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ScorecardSri Lanka Under-19 pulled off a convincing six-wicket win over Bangladesh Under-19 in the last match of the series after its opening bowlers shared nine of the ten wickets to restrict the hosts to a modest 123.Opting to bat Bangladesh lost four wickets in the first nine overs of the match as Denuwan Fernando and Chathura Peiris caused plenty of problems. Bangladesh never really recovered from that dismal start and only brief fightbacks, with three batsmen reaching the 20-run mark, enabled them to cross 100. Ashraful Aziz, batting at No. 8, top scored for Bangladesh with a patient 28 as his side was all out in the 41st over.Fernando finished with 5 for 28 while Peiris picked up four wickets. Lokuge Chandimal, Sri Lanka’s wicketkeeper, shone behind the stumps by picking up four catches.Sri Lanka never really faltered in a reply and a 68-run opening partnership between Chandimal (28) and Dilshan Munaweera (34). Although both batsmen fell in quick succession, followed by two more wickets towards the end, the target was too small for Bangladesh bowlers to pose serious problems as Sri Lanka completed a consolation win after having already lost the series.

Scorecard

Clinton Perren played a lone hand for Queensland, scoring 103, but New South Wales were well on top at close of play on the third day at the Bankstown Oval. Perren’s century lifted Queensland to 259, but they were still 207 behind NSW, who chose not to enforce the follow-on. Batting again, they reached 2 for 47, stretching their lead to a comfortable 254.Perren was the only Queensland batsman to reach a half-century. The innings was also propped up by an unbeaten 40 from Andy Bichel.NSW suffered an early setback in their second innings when Phil Jaques, fresh from an unbeaten 240, was caught behind by Wade Seccombe off Joe Dawes for a duck. However, with a lead of 254, they were well-placed to add some quick runs on the fourth morning and then set the Bulls a stiff target in the last innings.

Pakistani speedster Waqar Younis will touch down at Sydney Airport tomorrow, in time to face University of NSW star and former Test foe Michael Slater this Saturday. The two will go head-to-head at North Sydney Oval, rekindling old rivalries stretching back to Karachi in 1994/95. Younis will be a welcome addition to North Sydney’s bowling strength, but has only claimed Slater’s wicket once in the Test arena. Slater was part of Mosman captain Trent Johnston’s hat-trick last round, and will be looking for some much-needed runs this time out.For all prospective Speedblitz Blues players, only three match days now remain before the State Selectors name their team for the Blues’ first match, on Sunday 26 October in Bowral. This weekend will comprise Round 3’s first day on Saturday, followed by Round 2 of the First Grade Limited-Overs competition on Sunday.On Saturday, Michael Bevan will make a rare Grade appearance for Many-Warringah, against Parramatta at Manly Oval. Bevan will be looking to play himself into form, while team-mate Shawn Bradstreet returns from injury.Speedblitz Blues team-mates Mark Waugh (Bankstown) and Simon Katich (Randwick Petersham) will be attempting to outdo each other at Bankstown Oval. Katich is in white-hot form, with a batting average after two matches of 172.00.At Howell Oval, Australian one-day bowler Nathan Bracken will partner former Australia A paceman Neil Maxwell in UTS-Balmain’s clash with last year’s finalists Penrith. The Panthers are winless after two rounds, and will be hoping that their batsmen can overcome the Tigers’ strong bowling attack.All Round 3 matches (Saturday, commencing 10.00am)- Bankstown v Randwick Petersham at Bankstown; Eastern Suburbs v Western Suburbs at Waverley; Gordon v Sydney University at Killara; Manly-Warringah v Parramatta at Manly; Mosman v Campbelltown-Camden at Rawson; North Sydney v University of NSW at North Sydney 1; Northern District v Hawkesbury at Waitara; Penrith v UTS-Balmain at Howell; St George v Fairfield-Liverpool at Hurstville; Sutherland v Blacktown at Caringbah.All Limited-Overs Round 2 matches (Sunday, commencing 9.30am)- Eastern Suburbs v North Sydney at Waverley; Gordon v University of NSW at Killara; Hawkesbury v UTS-Balmain at Owen Earle; Manly-Warringah v Campbelltown-Camden at Manly; Parramatta v Mosman at Old Kings; Penrith v Northern District at Howell; Randwick Petersham v Blacktown at Coogee; St George v Western Suburbs at Hurstville; Sutherland v Bankstown at Caringbah; Sydney University v Fairfield-Liverpool at University 1.

