The dates for the Friends Life t20 quarter-finals have been announced with Somerset’s trip to Nottinghamshire on August 7 the pick of the games

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jul-2011The dates for the Friends Life t20 quarter-finals have been announced with Somerset’s trip to Nottinghamshire on August 7 the pick of the games.After a frenzied final round of the group stages, where qualifying positions were far from settled going into the games, the eight quarter-finalists can now begin their preparations in earnest.Leicestershire will host Kent at Grace Road on August 6 with Hampshire and Durham meeting at the Rose Bowl a day later in the only afternoon fixture of the four games. Sussex will meet Lancashire at Hove on August 8.Somerset were runners up to Hampshire in last year’s tournament and in their summer of near-misses came second to Nottinghamshire on the last day of the Championship season in 2010. They will get a chance to atone for that when the two sides meet at Trent Bridge.Leicestershire are having a difficult Championship season, sitting at the foot of Division Two, but have made the quarters of the t20 for the first time since 2006. Lancashire are scrapping for a bigger prize – the Championship – and have the chance to reach Twenty20 finals day when they meet 2009 t20 winners Sussex.

Tim Nielsen, the Australia coach, has said he is firmly in support of whatever measures are taken to improve cricket in the country despite the uncertainty over his future

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Aug-2011Tim Nielsen, the Australia coach, has said he is firmly in support of whatever measures are taken to improve cricket in the country despite the uncertainty over his future because of the recommendations made in the Don Argus report.”The review’s been done with the sole purpose of improving and getting Australian cricket back to where we want to be, at No.1, and that’s what we’re all about as a team and especially in my role as coach, that’s what I’m all about,” Nielsen said in Colombo on the eve of the fourth ODI against Sri Lanka. “I’m supportive of this process; I just need some time to ensure that we go through this process and get all the information before we start making too much comment.”The Argus report recommended that the coach’s role be expanded to make him the leader of the overall coaching strategy for Australian cricket. The coach, along with the captain, will also be part of the five-member selection panel. However, it is not certain that Nielsen will be the man to fill the expanded role. Jack Clarke, CA’s chairman, said “in a restructure, you don’t just give someone the job in a new role” but added that Nielsen was welcome to re-apply for the role.”I think the most important thing is it’s been an exhaustive look at how we’re going to get Australian cricket back to where it wants to be, No.1 in all forms of the game,” Nielsen said. “You don’t do that by skirting around the edges and having nice, feel-good looks at things and hoping you’re going to fix things up by doing them the same way. We are 100,000% behind Australia being the best cricket team in the world and we’re going to start that process by winning again tomorrow and pushing on from there.”Michael Clarke, Australia’s Test and ODI captain, said that one of the major aspects of the Argus report was its emphasis on the necessity for an improvement in communication. “The positive from that is it allows the communication between selectors and players to be very clear now,” he said. “It allows me to give the player the consistent feedback the player is probably searching for and to let him know the reasons for his selection or non-selection. It certainly makes me more accountable now and I look forward to the challenge.”Another fallout of the Argus report was the removal of Greg Chappell, the national talent manager, from the selection committee. According to the , Chappell was banned from the Australian dressing room while the team was batting, because he was a disconcerting influence. Clarke, however, said he had no problems with Chappell.”My communications with Greg have been fantastic. He’s been open and honest with me and I’ve been able to do the same back in return,” he said. “My relationship with all the selectors has been fantastic and I’m certain that will continue.”

Mohsin Khan, the Pakistan chief selector, has said picking a young team for the Zimbabwe series will help in planning for the contest against Sri Lanka in the UAE

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Sep-2011Mohsin Khan, the Pakistan chief selector, has said picking a young team for the Zimbabwe series will help in planning for the contest against Sri Lanka in the UAE next month.Mohsin had been criticised for selecting an inexperienced side to tour Zimbabwe – in the only Test, of their three fast bowlers two were debutants and the other had played only one match – but Pakistan ended up winning the Test and sweeping the one-dayers.”As a whole, the team performance is very satisfactory and even though Zimbabwe was not a weak opposition, our boys played well and won every game,” Mohsin told the on Thursday. The tour ends with two Twenty20 matches, one on Friday and the other on Sunday.Several of the new players picked and those recalled for the series, such as fast bowler Aizaz Cheema and opening batsman Imran Farhat, have performed reasonably well. “This tour of Zimbabwe will help us a lot in putting together a solid combination for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka, which is one of the best teams in the world,” Mohsin said. However, the final call on the squad for the UAE will be made with the region’s playing conditions in mind. “Since the Sri Lankan series will be played in the UAE where the conditions are different, we will make the combination accordingly.”Pakistan face Sri Lanka in three Tests, five ODIs and a Twenty20 in a series that starts on October 18.

