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An apex court bench hearing a dispute over the legality of constructing three new stands and a gymnasium at the MA Chidambaram stadium has asked the IPL authorities and Chennai municipal corporation to reconsider staging league matches.

Amol Karhadkar09-May-2014The decision over whether Chennai could host IPL games in 2014 is likely to be made on Saturday in a meeting between the IPL authorities and representatives of the Chennai municipal corporation. An apex court bench which has been hearing dispute over the legality of reconstruction of three stands and a gymnasium at the MA Chidambaram Stadium has ordered both the parties to reach an amicable settlement with regard to staging IPL matches.The meeting will be held in Mumbai and if Chepauk, the home of the controversial yet successful Chennai Super Kings franchise, is ruled out to host any of the five matches – three home games of Super Kings, a qualifier and the eliminator – then the Jharkhand State Cricket Association stadium in Ranchi will be the likely replacement.The home ground of Super Kings and India captain MS Dhoni, which was Super Kings’ base during last year’s Champions League, has been allotted two of the five home games for the IPL side this season.The legality of the reconstruction of stands has been questioned ever since the Chepauk was renovated ahead of the 2011 World Cup. Most of the matches played in Chennai after the World Cup have been played with the disputed stands locked out.

Mushfiqur Rahim and Nasir Hossain picked up important centuries to guide Bangladeshis to 377 for 7 when they declared. However, St Kitts & Nevis opener Shane Jeffers struck back with an attacking century of his own

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Sep-2014
ScorecardMushfiqur Rahim was more composed than Nasir Hossain, who made his first fifty-plus score since early June•WICB Media Photo/Randy BrooksMushfiqur Rahim and Nasir Hossain picked up important centuries on day two of Bangladesh’s warm-up game in Warner Park. But the day would not end well for the visitors after St Kitts & Nevis’ Shane Jeffers pummeled 118.Shivnarine Chanderpaul cruised to an unbeaten 70 as the bowlers struggled to put together a string of good overs. At stumps, the home side were 232 for 4 after Bangladesh had declared on 377 for 7.Mushfiqur was the first to reach the three-figure mark and remained not out on 106 off 170 balls, with eight fours and three sixes. Nasir managed his first fifty-plus score since early June, grinding out 100 off 153 balls. The pair added 191 runs for the seventh wicket but the moment Nasir got out, Mushfiqur placed the onus on his bowlers. But they did not respond well.Jeffers’ aggressive intent rattled them so much that by the time his opening partner Shaquille Martina was dismissed for 9, the total had swollen to 77 in 19 overs.Jeffers collected 22 fours and was finally dismissed for 118 off 131 balls, caught at deep midwicket by Mahmudllah off Shuvagata Hom. There was a wicket each for seamer Rubel Hossain and left-arm spinner Taijul Islam as well.

The Ajax pair are dominating transfer rumours, but they are not the only exciting youngsters excelling in the Netherlands' top flight

With Ajax's Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt heavily linked to the likes of Barcelona and Manchester City, the Eredivisie has been thrown into the limelight in recent months.

The pair spearhead an exciting new generation in Dutch football, but they are well-backed by a whole host of young compatriots and still just a drop in the bucket of talent in the Netherlands' top flight.

From the top of the table right down to the bottom, from the Netherlands to Brazil and even Japan, here are 15 rising stars in a league where its trust in youth continues to be justified.

