Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

On the same day when he equalled Sunil Gavaskar’s tally of 125 Test appearances and on the same ground where Gavaskar equalled Don Bradman’s record 29 hundreds, Sachin Tendulkar blended solid defiance with controlled aggression and reached a much-anticipated landmark, putting India in firm control of the second Test at Delhi. Contrasting knocks from VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly – one effortless, the other gritty – shored India up from a dicey situation but on such a day, everything was bound to be overshadowed with one little man and one mighty world record.Come tomorrow, and it would have been exactly one year since his last century, against Bangladesh at Dhaka, and Tendulkar had often admitted that century No.35 was a bogey which he wanted off his back. He began his innings with the game on an even keel but by overcoming Muttiah Muralitharan’s craft and Chaminda Vaas’s nous, by ruthlessly cashing in after surviving two perilous lbw appeals, and by showing glimpses of his glorious youth he ensured India were in a position to dictate terms for the rest of the game.It was an innings that sported a rich array of strokes – a classical flick off Dilhara Fernando, a full-throttle cover-drive off Vaas – completing his follow-through while on his knees – three successive fours off Murali – feet twinkling, bat flourishing – a lofted six off Malinga Bandara, and a back-foot slap with a Caribbean touch. When on 24, he was trapped in front by a Fernando incutter; when on 38, he stretched forward to an offbreak from Murali and got away with a touch-and-go call but once he completed his half-century, he methodically dismantled the attack. The moment he reached the 90s, every run was greeted with a volcanic reaction and at precisely 16:44:19pm, he rocked back and turned one from Vaas to backward square leg, took off for a single and punched the air with delight as the entire stadium erupted with joy.The focus was firmly on Tendulkar but there was a hugely important innings panning out at the other end as well. Ganguly, who was fortunate on 11 when Kumar Sangakkara fluffed a stumping, ground his way to a crucial 39 not out by the end of the day. A couple of cover-drives, eased with finesse, promised much and he found the gaps with ease. Delhi has been a lucky venue for Ganguly – with four scores of more than 50 – and he will get a chance to re-establish himself in the Test side.Both these were vital innings but what had really set India up was 69 golden runs from Laxman, who had lit up the overcast Feroz Shah Kotla when India ran the risk of being derailed. Laxman, batting at No.3 after a little more than a year, was fortunate at the top of his innings, with a close lbw shout turned down and a flashy inside edge eluding the stumps, but soon opened out with some delicious strokeplay. Wafting the bat like an artist’s brush, he effortlessly wrenched India out of a wobbly situation with languid strokes all around the ground. Seam movement from Vaas was countered with grace, Murali was thwarted and the inexperienced Bandara was simply dismissed. Laxman appeared in complete control, and all set for one of his massive hauls, before he nicked a superb Murali doosra.Play had begun half-an-hour late, owing to excessive dew on the ground, and Vaas gave Sri Lanka a near-perfect start by dismissing Gautam Gambhir, the local boy playing his first Test on his homeground, cheaply. Dravid, who opened the batting for the first time since November 2001, was immaculate in reading the movement of the ball, punctuating his knock with five fours, but he was occasionally hassled by the variety that Murali, who came on as early as the eighth over, displayed. Murali unfurled his entire range and would surely rue a few umpiring calls, but destiny, as he would know, is a strange animal and there is little one can do when certain events are written in the stars.

Gautam Gambhir lbw b Vaas 2 (2 for 1)
Rahul Dravid c Mubarak b Muralitharan 24 (56 for 2)
VVS Laxman c Sangakkara b Muralitharan 69 (133 for 3)