All Today’s Yesterdays – September 28 down the yearsSeptember 27 | September 291946
Birth of the regal Majid Khan, cousin of Imran, who was picked primarily as a bowler when he made his Test debut aged 18 but who was soon ensconced in the middle order by virtue of his scintillating strokeplay. He became the first Pakistani and the first person for 42 years to make a Test hundred before lunch against New Zealand at Karachi in 1976-77. But his most celebrated knocks came at a lower level: he led Punjab University to victory over Karachi with an unbeaten double-hundred after they had been 5 for 4, and he smashed 147 in 89 minutes for Pakistan against Glamorgan – who he later represented with distinction – in 1967, an innings that included 13 sixes, five in one over from the offspinner Roger Davis. A Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1970, Majid made almost 4000 runs in 63 Tests before becoming an ICC match referee and later Chief Executive of the PCB.1960
Birth of the little West Indian wizard Gus Logie. A brilliant short leg and a dangerous counter-attacker at No. 5 or 6, Logie specialised in the punchy, initiative-seizing cameo. In tandem with Jeff Dujon he was a regular pain in the neck for England, most notably at Lord’s in 1988 (when West Indies were 54 for 5) and at Trinidad in 1989-90 (when they were 29 for 5). A glorious, impish batsman of just 5 ft 4 ins, Logie played his last Test at Edgbaston in 1991 and finished with 2470 runs at 35.79.1971
Whatever happened to Matthew Elliott, who was born today? The top scorer on either side in the 1997 Ashes series with 556 runs, the tall, long-nosed Elliott looked a class act who was here to stay. But within a year of becoming a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1998, Elliott had played what may well be his last Test. Poor form certainly contributed to his demise – he made three ducks in six innings in the West Indies in 1998-99 – but he did himself few favours by getting on the wrong side of Steve Waugh during that tour. A gifted left-handed opener or No. 3 with all the shots in his locker, Elliott made three hundreds in his 20 Tests, including 199 at Headingley in 1997, when he was infamously dropped by Graham Thorpe off Mike Smith. He also played for Glamorgan in 2000, and, with great success, for Yorkshire in 2002.1996
In Nairobi, Muttiah Muralitharan and Romesh Kaluwitharana rained on Kenya’s parade. In the first official one-day international there, Murali took 4 for 18 and Kalu thrashed an 89-ball ton as Sri Lanka eased home by seven wickets, with almost 20 overs to spare, in the first match of the Kenya Centenary Cup.1973
England’s leading female legspinner was born. At the age of six Kathryn Leng, who was born today, informed her primary-school teacher that she would play cricket for England, and she was true to her word. Also a fine middle-order bat, Leng made history in 1999 when she became the first woman to play in the men’s Bradford League. She also became the first woman to play in a university match, for Leeds/Bradford UCCE, before earning a recall to the England women’s winter training squad ahead of their tour to India in January.1984
The first floodlit one-day international outside Australia took place at New Delhi, and Kepler Wessels broke the habit of a lifetime by playing some shots. His 107 – the only ODI hundred of his career – led Australia to a comfortable 48-run victory over India in the first of a five-match series.1999
Opening the innings, Lance Klusener smashed an unbeaten 101 as South Africa romped to a nine-wicket victory over Zimbabwe in their LG Cup match at Nairobi with 15 overs to spare. Apparently the ultimate pinch-hitter, Klusener has opened only nine times in ODIs. The reasons? As an opener, his 101 was preceded by a third-ball duck and followed by two first-ballers, a fearful waste of South Africa’s most lethal weapon. Unsurprisingly, he hasn’t opened since.1988
In the second Test in Faisalabad Javed Miandad was given out lbw for only the fourth time in 63 Test innings on home soil. But by then he had made 107, his 19th Test hundred, and denied Australia’s attempts to square the series. In all Miandad was given out leg-before only eight times in Tests in Pakistan and 25 times overseas.Other birthdays
1964 Irfan Bhatti (Pakistan)
1973 Colin Stuart (West Indies)