GettySteven Bergwijn (PSV, 21)It’s no surprise that PSV have a perfect record in the league this season as, in addition to Hirving Lozano’s contributions on the opposite wing, Steven Bergwijn has provided five goals and six assists. The skilful 21-year-old is a fantastic dribbler with incredible pace, all attributes that have earned him his first senior caps for the Netherlands and links with Liverpool and Manchester United.AdvertisementGettyMatthijs de Ligt (Ajax, 19)Matthijs de Ligt’s name will be familiar to many as it’s one linked with Manchester City, Juventus and Barcelona. The 19-year-old centre-back is a brilliant reader of play, a strong tackler and has an aerial presence that proves effective at both ends of the pitch. Mature beyond his years with technical ability that is typical of any Dutch defender, De Ligt is expected to earn his big-money move sooner rather than later.GettyRitsu Doan (Groningen, 20)Groningen desperately gathered together the funds to make Ritsu Doan’s loan deal permanent in the summer, and it’s clear to see why. The creative midfielder, who is also effective out wide, scored nine times and provided three assists in his debut season and, with Manchester City having shown an interest, it seems unlikely the Dutch club will keep their star man much longer.ENJOYED THIS STORY?

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GettyKasper Dolberg (Ajax, 21)Recruited to Ajax by the same man who brought in Christian Eriksen and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Kasper Dolberg is a ruthless finisher with excellent technique. His ability was abundantly clear in his 16 goals across 2016-17, before the Dane lost his place, and his confidence, last term. Dolberg is looking back to his best again though, despite injuries in pre-season, with five goals in five starts this year.

Kevin Pietersen’s taped little finger on the right hand is giving Delhi Daredevils some anxious moments ahead of their game against Royal Challengers Bangalore

Nagraj Gollapudi13-Apr-2014Kevin Pietersen’s taped little finger on the right hand is giving Delhi Daredevils some anxious moments, four days ahead of the their first match in the IPL. Pietersen, appointed the captain by the franchise, arrived last week in Delhi to join the squad with what is being described as a “niggle” in his finger. He subsequently avoided batting during the training sessions in Delhi. Pietersen continued to wrap his last two fingers on his right hand during the team’s training sessions to raise concerns.However, Daredevils’ chief executive Hemant Dua remained confident on Pietersen being fit for the team’s first match on April 17 against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Sharjah. “He has said he will be fine. He has done a little bit of batting,” Dua said. According to , Pietersen is carrying a fracture but Dua was not ready to ring out the alarm bells yet. “I can’t comment on that. He hasn’t told me that he will not be playing the first game. It is a niggle he has told me.”Pietersen himself has sounded relaxed about the taped finger and even joked that he would avoid shaking hands in public as it would aggravate his injury. “I hit my little finger last week, but I will be okay. Just protecting it ( with the bandage covering) so I won’t be shaking hands with anybody ( laughs) in the next few weeks. It’s just a niggle, but I will be good,” Pietersen had told the earlier this week.The tournament will be Pietersen’s return to active cricket since his England contract was abruptly terminated by the ECB in February, less than a week before the IPL player auction. The sack, though, did not hurt Pietersen’s stock at all as Daredevils bought him for INR 9 crore (US $ 1.4 million) and a month later, unveiled him as the franchise captain.

The WICB and the USA Cricket Association have announced a “long-term joint partnership” to help develop cricket in the USA

