If Miller gets it right, South Africa could mount totals too large for Zimbabwe to scale.

Team news

Zimbabwe are still struggling to find a bowling combination that works and may want to look to one of the Test seamers, if the management feels they have had enough downtime. Tinashe Panyangara or Tendai Chatara could come in for Luke Jongwe or Neville Madziva. They don’t have too many options in the batting department besides Timycen Maruma and may have to opt for the same top-order and hope they can produce better results. Legspinner Tafadzwa Kamungoz is also in with a chance to play.Zimbabwe: (likely) 1 Sikandar Raza, 2 Richmond Mutumbami (wk), 3 Hamilton Masakadza, 4 Brendan Taylor, 5 Sean Williams, 6 Elton Chigumbura (capt), 7 Luke Jongwe/ Tinashe Panyangara 8 Neville Madziva/ Tendai Chatara, 9 John Nyumbu, 10 Prosper Utseya, 11 Brian VitoriHaving won the series, South Africa might indulge in making use of all their reserves. Rilee Rossouw is expected to take Hashim Amla’s place at the top of the order. Marchant de Lange and Mthokozisi Shezi could replace Kyle Abbott and one of the spinners respectively.South Africa: (likely) 1 Rilee Rossouw, 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Faf du Plessis, 4 JP Duminy, 5 AB de Villiers (capt), 6 David Miller, 7 Ryan McLaren, 8 Wayne Parnell, 9 Kyle Abbott/ Marchant de Lange, 10 Aaron Phangiso, 11 Imran Tahir/ Mthokozisi Shezi

Pitch an conditions

With quick turnaround between matches, the surface is not expected to play too differently to the first two, which were dry and slow. Some turn will be on offer as well but so are runs with proper application. The weather in Bulawayo has warmed up significantly from the first match and is expected to reach 27 degrees on Thursday.

Stats and trivia

  • This is the sixth three-match ODI series between South Africa and Zimbabwe. South Africa have whitewashed Zimbabwe in all of the previous five.
  • Brendan Taylor is the only Zimbabwe batsman among the top 50 in the ODI rankings. He is 24th.

Quotes

“We have to improve on our batting. This is the last chance in the series for all departments to play well. Giving early wickets away is criminal, especially on a wicket that is batting friendly. We will have to re-strategise.””We will definitely make a few changes. We came here to win the series and we still want to win the last ODI but we will see about a few changes.”

Former Rajasthan opener Rajesh Sanghi dies

Former Rajasthan batsman Rajesh Sanghi died in the Maldives on Saturday. Sanghi, 42, was on a holiday and suffered a heart attack.Sanghi was Sachin Tendulkar’s first captain in a BCCI-run tournament, at Mumbai’s Under-15 level, before he went on to play for Rajasthan.An opening batsman and a part-time legspinner, Sanghi played four first-class and as many List A matches between 1993 and 1994. He scored 218 runs in first-class, including a hundred, at an average of 27.25 and 72 runs in List A. He also picked up four wickets in the longer format.