A new administration to take over from the Peter Chingoka-led Zimbabwe Cricket board and managing director Ozias Bvute looks now certain in the next week, but not without incorporating some government-handpicked individuals.Aenias Chigwedere, Zimbabwe’s minister of sports, met officials from new proposed provincial associations who had petitioned him and President Robert Mugabe to “take action” after their application for affiliation with ZC on Friday was blocked by another quorum failure.Sources told Cricinfo that Chigwedere is delaying approving the new interim leadership to run the affairs of ZC after the pro-board camp faction had complained to him that the committee, set up by the Sports and Recreation Committee, did not strike a balance. The new provinces want at least one representative on the new ZC leadership.Chigwedere is said to have made an undertaking to expedite the provinces’ affiliation, so that the new administration comes into office in the next few days. But since the new provinces cannot be registered lawfully as things stand, the government is likely to stir up more controversy by ignoring the ZC consitution and dismissing some stakeholders who the minister was told were “standing in the way of change.”The move of form the smaller provinces has been seen as a well-orchestrated move by Chingoka and Bvute to gunner support and consolidate their stay in power.But Cricinfo has gathered that leaders of the pro-board camp have expressed reservations about the role of Themba Mliswa in the cricket leadership. They are said to have told Chigwedere and Mliswa himself that they would not want him included in the interim ZC leadership. “As much as we support the disbandment of the ZC board and the setting up of this interim committee, we do not wish to have Mliswa on that board, ” explained one influential chairman from one of the five new associations. “Mliswa will not be acceptable to most people. As new associations, our objective is to spread the game of cricket to all corners of the country. We are not fighting the players, we are not fighting the old provinces, and we are not fighting the stakeholders. We just want to see cricket grow. We want an amicable solution to this crisis.”But it remains to be seen whether Mliswa will be willing give up on a position which he failed to get under Chingoka and Bvute, and whether the politicians will let go on an opportunity to control cricket especially after the Zanu-PF conference a few weeks back when the party announced its intention to muscle into Zimbabwe’s major sports.

Scorecard

The Eagles have retained the Standard Bank Cup after beating the Titansby two wickets in an exciting low-scoring final, played in front of a nearfull-house at Centurion Park.Having won the toss and put the Titans in to bat it was the seam attackof Johan van der Wath, Cliff Deacon and Roger Telemachus who laid thefoundation for what turned out to be a close win. Havinggot the best of the conditions the bowlers put the Titans under pressurefrom the first over. After two rain delays, and at 37 for 4, the writingwas almost on the wall for the Titans and it was left to the spin duo ofNicky Boje and Thami Tshabalala to wrap up the tail. A disappointingbatting display from the Titans saw them bowled out for 142 in 42.3overs with 54 from Pierre de Bruyn and 44 from Johan Myburgh helpingto make a slight contest out of the final.With a target of 143 to defend the discipline of the Titans bowlers letthem down as 19 wides and six no-balls were bowled with extras topscoring for the Eagles with 36. Albie Morkel and Ethy Mbhalati kept theTitans in the game with three wickets each but, with a 38-run partnershipbetween van der Wath, who had a fine match, and Ryan McLaren for the seventh wicket, the Eagles were almost home. However, two further wickets left then at 123 for 8 and the outcome was far from certain. With the excitement mounting a few lusty blows from Telemachus, and the composure of McLaren, guided the Eagles through with five overs to spare.

Kent and the London Borough of Bromley have announced an agreement that secures the staging of county cricket at Beckenham for the next three years. This year’s programme will see the launch of Kent’s Twenty20 campaign with matches against Essex, Hampshire and Middlesex on June 27, July2 and 4.”There is now a commitment by the County Club to play at Beckenham over the next three years,” Paul Millman, Kent’s cheief executive, said. “The agreement is, however, a wide-ranging one. We plan to use the ground as a centre for sports development in the area. We will be running programmes throughout the year with the aim of attracting youngsters into sport, and cricket in particular. Hopefully, as a result, we will be producing Kent cricketers of the future.”As well as running the activity programmes we will be working with the ground’s owners, Leander Sports and Leisure Limited, to develop the facilities over the three-year period. Both Leander and the county club are now committed to turn the ground into a dynamic centre for sport in the area.”