Kumar Sangakkara, the Sri Lanka batsman, has called for stability in the team after they gave themselves a chance of staving off a Test match and series defeat by Australia in Pallekele

Daniel Brettig in Pallekele11-Sep-2011Kumar Sangakkara, the Sri Lanka batsman, has called for stability in the team after they gave themselves a chance of staving off a Test match and series defeat by Australia in Pallekele. While he acknowledged the team’s poor performances with the bat so far in the series, he said the batsmen needed to be given extended runs without the constant fear of being dropped. Only that, he said, could bring positive results – Sri Lanka have not won a Test match since the retirement of Muttiah Muralitharan..”The first thing is the guys have to be pretty solid in their minds about what their roles are,” Sangakkara said. “They’ve also got to be comfortable in the fact they’re here because they’re good enough and also that they’re going to be given a nice, long-lasting run to prove what they can do. No-one comes here easily, everyone’s done the hard work in the A side or in first-class cricket to get to this level and earn a Test cap for Sri Lanka.”But it’s hard for batsmen to play looking over their shoulders; they need to be told ‘we trust you enough to go out and do the job for the country’ and these guys will respond to that. I think [Tillakaratne] Dilshan’s done that pretty well. You’re seeing slow results, but at all times the senior guys have to keep putting their hands up and performing; that’s what’s going to allow the newcomers to perform even better.”Sri Lanka started the fourth day in Pallekele 237 runs behind after a first-innings surrender for 174. By the close they were 223 for 2, just 14 behind, with Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene in occupation on the cusp of the second new ball.”It was important we showed some character in this innings,” Sangakkara said, “especially since the last three innings we’ve had opportunities to try to win Test matches but we haven’t done that with our batting. Today was another opportunity for the guys to go out there and graft the runs and if we get a good start again tomorrow morning we can put some pressure back on the Australians.”Under a new captain in Michael Clarke, Australia brought an inexperienced bowling attack to Sri Lanka, but Sangakkara expressed genuine respect for the way the visitors have gone about their work, forcing the hosts to accept that hard graft was the only path to runs.”It’s pretty disappointing but we can’t point the finger at anyone else but ourselves [about the batting so far]. Test matches are usually won or lost on first-innings totals; very rarely do you see huge comebacks in the third and fourth innings. As a batting side we’re going up against an Australian attack that’s come out here and showed us how disciplined and well planned they are in their bowling. We’ve got to be up for the fight.”It is not just a case of batting a session or batting two sessions, it is about batting five, six, seven sessions against these guys to build up good totals. It’s hard to allow bowlers to dominate the course of things throughout, but they’ve done a really good job of bowling straight, bowling great areas and bowling to their fields. This is not a side against whom you can score a hundred in a session or two, it is a case of pushing the Australia bowlers into their third or fourth spells, tiring them out and then grafting your runs.”The DRS caused some more headaches for both sides on the fourth day, as Tharanga Paranavitana was first the beneficiary then the victim of its vagaries. In both instances replays suggested there might have been a deflection to the keeper but there did not appear to be conclusive evidence of an edge; however, while Paranavitana survived the first review, the second not-out decision was overturned. Sangakkara said technology was not yet 100% accurate, and therefore a state of compromise had to be reached between those providing technology and those compelled to use it.”We’ve all seen technology; we’ve seen the good and the bad of it. We’ve seen Hawk-Eye not picking up the turn of the ball, depending on the distance between where the ball pitches and where it hits the pad; you’ve seen Hotspot sometimes fail in the India-England series, so the debate will go on.”Today we saw Paranavitana given not-out on the field and the decision overturned by the third umpire, so that’ll probably be another point of debate. I think everybody’s got to come to a middle ground, where you’ve got to accept that it’s not 100% if you’re using it and be comfortable with that, or go back and say we’ll wait until technology is 100%.”