Bruce Patterson, 39, has been called up to play for Scotland in their Intercontinental Cup match against Holland at Mannofield, Aberdeen, next week. Patterson’s last international game was against Ireland in the home countries tournament in 2001. He is an opening batsman with three first-class hundreds to his name, and a wealth of experience.Stewart Bruce, the 34-year-old left-arm pace bowler, has also been named in the side. Bruce was forced to postpone his Scotland debut earlier this season, as he was serving in Iraq as an explosives expert. Majid Haq, the 20-year-old offspinner, is also in the squad for the Intercontinental Cup. Scotland’s success in the tournament could determine their future prospects in world cricket.Scotland captain Craig Wright said: “All the players for the Intercontinental Cup have to be Scotland-qualified, so neither Sriram nor Arafat is eligible. Instead, we are fortunate to have both Bruce Patterson and Stewart Bruce, with whom we were greatly impressed during the winter, available for this game.”Scotland C Wright (capt), S Bruce, A Butt, C. English, M Haq, P. Hoffmann, S. Knox, B Patterson, C. Smith, I. Stanger, R. Watson, F. Watts.

Australia 66 for 1 (Gilchrist 24*) beat USA 65 (Gillespie 4-15, Kasprowicz 4-14) by nine wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Ricky Ponting’s pre-match comments gave us a clue as to Australia’s intent in this match. It is rare for an international captain to be anything other than placatory when sizing up an opposition of lesser ability, but not on this occasion. Instead, Ponting sounded utterly unenthused at the prospect of a wasted day in the field, and warned that the USA might not learn a great deal from today’s match. He’s probably right as well – they didn’t hang around long enough to pick up any tidbits, as the entire match was done and dusted in just 31.5 overs.After winning the toss, Ponting made light of the perils of batting last on the same pitch that was used for India’s match against Kenya on Saturday, and chose to bowl in an attempt to brush the match aside as quickly as possible. Australia made the perfect start as well. Brett Lee, steaming in with the intent of a man who had not been an original choice today, struck with his second delivery of the match, as USA were introduced to the rigours of cricket at the very highest levelIn fact, Lee might have struck even earlier than that. Facing up to his first ball, Rohan Alexander dug out a screaming yorker that had set its sights on his big toe. But Lee’s second delivery was too good for the left-handed Mark Johnson, who stepped across his stumps and was bowled round his legs by a rapid inswinger (1 for 1).Leon Romero should have made it two in two when he flinched at an off-stump lifter, but Michael Clarke couldn’t cling on to a one-handed diving chance at third slip, after sighting the ball late. But Australia soon had their man. In Glenn McGrath’s first over, Romero set off for a quick single, took a detour around McGrath’s gangling frame, and was run out by six inches by Damien Martyn’s direct hit from gully (2 for 2).