ESPNcricinfo staff08-May-2014The WICB and the USA Cricket Association (USACA) have announced a “long-term joint partnership” to help develop cricket in the USA. The plan includes bringing the best performing players in USACA leagues and clubs into WICB development programmes, and having a member of West Indies’ board of directors sit on the USA board to prop up cricket administration in the country.The focus will be on bettering player performance, administration and the financial state of the game in the USA, the joint statement from the two boards said. To facilitate the third point, USACA’s chief executive “have a position” on the WICB’s executive committee.WICB president Whycliffe Cameron said the West Indies board was supporting the USACA’s attempt to bring in governance changes. “We are going to be engaged on a day-to-day basis on the three core pillars for development,” Cameron said. “We will rapidly build plans and open up infrastructure for bringing top US players into the West Indian development system, and we are supporting the finalisation of the current USACA governance changes.”Gladstone Dainty, the USACA president, said the “access to a very close geographic Full Member” was a great chance for his administration and the players. “Having the opportunity to work closely with another Full Member country offers exciting opportunities for US players looking to sharpen skills and experiences with world-class cricketers. The WICB will also, via their board member on the USACA board, support the governance change programme that the USACA board is currently managing. This is a long-term strategy to help build the three foundations for a highly successful US cricketing market: high performance development, models for economic growth and modern-day governance.”Prior to establishing a formal partnership, the WICB had invited USACA to send a USA national team to participate in the Nagico Super50 regional tournament this past January and February, according to a USACA source. USA would have joined Ireland as Associate nations in the event but USACA had to decline the invitation in part because of the costs USACA would have incurred in order to send a team to play three group stage games in Trinidad and Tobago. A Combined Campuses and Colleges team wound up participating instead.In November 2009, USACA announced a “strategic partnership” with New Zealand Cricket which was intended to also facilitate the sharing of resources between the countries. Dipak Patel traveled to Florida to conduct a preparation camp for the USA U-19 squad ahead of their participation two months later in the 2010 U19 World Cup in New Zealand. Patel also served as a consultant coach for the USA senior team in February 2010 at that year’s World T20 Qualifier in the UAE and ICC WCL Division Five in Nepal. Although there were initial plans to send USA players to New Zealand to develop and get experience in their professional setup, those plans eventually fell through.New Zealand Cricket also signaled their intentions as part of the partnership to stage games in the USA, including the proposed launch of a professional T20 league. New Zealand played Sri Lanka in two T20Is at Central Broward Regional Park in Florida in May 2010 followed by two more T20Is against the West Indies in the summer of 2012. USACA sold the hosting rights for the pair of 2012 matches to the WICB for $1. However, the WICB and NZC chose not to stage any further matches at the Florida venue for the upcoming New Zealand tour to the West Indies this summer, which includes two T20Is to be held in Dominica and three Test matches.This WICB partnership comes at a vital time for the USACA. The organistaion is on shaky ground, given it could be facing suspension from the ICC with its control over the sport in the country slipping. Under ICC rules, Associate membership is dependent upon a board proving it is “the sole recognised governing body for cricket in the country”. But dissatisfaction with the USACA had meant around a third of the country’s senior hard-ball leagues signed up with the rival organisation, the American Cricket Federation.In another setback, apparent frustration at the USACA’s failure to accept governance reform was said to be a contributing factor the board’s chief executive, Darren Beazley, recently quitting – his yet-to-be-named replacement will sit on the WICB’s executive committee. High performance manager Andy Pick also resigned, citing political interference in his selection and development plans. The board is believed to be around $3m in debt and if the ICC suspend it and withdraw funding – believed to be around $400,000 a year – it could spell the end for it.The USACA had twice before been suspended by the ICC, both times with Dainty at the helm; in 2005 and 2007 the ICC took the action due to governance issues.

Michael Hussey could make a return to Western Australia and first-class cricket after expressing a desire to play in the second half of the Sheffield Shield season

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jan-2014Michael Hussey, the former Australia batsman, could make a return to Western Australia and first-class cricket after expressing a desire to play in the second half of the Sheffield Shield season.Hussey has only played T20 cricket since the end of the 2012-13 domestic season in Australia and raised eyebrows by moving across the country to represent Sydney Thunder, rather than Perth Scorchers, in the third Big Bash League. After retiring from Test cricket last summer, Hussey was not retained on Western Warriors’ list of contracted players for 2013-14 but he has since indicated his desire for a Shield return with his home state.Responding to Hussey’s comments, Justin Langer, a former Australia team-mate and current WA coach, said that any decision would have to wait until after the BBL. Regardless, Hussey will play in front of the Perth support again on Friday, when he leads the Thunder in pursuit of their first win.”We’re always happy to talk with Mike however we’re in the middle of a BBL campaign, so are focused on the Perth Scorchers and our match tomorrow night,” Langer said”Mike has expressed some interest in making himself available for selected Sheffield Shield matches at the end of the season. We will look at this with Mike after the BBL and with a view to what is in the best interests of the Western Warriors at the time.”Western Australia are currently third in the Shield table, with four games left to play. Speaking to the , the 38-year-old Hussey said that he could be available to play in WA’s next Shield fixture – against Tasmania beginning on February 12 – but that the final call would be Langer’s.”Well, it’s something I have been sort of chucking around with JL,” Hussey said. “It’s a bit in his court really. I have shown a bit of interest to play some games at the end of the year, but yeah we’ll have to wait and see what happens.”JL spoke to me early on in the summer and just said did I have any interest in playing Shield cricket and I said it was going to be too busy and too hectic before Christmas and obviously while the Big Bash was on. But afterwards I am definitely happy to look at it and we basically left it that we’ll talk closer to the date and we’ll see what happens.”