Mithun Manhas and Reetinder Sodhi scored blazing centuries to help North Zone retain the Deodhar Trophy title beating East Zone by 52 runs at Jaipur. With rain intervening, East reached 146 for 6 in 30.4 overs and once play failed to resume by the cut-off time, North were declared winners by the VJD method. It was another forgettable day for Sourav Ganguly, this time with the bat, dismissed for a first-ball duck, edging the ball to Pankaj Dharmani, the wicketkeeper, off Joginder Sharma.Batting first, Sodhi joined Manhas with the score on 82 and the pair added 155 for the third wicket. Manhas scored 11 fours in his innings of 105 off 128 balls while Sodhi’s undefeated 108 came at very nearly a run a ball, striking three sixes. North finished with 284 for 3 off 49 overs, with one over being reduced owing to damp conditions. The rain intervention made the task harder for East, faced with a much higher asking-rate. Abhishek Jhunjhunwala stood out for his undefeated 77 but was hampered by the lack of support from the other end. North were buoyed by the three-wicket haul by Vikram Rajvir Singh, the fast bowler who was excluded for the Mohali Test against England.South Zone held their nerve, beating West Zone narrowly by two runs in a rain-curtailed Deodhar Trophy match at Udaipur and finishing runners-up in the tournament. Ajit Agarkar’s fiery knock down the order gave South a real scare, but wasn’t able to pull off any last-ball heroics, run-out off the last ball of the match. Agarkar finished with 76 off 40 balls with four boundaries and four sixes.Overnight rain reduced the match to 33 overs per side and West’s decision to insert the opposition backfired from the start, with openers Dinesh Karthik (66) and S Vidyut (56) scoring at a frenetic pace, bringing up the hundred in the thirteenth over. Ramesh Powar later struck back with two wickets in two balls to leave South at 145 for 4 but Hemang Badani (68*) and S Badrinath (47) played positively, adding 108 for the fifth wicket. Chasing 278, West looked out of contention at 145 for 7 before Yusuf Pathan (56) started the fightback. Zaheer Khan and Agarkar propelled their team close to the target with some lusty blows but fell short.

Even more than confident opponents, West Indies face a formidable psychological barrier entering the second Test against New Zealand at the Basin Reserve tomorrow.It was erected in the few hours it took for certain victory to turn into stunning defeat in the first Test at Auckland’s Eden Park on Sunday, the implications of which were spelled out yesterday by Chris Gayle.”Devastating” was the word he used twice to explain the effect of the collapse from the opening partnership of 148 between himself and Daren Ganga to 263 all out that left West Indies 27 runs short of their winning goal. “If you dropped a pin you could hear it,” was how Gayle put it. “It was a shock, you couldn’t believe it. It was devastating.””I’m a person who is expressionless sometimes,” Gayle noted, with not a little understatement. “But it really hurts inside to go about losing a game. It is devastating to everyone. Every day you have to go to the drawing board and try to work out when the turnaround for West Indies cricket will be,” he added. “We still have a lot of cricket to play, we still have a lot of talent there and we still can get the job done.”In the interim, there has been the further setback of the loss of Ramnaresh Sarwan, a quality batsman in the pivotal No.3 position with a healthy average of 40 in his 59 Tests. Runako Morton, the standout in the preceding one-day internationals, gets the chance his form deserved, but team balance denied, in Auckland. Morton, the 27-year-old Nevisian, is a tough competitor for whom marriage and renewed religious convictions have combined to turn around a troubled career. His fielding, especially at slip, enhance his batting but, with only two Tests to his name, he lacks Sarwan’s experience.The left hamstring strain that restricted Jerome Taylor to eight overs in Auckland has also ruled him out of consideration here. He is a young fast bowler of considerable promise but, with only four Tests spread over three years, his replacement by Daren Powell, won’t diminish an attack short of experience. It is not personnel changes that will determine the level of the West Indies’ performance as much as how they respond to the “devastating” events of only a few days ago. Gayle’s forthright assessment of the mood in the camp at the moment of defeat in Auckland revealed the natural, initial reaction. It was as much to say that if they couldn’t win from a position of such strength, then they would never win. In the three days leading up to this Test, the main task of Bennett King, WestIndies’ coach, and his staff and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the captain, and his senior men was obvious. It was to persuade the players to take the more positive view that, in Auckland, they put themselves in an excellent position to defeat opponents with home advantage, three places higher than them on the ICC Test ratings and overwhelming favourites at the start. They can, therefore, do so again.King – now more relaxed following the predictable conclusions of the unnecessary and distracting Hendriks Report – commented after Auckland that they did not seize the moments when they were repeatedly presented with in Auckland. It is the weakness of all sporting teams unaccustomed to winning and few are as unaccustomed as the West Indies recently. A record of nine defeats in 12 Tests, the last seven in succession, leaves mental scars not easily erased. It is why the first Test result was even more demoralising than all the others. Victory would have been an incalculable fillip to self-belief, even the “turning point” Brian Lara predicted before the series . Lara spoke enthusiastically then of “a hunger in the team”. He said he sensed that the players were “embarrassed” by their performances in their 4-1 loss in the ODI series and noted a “very firm belief” that they could compete against New Zealand. That hunger and belief were clearly minimised by the first Test defeat.