Steven Finn capped a personally outstanding tour with the superb figures of 3 for 22 in only his second Twenty20 international, as a chastised England team produced a spirited display in the field to limit India to an obtainable 120 for 9

The Report by Andrew Miller29-Oct-2011 England 121 for 4 (Pietersen 53) beat India 120 for 9 (Raina 39, Finn 3-22) by six wickets

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsSteven Finn looked the part once again for England, as he finished with 3 for 22•Getty Images

England finished a tough tour of India on an upbeat note, as they preserved their world No. 1 ranking in Twenty20 cricket with a hard-earned six-wicket victory in Kolkata. Steven Finn, with 3 for 22 in four fast and accurate overs, was England’s inspiration with the ball as they limited India’s powerful line-up to 120 for 9 after MS Dhoni had won the toss. Then it was over to Kevin Pietersen, who overcame an anxious start, and a fourth-ball life, to silence a raucous and expectant crowd with a blistering 53 from 39 balls.Given how poorly England had fared in their 5-0 whitewash in the ODI series, they began the match on a hiding to nothing. However, from the moment they claimed two wickets in the first eight deliveries of the match, they were the team dictating the pace of the contest. Suresh Raina, with 39 from 29 balls, threatened for a time to restore the status quo, as did the Indian spinners who dominated the thrust of their attack. But when Raina dropped Pietersen at backward square leg off R Ashwin in the fifth over of the innings, India squandered the chance to ramp up the pressure that had led to England’s collapse of 10 for 47 on the same surface in Tuesday’s fifth ODI.Pietersen’s response was far from instantaneous, however. Although he showed no ill-effects from the chipped thumb that ruled him out of the final ODI, the left-arm spin of Ravindra Jadeja helped to limit him to 2 from his first nine balls before a stunning change of approach reaped the richest of dividends. In the space of his next three balls, he dropped to his knees to scoop Yusuf Pathan over his head for his first boundary of the innings, before flipping to a left-hander’s stance and butchering a perfect switch hit over the fence at what had been deep extra cover.Craig Kieswetter had already fallen to a mistimed lofted drive off Jadeja, and when Alex Hales holed out to deep midwicket off Pathan, both of England’s openers had fallen with 40 runs on the board. However, Samit Patel’s combative hitting proved to be the ideal foil for Pietersen, and their 60-run stand from 46 balls broke the back of the run-chase. Patel played second-fiddle for much of their stand, not least when Pietersen pumped the last two balls of the eighth and nine overs for three fours and a six. But he was not averse to taking the aerial route himself, as he proved when he flogged Vinay Kumar into the stands at long-on.Typically, the denouement was not without its alarms for England. With 100 on the board, Patel sliced Virat Kohli to cover to depart for 21, and one over later, Pietersen was also on his way – courtesy of a shocking lbw decision from umpire Sudhir Asnani, who was perhaps distracted by another change of stance from Pietersen when he put up his finger for a delivery that clearly pitched outside leg. However, Ravi Bopara got away with a plumb appeal in Raina’s next over, as he and Jonny Bairstow sealed the match with 10 balls to spare.If nothing else, the victory – England’s first in an away match against India since 2006 – was due reward for an outstanding month’s work from Finn. By trusting in the same virtues of line, length and pace that had earned him eight wickets in the ODIs, he claimed the wicket of Ajinkya Rahane with the fourth ball of the match, courtesy of an outstanding one-handed pluck in front of first slip from Kieswetter, then later returned to remove two dangermen, Raina and Ravindra Jadeja, with consecutive deliveries.Finn conceded three boundaries in his 24 deliveries, one to Virat Kohli when he overpitched in his first over, and two to Raina – a clean swipe for six, back down the ground, and a rare poor delivery on the pads when he returned to the attack to start the 12th over. The rest of the time, however, his rhythm and accuracy was unrelenting, and it was his key extraction of Raina, who cut loosely to backward point in Finn’s third over that was the pivotal moment of the innings. One ball later, Jadeja chopped on for a golden duck, and at 74 for 6 with eight overs remaining, India’s habitual acceleration was thwarted.It wasn’t a one-man show from England’s bowlers, however. Tim Bresnan bounced back from a disappointing ODI series with a second-ball strike to remove Robin Uthappa for 1, and also cut short a threatening performance from Kohli, who had moved along to a run-a-ball 15 when Alex Hales on the deep midwicket boundary pulled off an excellent running catch inches inside the rope.Graeme Swann’s struggles with the ball continued when Raina pumped him for 16 in his first over, but his captaincy was certainly on the ball. Patel fizzed through his first three overs for 13 and bowled a frustrated Manoj Tiwary when he attempted to slog his way out of a rut, while Bopara pulled off some impressive changes of pace to deliver a double-wicket maiden in the 17th over of the innings. Yusuf Pathan missed the change-up after two slower balls and was bowled; two balls later Praveen Kumar had a mow and went the same way.MS Dhoni, inevitably, was on hand to provide some late resistance as he and Ashwin scalped 25 runs from India’s final two overs, but a run-a-ball chase was always within England’s grasp – even allowing for the depth of their failings on this most disappointing of one-day campaigns.