Shane Watson will not return to Australia’s Test XI in South Africa until he can bowl, effectively ruling him out of the second Test in Port Elizabeth

Daniel Brettig16-Feb-2014Shane Watson will not return to Australia’s Test XI in South Africa until he can bowl, effectively ruling him out of the second Test in Port Elizabeth where the tourists will hope to seal the series following their enormous victory over the bedraggled hosts at Centurion.While Watson has returned to running and batted in Centurion’s indoor nets towards the end of the Test, following a calf strain, he has not yet attempted to bowl and cannot be expected to push out any of the incumbent batsmen given their recent performances. The returning Shaun Marsh and debutant Alex Doolan each made telling contributions to the 281-run hiding, even if they were overshadowed by the brilliance of Mitchell Johnson on a pitch of variable bounce.Australia’s coach, Darren Lehmann, who rated the result alongside any he had been involved in away from home, expressed his preference for Watson being able to bowl before he returned, while also adding that it would be extremely difficult to change the combination that had so humbled Graeme Smith’s side inside four days.”We’ll have to see if he’s fit and ready to play, and then we’ll make a decision. That’s what we did with the touring party and with this Test match, the next Test match is the same,” Lehman said. “It’s always very hard to fit him in if you’re winning. We don’t like to change the side too much, but if he’s fit and ready to go we’ll have to wait and see.”You’d like him to bowl. Firstly we’ve got to get him fit, then we’ll see what happens from there. From my point of view we’ve got to get him fit. He’s pretty close. He was running [on Saturday], but at the end of the day we’ve got to get him fit and right and ready to go to play cricket at this level.”Australia’s ambush of South Africa on a ground where they had previously boasted a dominant record bore comparison to the seismic defeat of England in Brisbane to set the tone for a 5-0 Ashes sweep. However, Lehmann observed this match was of even greater import in the context of the series, as South Africa now had only two matches left to re-group.”It’s a three-match series, it’s pretty important isn’t it?” he said. “If it’s a five-match series then obviously you would like to win the first one but it’s not as important as it is in a three-match series. It was a great result for us, away from home. We spoke about that at the start of the tour … that you have to start winning away from home to get noticed and climb up the ranks and be respected by your opponents, but also play the brand of cricket you want to play. We need to do that day-in, day-out. That’s no different next week.”Apart from the efforts of Johnson, Marsh, Steven Smith, Doolan and David Warner, Lehmann also highlighted the committed and thorough nature of the team’s fielding. Next to a South Africa side that looked rusty and vulnerable in the field, putting down numerous chances, the Australians did not miss a single one, and were still diving around as if their lives depended on it well after victory was in sight.”Obviously we caught very well in this game – I don’t think we put down a catch, so that’s good,” Lehmann said. “The pleasing one for me is at nine down when Chris Rogers dived for the boundary. That means the hunger [is there]. That’s what we want from our side. Each and every day we represent Australia we want to have that hunger and drive to play the best we can. At nine down … when you’re seeing blokes dive, I like.”I’m proud of everything we did, we ticked off everything we wanted to do in this game, now it’s a case of backing it up.”One man Lehmann expected some improvement from in Port Elizabeth is Ryan Harris, who looked short of rhythm in the first innings before returning to his more familiar high standards in the second. At times he appeared to struggle with the chronic knee problem that will require surgery after this tour, but Lehmann reckoned he would be better for the run.”He struggled a bit,” Lehmann admitted. “I think not playing for a while hampered him a little bit. But he certainly bowled better [second innings], in his second spell, it was a bit more like the Ryan Harris we know. So I expect him to get better.”