A complete debacle was on the cards, but Steve Massiah, who spanked a magnificent 142 not out as USA beat Zimbabwe earlier in the week, was intent on demonstrating his side’s fighting qualities. He pulled a McGrath long-hop through midwicket with some of the flourish of a Michael Vaughan, before thumping Lee for two fours in a ragged over that went for 12, including two no-balls.That prompted a change of bowling, with Mike Kasprowicz entering the fray, and he too struck in his very first over. Alexander had been playing late and cagily ever since his early scare, dropping the ball into the gully region at every opportunity, but Kasprowicz’s second delivery took a thin edge through to Adam Gilchrist, and USA had slumped to 32 for 3. Two overs later, Kasprowicz struck again. Richard Staple, the captain, had just got off the mark with a streaky shoulder-of-the-bat four through third man, when he was pinned plumb in front by a fuller, faster delivery (38 for 4).With little support forthcoming from the opposite end, and Clayton Lambert watching from the sidelines after injuring himself in the New Zealand match, Massiah decided to take matters into his own hands. But he chose to take on the wrong bowler. An attempted smear off Kasprowicz was launched high into the off side, where Darren Lehmann positioned himself well beneath a steepling chance (46 for 5). And that was the end of the resistance. Kasprowicz immediately found himself on a hat-trick, as Tony Reid shuffled across his stumps, and though Kasprowicz overstepped for the crucial delivery, there was a fourth bowler awaiting his piece of the action.Jason Gillespie had been waiting in the wings, but now he devastated the tail in six venomous overs. The No. 11, Howard Johnson, provided some resistance (9 from 15 balls), but a total of 65 wasn’t exactly threatening – although Australia needed to complete their chase inside 11.5 overs to ensure that their run-rate was superior to New Zealand’s.Matthew Hayden certainly didn’t think much of USA’s efforts. His brief innings was erratic to say the least – full of premeditated charges and feints that bordered on the insulting. So it was with some glee that Howard Johnson found Hayden’s outside edge with a booming outswinger, to ensure it would not be an entirely fruitless day for USA.One over later, and it might have been even better for USA, but Tony Reid couldn’t cling onto a firm return chance. It was the only sniff that Gilchrist gave, and he wrapped up the match with a vast six over midwicket, to complete the match in 7.5 overs – the third-fastest run-chase in ODI history.

South Africa 193 for 3 in 45.5 overs (Dippenaar 74) beat Pakistan 192 in 49.3 overs (Abdul Razzaq 38, Pollock 3-33) by seven wickets, and won the series 3-2
Scorecard