A round-up of the action from the third day of the third round of matches from the Ranji Trophy Elite 2011-12

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Nov-2011Seamers Jaydev Unadkat and Sandip Maniar put Saurashtra on top against Punjab, laying the stage for what could end up being a comprehensive win in Mohali. Staring at a first-innings score of 542, Punjab were in trouble at the start of the day, resuming their innings on 59 for 3. They found themselves in deeper trouble shortly after, slipping to 60 for 5. But Mandeep Singh and Amitoze Singh came to their rescue, adding 121 for the seventh wicket with half-centuries but their efforts weren’t enough. Too much damage had been inflicted early in the innings, and the deficit seemed insurmountable. Mandeep remained unbeaten on 85 but Unadkat polished off the tail to finish with 6 for 87.Punjab were bowled out for 278, conceding a lead of 264 and there was more trouble in the second innings. Maniar was the wrecker-in-chief this time round, nipping out three wickets to reduce Punjab to 44 for 4 after they followed on. To make matters worse, batsman Karan Goel had to retire hurt. With three points virtually in the bag, Saurashtra will be aiming for an outright win tomorrow.

Haryana captain Amit Mishra led by example to give his team a significant first-innings lead at the Moti Bagh Stadium, and his batsmen extended it to 363 with three wickets remaining at stumps. Baroda, having bowled out Haryana for 390 on the second day, were sitting pretty coming into today’s play, at 104 for 1. Opener Aditya Waghmode and Rakesh Solanki struck half-centuries and promised to lay the foundation for a lead, but the innings fell apart. Medium-pacer Harshal Patel broke the stand and Baroda slipped to 171 for 7. Mishra helped wrap up the innings, dismissing a well-set Pinal Shah for 35, and ensuring a lead of 176. Haryana began poorly in the second innings and left-arm spinner Swapnil Singh picked up four wickets, but Abhimanyu Khod made 71, supported by Sunny Singh’s 44. Mishra himself was unbeaten on 28 at stumps, and may look to eliminate any chances of Baroda pulling off a surprise in the chase.

Centuries from Mohnish Mishra and Naman Ojha put Madhya Pradesh in an excellent position to overhaul Bengal‘s first-innings score of 496 at the Jadavpur University Complex in Kolkata. MP were well-placed at 136 for 1 at the start of the day, and they consolidated that thanks to a stand of 199 between Ojha and Mishra. Ojha made his fifth first-class century, Mishra reached his fourth. Each hit a six and struck 29 fours between them in a stand that lasted 70 overs. There was a scare for MP when they lost Ojha and captain Devendra Bundela in quick succession, but Mishra and S Abbas Ali added an unbeaten 48 to finish the day on 344 for 3, still 152 adrift.

Delhi put up a better performance with the bat in their second innings but Tamil Nadu were still in with a good chance of pulling off a win at the Feroz Shah Kotla. Starting the day on 281 for 8, a lead of 69, Tamil Nadu lasted another 25 runs. Among the two wickets they lost was Abhinav Mukund, who was caught behind for 99. They finished with a lead of 94. In response, Delhi began well with the openers Unmukt Chand and Shikhar Dhawan adding 68. But they soon slipped to 70 for 3, Yo Mahesh dismissing Chand and captain Mithun Manhas in quick time. Milind Kumar and Yogesh Nagar stepped up, each hitting half-centuries, but were unable to push on. By the close, Delhi were 233 for 5, only 139 ahead though they’ll be encouraged by the ongoing 40-run stand between Pawan Negi and Puneet Bisht.