The cricketing gods seem to have had enough of batsmen ravaging helpless bowlers, and have called up a friend: the weather gods

The Preview by Sidharth Monga25-Oct-2013Match factsSaturday, October 26, 2013
Start time 1330 local (0800 GMT)An Odisha Cricket Association press release wasn’t too optimistic about chances of play•Odisha Cricket AssociationBig PictureThe cricketing gods seem to have had enough of batsmen ravaging helpless bowlers, and have called up a friend. The weather gods have swooped in, washed out the Ranchi ODI – 312 in 54.1 overs before their intervention – and now pose an even bigger threat to the game in Cuttack.The organisers already sound resigned. An Odisha Cricket Association release said: “We deeply regret to mention that the sunny weather that we have been expecting has failed to come true. The ground is completely water-logged and the chances of its drying up are extremely remote.”It has rained in Cuttack for five continuous days in the lead-up to the match, and the forecast for Saturday is similar. More than two balls and new field restrictions, the words that have been uttered regularly in Cuttack has been: helicopters – to dry the ground should it stop raining; wells – being dug up around the ground to help drain the ground; and of course Duckworth-Lewis.The helicopter, too, didn’t prove effective. “The operators of the helicopters visited the ground and expressed that they could dry the pitch but were unable to remove the mud that has accumulated through the playing area.”Ravindra Jadeja – although he added his side was prepared to play whatever the duration of the match presented to them – was candid enough to say in his press conference, “It doesn’t look like there will be a match tomorrow.” Shane Watson was less optimistic about the game, and already seemed to be thankful the rain might have cut short the series significantly. “A five-match series is a bit more enjoyable anyway,” Watson said. “The rain has sort of made it that way.”For the Cuttack groundstaff and locals, this isn’t a matter of relief. They badly want the game to happen. The challenge for the groundstaff begins once it stops raining for a considerable period of time, signs of which have been scarce ever since Cyclone Phailin crossed Odisha earlier this month. The outfield isn’t quite submerged like the Indian roads in rain, but it gives the impression you will sink ankle deep once you step on it. The water level in the drain outside the stadium is pretty high too, which is why the wells are being dug.If the game indeed is abandoned India will be left with a more difficult task in the series. Down 1-2 after four games, they will need to win the remaining two matches to win the series.Form guideAustralia WLWWL (most recent games first, completed matches)
India LWLWWIn the spotlightRavindra Jadeja loves the Barabati Stadium. One of his fabled three first-class triples came here, he took four wickets in an ODI against Sri Lanka here, and is quick to remind that he even scored a quick fifty in an Deodhar Trophy match in Cuttack. Even in this series so far, Jadeja has bowled all his 40 overs at 4.85 an over, by some distance the best economy-rate among the specialist bowlers in this high-scoring series. And he says he doesn’t even care if you use one ball or two balls; if there is turn in the pitch, he will extract it.
Before the start of this series, we knew George Bailey as the nice Tassie bloke with a Paul Collingwood-like game who could fight it out and make crucial if not big contributions in tough conditions, but we didn’t expect him to be anywhere near the highest run-getter in a series played on flat pitches surrounded by quick outfields in India. After four matches, Bailey stands at the top, with more runs at a higher average and a higher strike-rate than even Virat Kohli. The lack of centuries, though, will irk the Australia captain, who could be getting close to an Ashes ticket with his performances.Team newsThe changes in the bowling combination seemed to work at the start of the Ranchi ODI. Mohammed Shami took the wickets, Jaydev Unadkat was tight, ad for the first time in the series India kept Australia to under 300. The two quicks could retain their places, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar possibly replacing the profligate R Vinay Kumar.India (probable) 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Suresh Raina, 5 Yuvraj Singh, 6 MS Dhoni (capt. & wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar/ R Vinay Kumar, 10 Jaydev Unadkat, 11 Mohammed ShamiAustralia have played the same XI in the first four games, and are likely to do so again.Australia (probable) 1 Aaron Finch, 2 Phillip Hughes, 3 Shane Watson, 4 George Bailey (capt.), 5 Adam Voges, 6 Glenn Maxwell, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 James Faulkner, 9 Mitchell Johnson, 10 Clint McKay, 11 Xavier DohertyStats and trivia The last – and the only – time India and Australia decided to play in Cuttack, rain joined in, and the captains couldn’t even come out for the toss. If he scores another 196 runs in his next three innings, Virat Kohli will be the fastest man to 5,000 ODI runs. He has played 111 innings so far; Viv Richards reached 5,000 in his 114th innings.Quotes”We are 2-1 behind, so we want to win a match whenever we get an opportunity. It’s a home series, so obviously everyone wants the match to happen and for us to do well.”
“Doesn’t look good at the moment. That’s for sure. We will be very surprised if we get on tomorrow after seeing how wet the grounds were even when coming from the airport to this hotel.”