South Africa completed a remarkable turnaround in this one-day series, winning the fifth and final match at Rawalpindi by seven wickets to come back from 0-2 down to take the series 3-2. Their heroes were Boeta Dippenaar, who anchored the innings with an accomplished 74, and Mark Boucher, the stand-in captain, who had an inspired time in his first ODI in charge. He had to step up to lead in the absence of Graeme Smith, who like Andrew Hall was banned from this match for misdemeanours back in the second game at Lahore.South Africa looked likely winners from early on, when Andre Nel made two important early breakthroughs. Shaun Pollock finished with the best figures, but Nel and Robin Peterson, the inexperienced slow left-armer, both took two important wickets as well.The return of Inzamam-ul-Haq after a leg injury did little to help Pakistan, who have underperformed after those two early victories. Batsman after batsman prodded and jabbed … and perished. None of the top-order batsmen was capable of playing the sheet-anchor role that was badly needed.To add to Pakistan’s woes, Boucher had a plan for every batsman, plus some inspired bowling changes and field-placings. And when South Africa batted, Dippenaar showed the Pakistanis how to go about building an innings, and with help from Herschelle Gibbs and Jacques Kallis he ensured that the victory was completed without much ado.South Africa took control as early as the second over of the day, when Mohammad Hafeez’s miserable run continued. His middle stump was uprooted by Nel, and when Yousuf Youhana was lbw to Pollock, it was 16 for 2. Pollock, who was economical throughout these five matches, and Nel – whose intensity was contagious – never let up on the discipline and were pivotal in the context of the series triumph.Younis Khan joined Yasir Hameed, and though both tried in vain to unsettle the bowlers by standing outside their crease with a middle-stump guard, the scoreboard ticked over only slowly. Then Boucher pulled the first rabbit out of his cap. In the 10th over, bowled by Nel, Boucher moved Kallis from second slip to short midwicket. The next ball was well pitched up and homing in on leg stump, and Hameed obligingly chipped it straight to Kallis (35 for 3).Inzamam was struggling with his leg injury, and his notoriously suspect running was further hindered. Boucher encouraged his team to shy at Inzamam’s end whenever they could, and it paid off when Jacques Rudolph threw down the stumps with a direct hit from mid-on. And finally, when Younis and Shoaib Malik were playing the seamers comfortably, Boucher quickly brought on Peterson. He duly obliged with two quick wickets, with generous assistance from the batsmen. Malik holed out to Nel, while Younis played back to one that kept very low.With Rashid Latif nudging intelligently in partnership with Abdul Razzaq, who played some lavish drives on both sides of the wicket in his 38, a spot of late-order carnage seemed on the cards. But Boucher didn’t let things drift and brought back Makhaya Ntini, who responded by persuading Razzaq to edge a catch behind (152 for 7). Latif, who nurdled 25, received some useful support from the tail and managed to lift the total from meagre to remotely defendable.If Pakistan were to win they needed early wickets, and Shoaib Akhtar nearly obliged during a fiery opening spell. But Dippenaar and Herschelle Gibbs managed to keep him out, and also kept the score ticking over at four an over. Akhtar’s first over nearly did the trick: first a huge appeal for leg-before against Dippenaar was turned down, then he completely missed a yorker-length ball that fizzed past the off stump. Dippenaar played and missed a couple of times in Akhtar’s next over, but with Mohammad Sami getting his length all wrong, he grew in confidence and slowly unveiled some neat cuts and pulls.Dippenaar was ably supported, first by Gibbs and then by Kallis. They eased the pressure by collecting the odd boundary to raise the rate. Danish Kaneria, the legspinner, bowled an impressive spell in which he turned the ball appreciably, and his awkward bounce unsettling the batsmen. He was rewarded with the wicket of Gibbs, who danced down the track, missed, and was stumped by a distance (75 for 1). But then Kallis and Dippenaar added 93 at a steady rate, and apart from one stray yorker that nearly castled Kallis, and a wayward chip that sailed between two fielders, both were very assured and picked off the singles easily.Sami came back in the 39th over, with 25 needed, and caused a minor ripple. He bowled Kallis with one that kept low, and finally trapped Dippenaar leg-before. His matchwinning 74 occupied 125 balls, and contained five fours. But Rudolph and Neil McKenzie survived some edgy moments to guide South Africa to a 3-2 series win with 25 balls to spare – a final outcome that seemed almost impossible after those two defeats in Lahore at the start of the series.