Karnataka are on the verge of picking up three points against Mumbai at the Brabourne Stadium after reducing them to 354 for 8 on day three. Mumbai finished the day 281 runs behind. Read the full report here.

Uttar Pradesh batted determinedly in their pursuit of a first-innings lead against Orissa at the Veer Surendra Sai Stadium in Sambalpur. Opener Tanmay Srivastava led the charge with 115 in a knock that included 14 fours. Former UP captain Mohammad Kaif made 88, and the pair added 191 for the second wicket following the early loss of Amir Khan. However, both fell in quick succession, in consecutive overs, and UP were soon 214 for 3. But Prashant Gupta and Parvinder Singh were unbeaten on 35 and 39 respectively, and took UP to stumps at 287 for 3, 195 behind Orissa.

Railways had the better of day three against Rajasthan at the Karnail Singh Stadium in Delhi but a difficult task awaits them on the final day. Half-centuries from opener Shivakant Shukla and captain Sanjay Bangar, and important contributions from the rest, took them to 274 for 4 in the first innings but they are still 247 behind Rajasthan. Shukla added 83 with Shreyas Khanolkar and 68 with Bangar before being dismissed. Bangar put together 89 with Yere Goud, who was unbeaten on 35. Vivek Yadav grabbed the three wickets that fell today but Goud and Mahesh Rawat were involved in a stand of 28 by the close, of which Rawat made 26. Can Railways overhaul Rajasthan’s first-innings score or can Rajasthan bowl them out? There’s also the possibility of Railways batting the day out without taking a lead, ensuring the teams share points.

A round-up of the action from the third day of the fifth round of matches from the Ranji Trophy Elite League 2011-12

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Dec-2011

Group A

Former India left-arm spinner Murali Kartik picked up his second five-for of the season to help Railways to an incredible victory by an innings and 94 runs with a day to spare against Uttar Pradesh at the Mohan Meakins Cricket Stadium in Ghaziabad. Having been dismissed for 79, the eighth-lowest total in Ranji history, UP put up more of a fight the second time around, but lost wickets at regular intervals.Sanjay Bangar and Krishnakant Upadyay, Railways’ new-ball bowlers responsible for Uttar Pradesh’s downfall in the first innings, got rid of overnight pair of Bhuvenesh Kumar and Mohammad Kaif before lunch. Kartik, who had bowled just one over in the previous innings, overwhelmed the lower order, picking five of the last six wickets to fall and seal Railways’ first victory of the season. For Uttar Pradesh this was the second time in two years they were beaten at home. If last year it was Haryana, this time Railways enjoyed a hearty laugh at the expense of their hosts.Railways had suffered two huge defeats at the start of the season, but now with this win they have ten points in the bag and will be positive about their knockout chances with two home games against Orissa and Saurashtra. In contrast Uttar Pradesh play favourites Mumbai and Karnataka in the next two rounds. “We did not bat well at all. Now we have our backs to the wall,” Gynanedra Pandey, UP coach, said of his team’s predicament.Saurashtra achieved the enviable honour of inflicting the follow-on for the second time in three years against Mumbai, who finished 220 runs short of their opponent’s first-innings target on the penultimate day. Full report here.An unbroken 185-run partnership for the fifth wicket between Robin Bist and Rashmi Parida kept Rajasthan‘s hopes alive against Punjab. At stumps on the penultimate day the defending champions were 321 for 4 in pursuit of 597 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. They still need another 126 runs to avoid the follow-on and 276 to take the lead.The hosts started the day on a steady note as their most experienced batting pair of Aakash Chopra and Hrishikesh Kanitkar played patiently in the first hour. But immediately after the drinks break Chopra was cleaned up by Birender Sran. At 136 for 4, Rajasthan were in deep trouble but Bist and Parida combined well to quell Punjab’s determined bowling attack, which missed Manpreet Gony, who sat out after bowling 11 overs due to a side strain.The match between Karnataka and Orissa at the East Coast Railway Sports Association in Bhubaneshwar is set for an interesting final day after the visitors finished the third 192 runs ahead with four wickets remaining.Karnataka threatened to pull away at 80 for 1 in their second innings, after taking a 23-run first-innings lead, but diligent bowling on a helpful pitch by Orissa’s bowling attack had the visitors wobbling at 114 for 5. But Amit Verma, who already has a century this season in Mumbai, dug in deep and found support from Sunil Raju, to take Karnataka to 169 for 6. At the start of play Orissa needed 67 runs to take the lead and the eighth-wicket pair of Govind Podder and Basanth Mohanty gave Karnataka pair a scare with a stoic 30-run alliance. But Stuart Binny cleaned up Podder as Orissa eventually managed to add 44 runs to their overnight score of 211 for 7. Binny picked up two wickets on the day, enough to bag his maiden five-for (5-87).