Fatigue, pink ball rule out Rogers

An exhausted Chris Rogers may one day reconsider his aversion to facing the pink ball, but has concluded that he must first practice against it over a longer period than that being provided ahead of Victoria’s day-night Sheffield Shield fixture starting on Saturday.Rogers flew home to Melbourne from the UAE on Wednesday morning, and has declined to turn out for the Bushrangers in the match partly due to the colour-blindness that affected his ability to see the pink projectile when he faced it in an MCC match in Abu Dhabi in 2011.But the overwhelming factor in the decision is a lack of time, both to rest and also to train against the Kookaburra version of the ball, which is darker and more distinct in its hue than the Dukes that Rogers struggled to pick up four years ago.”Given my last experience with day-night first-class cricket four years ago had its challenges for me, there are still a lot of unknowns and doubt about it from my perspective, so I’ve decided to sit this one out,” Rogers said. “I’ve played more first-class cricket than just about anyone in the world this year, so I don’t think sitting out one match for Victoria will affect me too much.”I completely understand why this is being done. It’s for the future of Test cricket and Cricket Australia has made every effort to make the ball more visible. I just haven’t had the opportunity to practice with it because I’ve been playing so much.”Given a little more time at home in pre-season to practice against the pink ball Rogers may have played. Unlike many team-mates, Rogers spent the winter playing county cricket for Middlesex, having only three days in Australia between the end of his team’s taxing though successful fight to avoid relegation to division two and his departure for Test match duty against Pakistan.Over the course of the year, Rogers’ performances for Middlesex and Australia were consistently solid, and though he was unable to go on from a series of starts in the UAE, the team performance manager Pat Howard said his decision to make himself unavailable for the day-night Shield round would not count against him when the squad for the first Test against India was chosen.”The selectors have reiterated that no player is judged on one match,” Howard said. “The four-man selection panel rate players on their consistency over a period of time and particularly their ability to perform in pressure situations.”Chris has decided not to play because of colour blindness which made it difficult for him to see the pink Duke ball while playing under lights in Abu Dhabi four seasons ago. However Chris has not practiced against what we believe is a new and improved pink Kookaburra ball to gauge whether he encounters the same problem. I have spoken to Chris about this but understand his concerns and respect his decision.”Even without playing in this match, Rogers will still be able to take part in two Shield fixtures for Victoria ahead of the start of the India Test series, against South Australia at Adelaide Oval and against Western Australia at the MCG. The Test squad for the Gabba is likely to be named during the second of these matches.Day-night Test matches and the use of the pink ball have become something of a mission for the CA chief executive James Sutherland, who as recently as the board’s AGM in Melbourne reiterated his desire to schedule a floodlit five-day match as early as the 2015-16 season.

Ashraful playing in New York in bid to stay sharp

Former Bangladesh Test captain Mohammad Ashraful is biding his time during his ban from international cricket by playing club cricket in New York. In May, he was in Los Angeles, playing for Pegasus CC in the American Cricket Federation-affiliated Southern California Cricket Association. At the time he was waiting for the Bangladesh Premier League corruption tribunal to come to a verdict related to fixing matches in the 2013 BPL. At the start of August, Ashraful arrived in New York to spend the rest of the summer with Bengals CC in the unaffiliated Bangladesh Cricket League located in Queens.”I asked my lawyer Yasin Patel and he said you can’t play under any cricket board so I said I’d go and play in USA,” Ashraful told ESPNcricinfo after a local unsanctioned tournament match in New York. “I asked [former Bangladesh players] Atiar [Atiar Rahman] and Sajid Hassan, they live in New York. Those two senior guys I know and told them I’m free and wanted to come play.”Ashraful was banned for eight years in June by the BPL tribunal after admitting to his involvement in corruption and match-fixing during the 2013 BPL. However, his sentence was recently reduced on appeal to five years with two years suspended pending completion of an ICC or BCB anti-corruption training program meaning he will be eligible to return to play ICC-sanctioned cricket in 2016.An ICC spokesperson told ESPNcricinfo that Ashraful can play cricket as long as it is not sanctioned by any member ICC board. “There is no jurisdiction to prohibit his participation in any other form of cricket and Ashraful is therefore not in breach of the sanction by participating therein,” the spokesperson said.Ashraful says he was looking for a way to stay busy and keep fit rather than staying at home in Bangladesh unable to play. Coming to New York where he can be away from the spotlight but in a community with a support system in place has helped him stay motivated. He has also traveled around the country wherever he has been invited to find more outlets to play cricket.”I need to be busy and fit,” Ashraful said, noting that he had lost 10 pounds through intense training since his arrival in August. “I feel it’s a good competition here also. I was surprised, seriously, because I’ve played Michigan, Boston, New York, Los Angeles. I’ve played in a few areas and in America I’m surprised they play so much cricket here and a lot of good players are here. Why I’m saying very good is because these people are working six days and playing one day without practice or anything.”You’re never gonna get that kind of standard that I’m used to in Bangladesh. Everybody knows that but at least I am getting something. I just want to keep busy. Skill-wise it’s difficult. Six days I’m going to the gym, staying three or four hours, and only one day playing cricket. It is difficult but still it’s not bad.”With cricket season winding down in New York, Ashraful plans on leaving at the start of November to head back home to Bangladesh. However, he says the overall reception he has experienced around the USA has been very positive and he plans on coming back in 2015 to continue playing while in exile from the international scene.”I’m thinking one more season I want to come back because at that time when it’s US cricket season, it’s rainy in Bangladesh so at least I can train here,” Ashraful said. “Everybody wants me to come back again. They say ‘Ashraful please train hard and you can come back again.’ Everywhere in USA so far nobody has told me any negative things and everyone is wishing me to come back again.”