Gavin Varejes, an associate of Shane Warne, has admitted to paying R100,000 to silence Helen Cohen Alon, a 45-year-old South African woman who recently accused Warne of sending her raunchy text messages.Varejes made the admission in a sworn affidavit to the police, who are investigating the case. Upon the admission, Julius Smith, the police officer in charge of the case, has asked Interpol to obtain a statement from Warne.According to quotes by Smith in the South African media, Varejes admitted to contacting Cohen Alon during the 2003 World Cup, when she was trying to sell her story to the press. Varejes arranged for the payment only after he checked that the number on her mobile phone was indeed Warne’s number.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outIf yesterday at Edgbaston had been Test cricket at its very best, then today’s hopelessly one-sided farce was it at its worst – that it was even labelled as Test cricket was bordering on the ridiculous. It has to be assumed that the Trade Descriptions Act doesn’t apply in Zimbabwe.Zimbabwe have had many wretched days on the international stage in the last year or so, but at Harare Sports Club today, they plumbed a depth that was spectacular even by their rapidly declining standards.They were bowled out by New Zealand twice inside a day, only the second side to suffer such a fate. The other were India at Manchester in 1952, but they were caught cold on a miserable and damp Old Trafford track which suited England’s bowlers. Zimbabwe had no such excuses. They were at home, and the conditions were not that one-sided.New Zealand did what they had to efficiently and clinically, but few of Zimbabwe’s batsmen troubled them and, more worryingly, few looked to be remotely good enough technically to survive at this level. New Zealand barely broke sweat, not that they had to.After declaring overnight, New Zealand unleashed Shane Bond and James Franklin. Bond showed impressive pace from his first ball, which rose and flew off Neil Ferreira’s gloves over the keeper’s head to the boundary. The die was cast.In the fourth over, Franklin had Ferreira caught at the wicket and he then trapped Dion Ebrahim and only a no-ball stood between him and a hat-trick as he had Hamilton Masakadza plumb leg before. Both batsmen’s footwork was questionable and both prodded half-forward. Next over Craig Wishart unwisely shouldered arms to a ball from Bond that cut back viciously off the pitch, and at 11 for 4 the innings was in shreds.Chris Martin also found movement to take three wickets in the middle order, with Stuart Carlisle (20 not out) standing alone as the tail collapsed around him; his was a fine but utterly futile rearguard. Daniel Vettori picked up the last two wickets immediately after lunch – his first-day hundred and six wickets in the match won him the Man-of-the-Match award. Zimbabwe’s only solace was that they just about passed their previous low – 54 against South Africa in March.Second time round, they started with a little more fight, although Brendan Taylor soon drove uppishly and was caught at short extra cover without scoring. That he was playing at all was a sign of Zimbabwe’s desperation. A month or so ago he was slapped with a six-month ban for disciplinary offences. But the cupboard is so bare that he was quickly forgiven and brought back.His was virtually the only attacking stroke to be played in the first 10 overs, as Ferreira and Ebrahim played with great application, but as they ventured out of their shells, the wickets again started to tumble.After tea Ferreira (16) seemed to lose his nerve, and played a couple of uncharacteristically risky strokes before he dabbed feebly outside the off stump at a ball from Franklin and provided Stephen Fleming with the first of three successive catches. The others were Wishart (5) and Carlisle (0), both softened up by short balls from Bond and then driving loosely outside off stump.What resistance there was was provided by Masakadza (42), who drove and pulled in impressive fashion, the only Zimbabwe batsman in the match to take the attack to the bowlers with any success. He had scored half the total of 84 when he tried to chip a drive on the leg side and had a leading edge well caught overhead by Vettori off his own bowling.As New Zealand closed for the kill, they got a stroke of luck as Vettori took his 200th Test wicket in dubious circumstances, Heath Streak adjudged leg before by Darrell Hair despite a thick inside-edge apparent to all but the umpire.

Tatenda Taibu hung around before being caught by Fleming and the last wickets fell without a whimper. Chris Mpofu set up his own Test record by being twice stumped for a pair inside two sessions. That summed up the wretchedness of Zimbabwe’s efforts.It is hard to see where Zimbabwe go from here. For the first time in 16 months they fielded their full-strength side, and yet the defeat was as one-sided as any they have suffered in that period. Their bowling lacked penetration and their batting at times would have embarrassed a good club side.In such hard times, world cricket has to be seen to support Zimbabwe. But there is an argument, which few who witnessed today would counter, that the time has come for a change of tack and a rethink about what is being achieved by ploughing on regardless. Nobody benefited from this massacre, and the pitiful attendance showed that even the locals have tired of such wretched fare. This was a match of interest to nobody but the statisticians.

ZimbabweNeil Ferreira c McCullum b Franklin 5 (9 for 1)
Dion Ebrahim lbw b Franklin 0 (9 for 2)
Hamilton Masakadza lbw b Franklin 0 (10 for 3)
Craig Wishart b Bond 0 (11 for 4)
Brendan Taylor run out (Styris) 10 (28 for 5)
Tatenda Taibu lbw b Martin 5 (46 for 6)
Heath Streak c McCullum b Martin 0 (46 for 7)
Blessing Mahwire lbw b Martin 4 (51 for 8)
Graeme Cremer c Martin b Vettori 1 (53 for 9)
Chris Mpofu st McCullum b Vettori 0 (59 all out)
Zimbabwe second inningsBrendan Taylor c Vettori b Franklin 0 (5 for 1)
Dion Ebrahim b Martin 8 (14 for 2)
Neil Ferreira c Fleming b Franklin 16 (53 for 3)
Craig Wishart c Fleming b Bond 5 (76 for 4)
Stuart Carlisle c Fleming b Bond 0 (80 for 5)