A round-up of the first day of the Group A Ranji Trophy matches on December 7, 2014

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Dec-2014Group A
ScorecardFile photo: CM Gautam saved Karnataka from a collapse but fell six short of a hundred•K SivaramanFifties from Kunal Kapoor and CM Gautam revived defending champions Karnataka after they were struggling at 97 for 5 because of the Tamil Nadu pacers at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. J Kaushik and M Mohammed posed plenty of problems for the hosts early on before Kapoor and Gautam put on 96 for the sixth wicket to steer them towards 200.Put in to bat, the Karnataka openers were caught behind – Robin Uthappa (14) by L Balaji and Mayank Agarwal (9) by Kaushik in successive deliveries. Just when the score went past 50, Manish Pandey ran himself out for a brisk 24 by risking a second run after steering the ball to deep fine leg, and his dive could not undo Mohammed’s accurate throw.Kaushik dented them further with a double blow, getting rid of Karun Nair and Stuart Binny for single-digit scores, drawing edges off both batsmen. Kapoor resisted at the other end with a gritty 87, which featured 18 fours, and consolidated with Gautam. Karnataka were still going at four an over when Mohammed broke the crucial stand with an incoming delivery to rattle Kapoor’s stumps. Gautam got steady company from Shreyas Gopal as they stitched a stand of 56 for the seventh wicket as the team score went towards 250, and Gautam’s towards a hundred.Mohammed broke that partnership as well, with Gopal’s wicket for 24 and struck the stumps again when Vinay Kumar missed a slog in his next over. Batting with the tail, Gautam was only six runs away from his hundred when he handed a catch straight to M Rangarajan at cover for Balaji’s second wicket. Kaushik wrapped up the innings for 290 to finish with 4 for 53; Mohammed took 3 for 80 and Balaji 2 for 50.Tamil Nadu openers Kaushik Gandhi and Abhinav Mukund played out the 10 overs in the evening for 22 runs.
ScorecardDomestic stalwarts Mumbai were troubled by both pace and spin as they were dismissed by Jammu & Kashmir for 236 at the Wankhede Stadium. Pacers Ram Dayal, Umar Nazir and Samiullah Beigh had reduced the hosts to 100 for 4 and then 158 for 6, despite an opening stand of fifty, before newly-appointed captain Suryakumar Yadav rescued them with a fifty. J&K scored 88 for 1 to reduce the lead to 148 by stumps.Debutants Kevin Almeida and Bravish Shetty put on 51 for the first wicket after Mumbai chose to bat. But both fell in successive overs and Wasim Jaffer was bowled by Beigh for 15. Dayal rocked them further by sending Aditya Tare and Abhishek Nayak back for low single-digit scores to make the score 134 for 5. Suryakumar counterattacked with a 55-ball 57, with nine fours and a six. Dhawal Kulkarni fought back too by hammering four sixes and a four in his unbeaten 42 to lead the score past 200 as Parvez Rasool took two wickets and left-arm spinner Waseem Raza took 3 for 29.J&K lost opener Adil Rishi in the fourth over before Shubham Khajuria (47*) and Bandeep Singh (34*) put on an unbeaten 82 for the second wicket.
ScorecardAnureet Singh’s 10th five-for in first-class cricket put Railways on top on the first day as Madhya Pradesh were wrapped up for 181 in Delhi. Anureet’s five were complemented by three from Krishnakant Upadhyay which did not allow any MP batsman to score a fifty.Jalaj Saxena and Rameez Khan top-scored for MP with 41 each after they were put in to bat. They were at a comfortable 70 for 1 before losing four wickets within nine runs as captain Devendra Bundela and Harpreet Singh fell for ducks. Rameez and Zafar Ali revived the innings briefly with a stand of 48 for the sixth wicket. However, Anureet took three more wickets after Rameez and Zafar fell and finished the innings in 79 overs.Railways openers Asad Pathan and Abhishek Kaushik scored 21 runs together in the nine overs they faced before stumps to reduce the lead to 160.
ScorecardSudip Chatterjee’s composed, unbeaten 91 aided by vital contributions from opener Arindam Das and wicketkeeper Shreevats Goswami helped Bengal kick off their Ranji Trophy season on a decent note. Read the full report here.