By reputation, record and sheer force of personality, Lara is the likeliest catalyst to restoring them. He was more visibly and audibly involved than usual in Auckland, with tactical discussions with Chanderpaul and Sarwan and in cheer-leading in the field. The defeat, his double-failure with the bat and his dismissal by Shane Bond with the only two balls he received from the fast bowler were indignities enough to intensify his competitive edge. As history shows, the best from Lara does not necessarily translate into a team triumph but another double-hundred would not be out of place over the next five days.Nor would even half that for Chanderpaul. The beleaguered skipper has been unfairly burdened with a job for which he is not suited and in which he is clearly uncomfortable. It has diverted his focus from what he does best, score runs so consistently that he averages 43. The upshot is that he has not managed a half-century in his last 11 Test innings. Such a decline impinges of any leader’s authority, as the West Indies well know from their own tactic of targeting the opposition captain during the glory days under Clive Lloyd. Certainly, Chanderpaul has become less and less assured in both his roles.Lara, Chanderpaul and all the batsmen should find conditions more sympathetic to their cause than Auckland’s which offered movement through the air and off a pitch of variable pace so that totals were between 257 and 275 and only so many through missed catches on both sides and West Indies’ inability to seize their moments.

Scorecard

Carlton Baugh stroked a belligerent half-century to lift West Indies A to a series-clinching four-wicket victory over England A at the Windward Club. Baugh, the dimunitive wicketkeeper-batsman, pulled West Indies A from a precarious 50 for 5 to help them to a target of 182 with ten overs to spare.Omari Banks, the offspinner, had led the choke operation this morning, snaring three wickets and restricting England A to a modest 181. Marlon Samuels and Darren Sammy chipped in with two wickets apiece and, barring Alex Wharf’s rapid 37, none of the batsmen found the going too easy.West Indies A stumbled to 50 for 5, but were bailed out of trouble by Baugh. With the pressure on, Baugh lashed 71 off 73 balls with five fours and four sixes that eventually guided West Indies to a comfortable victory. It took them to a 3-2 series win after a fine 1-0 triumph in the two-match unofficial Test series. Baugh was especially severe on Gareth Batty, the offspinner, who he belted for three sixes and he thoroughly dominated a sixth-wicket partnership of 101 with Narsingh Deonarine.Left-handed Deonarine, short of runs in the series, benefited from a vital missed stumping on 9 to finish on an unbeaten 34, while Darren Sammy rushed West Indies to victory by spanking 20 off just 16 balls with four boundaries. Baugh first signalled his intentions by lifting Batty over cover for his first six. The second also went over cover off the back foot against the same bowler, who was then lifted over midwicket.His fourth six was his most memorable, charging fast medium Rikki Clarke and lifting him over extra-cover. Baugh eventually holed out to deep midwicket attempting a fifth six with 31 runs still needed, but there were no further alarms for West Indies.Their early problems were caused by Sajid Mahmood, the tall fast bowler, who emerged as the leading wicket-taker in both the Tests and limited-overs series with 24 scalps overall. Mahmood, who finished with 3 for 34 in nine overs, had Lendl Simmons caught at the wicket, induced Marlon Samuels (19) into top-edging an attempted hook and had Sylvester Joseph (7) chipping a catch to cover.