Guyana's Crandon 'cannot believe' loss chasing 69

Guyana coach Esuan Crandon still “cannot believe” his side lost by two runs on Monday against Barbados chasing a tiny target of 69 runs in the Professional Cricket League. In a dramatic sequence of events in the third-round match played at Providence Stadium in Georgetown, Guyana forced Barbados to follow-on but failed to last the first session on the fourth and final day as Dwayne Smith picked up his maiden five-for.”It was very, very disappointing to take the loss. We played three excellent days of cricket and then we lost the game in one session,” Crandon told ESPNcricinfo. “The Barbados bowlers utilised the conditions well as the ball was moving around. A couple of careless, irresponsible shots from our batsmen cost us the game as well.”Crandon said the players were aware of the historic significance of the victory: Guyana have not defeated Barbados in Guyana since 1984 and missed out on a chance to snap the 30-year losing streak. “We knew that. I cannot believe what happened yesterday.”Speaking to Guyana captain Vishaul Singh admitted complacency was a factor while chasing the small target. Crandon agreed, too. “Probably a little bit of complacency crept in at the moment. Not only that, there was a bit of nerves too. We had wanted to chase down the total in a positive manner but we did not get the start we wanted. We lost four wickets for 10 runs on the board.”Crandon also cited the weary and breaking pitch as a crucial factor. “It was a difficult fourth-day wicket to bat on. There was wear and tear in the wicket, uneven bounce, ball keeping low, very low. Dwayne Smith was getting the ball to move, too. I am not making any excuses. Dwayne bowled well. But the pitch really helped him as well.”However Reon King, the former Guyana and West Indies fast bowler, who was the match referee, said he could not find any fault in the pitch. The nature of defeat raised a lot of eyebrows, but both the WICB and King said the only untoward thing was the poor batting by the Guyanese batsmen. “The pitch is fine. It was a normal four-day pitch. In my opinion it was just a collapse in batting,” King said.Despite the defeat Guyana have 39 points, enough to top the tournament table after three matches. They travel to Trinidad to play their next match starting Friday before the tournament takes a break. The final six matches will be played from February. “We also recognize the miss. Yesterday was a big miss for us because if we had won that game we could have been about 15 points clear of the second-place team,” Crandon said.

Razzak five-for crushes Old DOHS

Abdur Razzak’s five-wicket haul sent Old DOHS Sports Club crashing to an eight-wicket defeat against Kalabagan Krira Chakra at the BKSP-4 Ground in the first of the three relegation league play-off matches in the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League.Old DOHS are virtually relegated having lost all their eleven league matches. The Kalabagan-Partex Sporting Club encounter will decide which team will accompany Old DOHS to the Dhaka First Division Cricket League next season.After play started at 12:15pm due to heavy fog, reducing the match to 30 overs per side, Old DOHS, batting first, were bundled out for 115 runs in 29.1 overs. Razzak took 5 for 20 in 5.1 overs, while Shahadat Hossain picked up three wickets. In reply, KKC reached the target in 23.1 overs. Nasiruddin Faruque was unbeaten on 46 off 67 balls, while Jupiter Ghosh (19) and Shamsur Rahman (22) also chipped in with handy knocks to ensure a smooth chase.

Gugale 174 deflates Delhi

ScorecardFile photo: Chirag Khurana provided Swapnil Gugale ample support during a 106-run stand for the sixth wicket•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Swapnil Gugale stole the limelight with a sterling 174 on the opening day of Maharashtra’s crucial Ranji Trophy Group B tie against Delhi, keeping the team on course for a big first-innings total at the Maharashtra Cricket Association stadium.Thanks to Gugale’s chanceless innings and his 106-run partnership for the sixth wicket with the in-form Chirag Khurana, Maharashtra ended the day at 312 for 6. Had it not been for Gugale’s heroics, the hara-kiri committed by the rest of the Maharashtra’s top-order batsmen would have ended up justifying Delhi’s decision to field first.Looking at the flat deck, most teams winning the toss would have opted to bat first and put on a gargantuan total on the board. But Gautam Gambhir sprung the first surprise of the day by inserting Maharashtra.