Left out of India’s Test squad, Suresh Raina nudged the national selectors with an attacking century on the opening day of Uttar Pradesh’s second-round match against Baroda at Moti Bagh

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Nov-2013
ScorecardFile photo – Suresh Raina hit 12 fours and four sixes•Associated PressLeft out of India’s Test squad, Suresh Raina nudged the national selectors with an attacking century on the opening day of Uttar Pradesh’s second-round match against Baroda at Moti Bagh. Raina’s 123, off 154 balls, helped UP to 291 on an evenly-matched day. Baroda struck with quick wickets on the final session and had all but wrapped up the innings before stumps.The pitch at Moti Bagh wasn’t as tranquil as the surroundings, though. There was bounce and plenty of turn for the spinners as the day wore on and Raina did well to overcome those challenges, and in particular the left-arm spinner Bhargav Bhatt, who took 5 for 98.UP lost all nine wickets to the spin duo of Bhatt and the offspinner Utkarsh Patel. Bhatt had Mukul Dagar caught at backward short leg before Utkarsh got one to turn square to induce a thin edge off Tanmay Srivastava to the wicketkeeper Pinal Shah. It was the first of five dismissals for Pinal, who was impressive behind the stumps off the spinners.Mohammad Kaif and Raina settled in after lunch to add 85 for the third wicket before Kaif was caught behind trying to cut Bhatt. Raina and Parvinder Singh played aggressively in their stand of 110 for the fourth. Raina smashed four sixes and one of those, over long-on, brought up his century.Raina is among several possible contenders for a Test spot, one of which will be vacated by Sachin Tendulkar at the end of the West Indies Tests. Rohit Sharma was given a chance thanks to his splendid limited-overs form and he grabbed the opportunity with century on debut in Kolkata in a pressure scenario. Simultaneously, across the country, Raina scored a century to give the selectors something to think about before they pick the team to South Africa.Aggression, however, got the better of both Raina and Parvinder. Parvinder gave Bhatt the charge and was stumped, before Raina charged the same bowler and was caught at deep cover. UP lost their way after tea and Bhatt brought up his five-wicket haul with a swagger, taking a low return catch that rocketed towards him. As a send-off, Bhatt showed five fingers to the departing Praveen Gupta, as West Indies fast bowler Fidel Edwards does. UP collapsed from 249 for 3 to 291 for 9 at stumps.