Glenn McGrath is expecting a pay cut after taking time off to support his wife during her battle with cancer in Cricket Australia’s list of its 25 contracted players for the 2006-07 international season.The season is an important one, in which Australia will attempt first to regain the Ashes at home and then retain the World Cup in the West Indies soon after. reported that McGrath’s management team was certain the 36-year-old would slide down the rankings list, having missed Australia’s recent tours of South Africa and Bangladesh due to his wife’s illness.Despite another consistent international year – 43 wickets in 10 Tests, and 16 wickets in 16 ODIs – by the time McGrath is back his absence from the national side will have stretched to ten months. That absence, believes McGrath, is likely to result in a drop down Australia’s rankings and a pay cut.Warren Craig, McGrath’s manager, while confirming the player intends to return to international duties for Australia’s next fixture, a triangular one-day series in Pakistan leading into the Champions Trophy, acknowledged that Stuart Clark’s emergence during the South Africa tour and Brett Lee’s good form may leave his client with a reduced role over the coming year.”Glenn isn’t expecting to hold his existing place on the list,” Craig told . “He was fairly high last year and he is realistic about things this time around. We will meet with Cricket Australia and find out officially where he is in the next couple of weeks. But he is expecting to slip a bit, just hopefully not too much.”The biggest beneficiaries, the paper reported, are likely to be Michael Hussey and Brett Lee, on the back of exceptional performances over the last season. Hussey, in particular, has had a phenomenal season; since making his Test debut he has scored 1139 runs at 75.93 in 11 matches and also played 35 of his 40 one-day internationals over the past year. Lee’s return to the Test arena after an 18-month absence, has seen him transformed into Australia’s spearhead. In 17 Tests, he has taken 72 wickets and his ODI performances have been impressive as usual, claiming 51 wickets at 25.29 from 31 appearances.Mick Lewis, Cameron White and James Hopes have not been so lucky and have been taken off the contracts list entirely, while Clark, Phil Jaques and Mitchell Johnson have been offered full contracts for the first time. Mark Cosgrove and Brett Dorey also miss out on a contract. Jaques, soon to be married, was pleased to learn of his contract though he was realistic about his immediate chances. “I am behind Australia’s best opening partnership of all time, so I have to bide my time for opportunities to come up. It would be a dream come true to play a revenge Ashes series this summer.”Cricket Australia will inform all players of their ranking and earnings over the next fortnight. Michael Brown, operations manager, did reveal that the base contract would increase from $145,000 to $150,000, while match payments of $12,250 for Tests and $4900 for one-day internationals would not change. The top contract, for the likes of Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist, and the entire payment pool would remain confidential.

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Streaming Audio: Real :: WMAEngland begin their third Test against Sri Lanka at Trent Bridge with one eye on the long term: they’ve opted to be cautious with Steve Harmison, not playing him till he gets more match practice, and Monty Panesar is under observation for his fielding, which could be a liability in the Ashes later this year. Cricinfo’s UK editor, Andrew Miller, chats with Amit Varma about this Test, and where England are in their development curve right now. Listen in.Download MP3 (right click and select “save target as”)
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Justin Langer is eager for his first taste of Twenty20 action after joining up with Somerset for a six-week stint. He is standing in for Dan Cullen, the offspinner, who is heading back to Australia for the Top End series in Darwin and Cairns.Langer, 35, has not played any cricket since the end of Australia’s tour of South Africa in early April following a blow to the head from Makhaya Ntini during the final Test at the Wanderers. He pulled out of the Bangladesh tour following medical advice.”I’ve never played any Twenty20 cricket so it’s going to be nice to play with some freedom,” he told BBC Bristol. “I watched the Australia-South Africa game last year and I can understand why people really enjoy it.”Langer spent three seasons with Middlesex from 1998 to 2000 and is credited with playing a significant role in the development of Andrew Strauss. He begins his latest county stay with Somerset’s C&G clash against Ireland, in Belfast, on Sunday and his first Twenty20 match follows two days later against Gloucestershire.Langer is following in the footsteps of Ricky Ponting who spent a period at Somerset two ago. “Ricky is one of my closest friends and that was one of the carrots for coming here because I know how much he enjoyed it,” added Langer. “To follow in his footsteps here is a real thrill for me.”