Group B

Ambati Rayudu’s second hundred of the season helped Baroda set Gujarat a daunting target of 365 to win on the last day at the Moti Bagh Stadium in Vadodara.Baroda had ended the second day 43 runs ahead with the match still in the balance. But they took control on the third, thanks to Rayudu’s 105 that helped them 330 in their second innings. Rayudu had to deal with losing partners at fairly regular intervals – the highest partnership of the innings was 77 for the sixth wicket – but kept playing his strokes, maintaining a strike-rate of 77.20 in an innings that contained 18 fours and a six. Gujarat had an opening at 174 for 5, but Shatrunjay Gaekwad and Abhimanyu Chauhan chipped in with 30s to take the match to a position where Baroda look the only likely winners.Six wickets in the day from seamer Yo Mahesh left Tamil Nadu needing six wickets to beat Bengal, who were still 52 runs behind at Eden Gardens. Mahesh took four in Bengal’s first innings, in which they were bowled out for 176 and made to follow-on. He then struck twice early in Bengal’s second innings, sending back both openers. A counterattacking unbeaten half-century from Laxmi Ratan Shukla, his second of the match, gave Bengal some hope but they will have a tough fight on their hands on the final day.Bengal had a horrific start to the day: they slipped from 84 for 2 to 87 for 5 within the first six overs, all three wickets falling to Mahesh. Shukla tried to get Bengal back in the game and hit eight fours and two sixes in his 62 off 59 balls. But wickets kept tumbling at the other end, and Bengal conceded a 215-run first-innings lead.Their second innings was rocked early: they slipped to 8 for 2 before a 64-run stand for the third wicket between Shreevats Goswami and Writam Porel steadied them briefly. The pair was dismissed in quick succession and Bengal were in danger of losing by an innings. Shukla, though, produced his second half-century of the match, reaching 50 not out off 55 balls by stumps. For company, he had Sourav Ganguly, who had taken a more measured approach on the way to 28 not out off 68 balls.A century from Naman Ojha has made Madhya Pradesh favourites to beat Delhi at the Emerald High School Ground in Indore, though three wickets late in the day set up a tense finish. MP needed 59 runs more to snatch a victory with five wickets in hand.It had looked like MP would cruise to the total when Ojha and Devendra Bundela took them to 187 for 2 with a 186-run partnership. However, seamer Rajat Bhatia kept Delhi in the game with three strikes that left MP 240 for 5 at stumps. Ojha and Bundela’s stand came after two wickets had fallen off consecutive balls in the second over of MP’s chase, bowled by Parvinder Awana. Ojha was the aggressor, striking at 72.29 and hitting four sixes in his 107, while Bundela was more patient while scoring 68. Ojha was lucky to get away when on 13, 82 and 96, as Delhi fielded sloppily all through.

Pakistan Under-19s registered their third win in as many matches in the Tri-Nation Under-19 tournament, beating Zimbabwe Under-19s by 90 runs in Franschhoek

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Jan-2012
ScorecardPakistan Under-19s registered their third win in as many matches in the Tri-Nation Under-19 tournament, beating Zimbabwe Under-19s by 90 runs in Franschhoek.Pakistan chose to bat, and piled up 305 for 5 in their 50. The total was set up by a fine opening stand between Sami Aslam and Babar Azam: they both made scores in the 70s and strung together a 148-run stand in 26 overs. Umar Waheed built on the start, hitting 68 not out of 55 balls at the death.Three of Zimbabwe’s top five got starts in the chase, but could not carry on to make significant contributions – Ryan Burl was the top scorer with 40. Despite maintaining a brisk-scoring rate all through, the regular loss of wickets resulted in Zimbabwe being bowled out for 215 in the 41st over. Quick Ehsan Adil was the most economical and incisive of Pakistan’s bowlers, taking 3 for 29. Waheed was named the Man of the Match.