Hamilton Masakadza c and b Vettori 42 (84 for 6)

Heath Streak lbw b Vettori 3 (90 for 7)
Tatenda Taibu c Fleming b Martin 4 (90 for 8)
Graeme Cremer c James Marshall b Vettori 3 (99 for 9)
Christopher Mpofu st McCullum b Vettori 0 (99 all out)

Delhi survived by the barest of margins at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera, drawing the game with only their last pair standing. They had to chase 157 in 30 overs, but messed it up in the pursuit of runs. It was a surprising turnaround for Gujarat, who trailed Delhi by 216 when they began their second innings. At the end of the third day, they were 205 for 5, still nine runs behind, but today the overnight batsmen, Kirat Damani and Bhavik Thaker, remained unbeaten till the team was 68 runs ahead.Damani scored 86, with eight fours, Thaker was last man out for 95, with 12 fours, and Gujarat had managed to post a healthy total of 372. Soon after, Delhi were in trouble. They were 37 for 2 within six overs, and though they continued to score quickly, they just kept losing wickets. The eighth fell for 90, with eight overs still remaining. Mithun Manhas was out just before the day ended, but Rahul Sanghvi and Amit Bhandari did not fall, giving Delhi the unlikeliest of escapes.Murtaza Lodhgar played a big role for the second time in Karnataka’s 116-run loss to Bengal with another five-wicket haul at the Jadavpur University Campus in Kolkata. Karnataka fell for 226, well short of the target of 343. Sujith Somasunder top-scored with 46, and was followed by Stuart Binny (42) and Vijay Bhardawaj (40). Lodhgar ended with innings figures of 5 for 89, and a match haul of 11 for 117. It was a match keenly watched because Sourav Ganguly’s form had been questioned since the start of the series against Australia; he managed 32 runs in two innings.Tamil Nadu won by an innings and 108 runs against a hapless Hyderabad side that failed to go past 190 in either innings. Ramakrishnan Ramkumar did the damage, claiming 6 for 71 to go with his first-innings six-wicket haul. It gave him match figures of 12 for 128 at the Chidambaram stadium. Hyderabad scored 190, with Daniel Manohar the top-scorer. Tamil Nadu claimed a bonus point for the innings victory, in addition to the regular four for a standard win.The game between Mumbai and Railways petered out to a dull draw after Mumbai sat tight on their first-innings lead, and scored only 219 runs in 86 overs at the Karnail Singh stadium in Delhi. Vinayak Mane remained unbeaten on 111, an effort that consumed nearly six hours, and Vinit Indulkar scored 52. Mumbai reached 221 for 3, and took away two points for the lead.Jyoti Yadav scored 103 to set up a competitive declaration by Uttar Pradesh, who scored 317 for 8, but Punjab preferred to play it safe and not mount a challenge on the target of 279. They ended at 164 for 5, with Yuvraj Singh unbeaten on 41. Reetinder Singh Sodhi brought an end to UP’s innings, claiming 4 for 39 in nine overs.Andhra played at a snail’s pace, drawing their game with Madhya Pradesh. They took away two points for their first innings lead. Venugopal Rao, unbeaten on 60, and Reddy, who scored 56, played patient knocks at the Maharani Usharaje Trust Cricket Ground in Indore. They reached 195 for 3 when stumps were called and the game was drawn. For four days, runs came at the trickle of 2.57 runs an over.Assam continued to pile on the runs on the last day of their game against Baroda, and had two century-makers as the match was drawn. They made their way to 360 for 4 at the Nehru Stadium, with Zuffri (106) and Saravanan (102 not out) running up patient hundreds. However, Baroda were awarded the points for their lead in the first innings.