Gugale pleased after ‘important’ ton

Swapnil Gugale had a forgettable debut in first-class when he was castled by Rajasthan’s Deepak Chahar in Nashik four years ago. Since then, while he saw many of his teammates in Maharashtra’s developmental squads, the opener had to wait for another opportunity.
On numerous occasions, he would be drafted into the Ranji squad, but would not break in to the XI. On Wednesday, he proved his credentials in style by piling on 174 against an in-form Delhi attack.
“It was frustrating to see others getting a look into the Ranji Trophy. But with a sort of a settled opening combination, I had no option to keep scoring in CK Nayudu Trophy and wait for my chance. It was difficult but I am glad that I could do it and play an important knock for the team today,” Gugale said.
On the bench during the zonal one-dayers this season and ignored for the first three Ranji games, Gugale finally got the call-up when the team travelled to Rajkot. He was told by the team management that he will be given at least two to three games to come good. He failed to make an impact in Saurashtra and in the first innings of the game against last week, but scored a morale-boosting 59 not out in the second innings.
Unlike the two previous games, the pitch in Pune was flat, but by scoring more than half of Maharashtra’s run tally on the day, Gugale made a strong impact.
“Playing against Delhi was a big occasion,” he said. “A team with three international players and as many more IPL regulars is a big challenge to face early on in my career. I am happy that I could score against them.”

Though the ball was bouncing nicely, the wicket did not challenge the batsmen. Gugale, playing his fourth first-class match, got off the blocks with a sweetly timed drive off Parvinder Awana. Sumit Narwal got one to rise in the seventh over to manage an edge off Harshad Khadiwale’s willow that rested into Unmukt Chand’s safe palms at second slip.Gugale, however, was undeterred at the other end and unleashed drives and cuts at will. His nimble footwork was equally impressive against both the seamers, as well as the left-arm spin duo of Manan Sharma and Varun Sood.Just as Rohit Motwani appeared to be set for a big knock, he missed a straight one from Rajat Bhatia. While the bowler and close-in fielders appealed for lbw, the batsman took off for a single assuming the ball had passed wicketkeeper Rahul Yadav. The ball had only lobbed close to the keeper and Yadav showed presence of mind to whip the bails off and find Motwani short of the crease.In a surprising move, Maharashtra sent in Ankit Bawne ahead of their star batsman Kedar Jadhav, who was padded up. Bawne adopted an aggressive approach and went after Bhatia. He struck a couple of boundaries off him on the off-side and followed it up with a towering six over long-on. Bhatia, though, had the last laugh when he eventually trapped the batsman leg before for 18.Soon after lunch, Rahul Tripathi gave Yadav catching practice off Vikas Tokas just after he had got his eye in. At 139 for 4, in walked Jadhav. Despite Gugale having raced into his eighties, he required support at the other end. The Delhi bowlers noticed this and stifled Jadhav’s flow of runs and allowed him only two singles off the first 14 balls he faced.While Jadhav was stuck at one end, Gugale eventually celebrated his maiden first-class century with a splendid cover drive. Even before the ball had crossed the boundary for his 15th four, Gugale jumped in the air and pumped his fists to acknowledge loud applause from a decent crowd that had primarily turned up to get a glimpse of Virender Sehwag. The fact that Maharashtra’s total was 164 when Gugale crossed the milestone showed how much Gugale had dominated the bowlers.Soon after, Jadhav managed a boundary off Manan Sharma to break the shackles but two balls later, he attempted a pull off a full delivery, missed it and was plumb in front of the wickets. Maharashtra, for the third time in succession, had to fall back on Khurana for avoiding a collapse.With Khurana playing a perfect second fiddle, Gugale continued his assault. He went after Manan, hitting him for two sixes and a flurry of boundaries that tarnished the bowler’s figures. Gugale was set to pile on the misery on the Delhi bowlers by converting his century into a double and carrying his bat into the second day, but then came the last surprise.A tired lofted drive off Manan to Mithun Manhas at covers nine deliveries before the new ball was due brought curtains on Gugale’s innings. Khurana and Shrikant Mundhe then dealt with the red cherry, which was taken with seven overs remaining, with little trouble, as Khuranna completed his third successive fifty.In the midst of the surprising strategy by the Delhi camp, amateurish shot selection by the Maharashtra batsmen and sensational strokeplay by Gugale, there was some light-hearted banter in the Delhi camp. Sehwag was heard taunting the bowling coach Amit Bhandari during tea break for having suggested to field first. If Mundhe and Khurana pile on another big partnership, then even the fancied Delhi batting line-up would be put under pressure.

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