As far as Graham Gooch is concerned, the best of Alastair Cook is yet to come

George Dobell10-Dec-2012As if the last couple of weeks have not contained enough bad news for India, Graham Gooch had a little more for them: as far as Gooch is concerned, the best of Alastair Cook is yet to come.Cook’s batting has been one of the major differences between the teams this series. In three Tests, he has contributed three centuries and his tally of runs – 548 at an average of 109.60 – is more than Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh combined.But Gooch feels Cook, who will be 28 on Christmas Day, has not yet reached his peak and will inevitably break Gooch’s own record as England’s top run-scorer in Test cricket. Gooch scored 8,900 Test runs, while Cook currently has 7,103. Only Kevin Pietersen, of current England players, has more with 7,335.”In my opinion,” Gooch said, “the years between 27 to 35 are the best years for a batsman because you have honed your knowledge and you know your game. I think he’s got his best years in front of him. He’s got to stay fit and motivated but nothing at the moment would suggest to me that that won’t happen. I hope to hang on in this job until he goes past my record.”Few know Cook as a cricketer as well as Gooch. Not only do the pair of them, as Essex and England opening batsmen and captain, have much in common, but Gooch was the batting coach at Essex as Cook was developing and now performs the same role with England. He has watched Cook at close quarters throughout his career and, while Gooch admits Cook has never been the most eye-catching player, the skills that have served him so well at the top level were apparent very early.”Alastair was on the Essex Academy and it was pretty obvious he was going to be a good player,” Gooch said. “I can’t remember the first time I saw him but I do remember him keeping wicket and batting for our Board XI against Essex in a proper match.”That match was a Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy game from 2003. Cook, opening the batting and keeping wicket for Essex Cricket Board against Essex, only scored 27 in the match, but his maturity stuck in Gooch’s mind.

“He tends to get on the front foot now a bit more later in his innings and he plays a very resolute game outside off stump. He’s worked very hard over the years.”Graham Gooch on how Cook’s technique has developed

“My early memories of him as a person were that he was very mature for his age and very balanced and considered. He went about his cricket in a methodical sort of way and you can still see that now. The priceless ability he had when he was young, and again you can see this now, is that he knows exactly what he can and can’t do. He puts that in place and into practice and doesn’t step outside that.”You know the old saying? It’s not how, it’s how many. He knows the way to play. Often young players coming up have talent and ability to strike the ball but they don’t quite know how to manage their ability. Sometimes it dawns on them later in life and sometimes it doesn’t dawn on them at all but this lad had it from the beginning. He knew how he could operate.”He applies a certain type of game in Test cricket that works. When he came into the one-day side a lot of people said he didn’t have the game for it but smart players find a way. And he plays a different sort of game in one-day cricket. He’s not a power player but he keeps it moving and his runs-per-balls ratio is very good. That shows the skill of the man in being able to adapt.”He tends to get on the front foot now a bit more later in his innings and he plays a very resolute game outside off stump. He’s worked very hard over the years. He practices the sweep and hitting the ball over the top and it’s good to see him showing confidence in selective sweeping against the turning ball. He’s had success with that and also has the confidence to use his feet and come down the wicket. He’s starting to enhance his game.”Maybe he’s thinking back to the Pakistan series in 2010 when he had a bit of a nightmare and thinking ‘I’m going to get every run I can now because it’s working for me’. I’m in good form and I’ll cash in.”Gooch is also impressed by Cook’s leadership since being appointed Test captain. Not only has Cook set a record – centuries in each of his first five Tests as captain – but has led England to a 2-1 series lead in conditions in which many expected them to struggle.”Captaincy has enhanced his run scoring already,” Gooch said. “It’s difficult to look into a crystal ball and say whether it will affect him down the line but all the opportunities are there for him. He’s mentally strong, that’s his greatest asset, and he could achieve a lot of things. There’s a lot of cricket in front of him and that can affect you but I’d like to think he will go all the way. He’ll certainly go past my record in the not too distant future the way it’s going and good on him because he’ll deserve that. He’s mastered his art to a degree and is always looking to improve. If he delivers, England win matches.”I think we’ve seen already in the dressing room that he’s prepared to make his own decisions. He doesn’t always take the coaches advice in that he wants to do it his own way. He’ll make mistakes and he won’t get it right every time. You have to grow into that job, the way you get the best out of people, counsel them, and make tactical decisions. All those things come into it. He’s in his infancy but I don’t see any reason why he won’t be a good captain and leader of men.”

A round-up of the fifth round of Ranji Trophy’s Group A matches on December 11, 2012

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Dec-2012
Scorecard
Ankeet Chavan’s nine-wicket haul was the third best in Ranji history•Fotocorp

On a manic day at the Wankhede Stadium in which 19 wickets went down, Punjab secured the first-innings lead well after lunch but were still in danger of losing outright to Mumbai. Left-arm spinner Ankeet Chavan had figures of 9 for 23, the third-best bowling analysis in Ranji history, to skittle Punjab, the most dominant batting outfit this season, for 59. That left Mumbai with an improbable chase of 155 in 11 overs. They began with gusto but gave up the hunt at 62 for 2 after six overs.In the morning, Mumbai had looked on course for a first-innings lead, as Rohit Sharma made a double-century and guided his side to 427 for 4 with the help of the consistent Abhishek Nayar, in reply to Punjab’s massive 580. His run-out for 203, however, sparked a collapse that resulted in five wickets going down for four runs as Manpreet Gony sliced through the Mumbai tail. Nayar and the No. 11 Balwinder Sandhu put on 54 for the final wicket before Harbhajan Singh ended the innings by dismissing Nayar.With Punjab batting after taking the first-innings lead, a drab finish seemed on the cards, as is the case in so many Ranji matches, but Chavan and Mumbai provided plenty of excitement. Despite the late scare, though, Punjab remain runaway leaders on 32 points, with more than double the points of the second-placed team.
Scorecard
After five draws in a row, Gujarat got their first win of the season thanks to left-arm spinner Rakesh Dhurv’s 8 for 31 that demolished the Rajasthan batting. Dhurv had already taken six wickets in the first innings, giving him match figures of 14 for 96, the best-ever by a Gujarat bowler. It had been a tense first-innings battle on the third day, that Gujarat just about managed to win and the game was expected to peter out on the final day. Instead, Dhurv ripped through the inconsistent Rajasthan batting and shot them out for 119. Gujarat were left with a target of 102, which they knocked off comfortably. The win lifts them to 15 points, jointly in second place with Saurashtra. Defending champions Rajasthan remain rooted to the bottom of the table, with only five points from five matches.
ScorecardBengal collapsed to Saurashtra’s spin duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Nayan Doshi to suffer a 270-run loss – their third in six games – in Rajkot. Resuming at 65 for 3, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala departed within the first ten overs of the morning session, after which wickets fell regularly. Laxmi Shukla struck three sixes and four boundaries to push the score, but he didn’t last long. At 150 for 5, opener Rohan Banerjee fell to Jadeja for 47, and the innings lasted another 3.2 overs. Bengal were handicapped by the absence of their captain Manoj Tiwary, who was out of the game due to a back injury.For Saurashtra, the seeds of victory had been laid on the third day, when they had reduced Bengal to 65 for 3 after setting them a target of 431. Sheldon Jackson had scored an unbeaten century as Saurashtra consolidated a 97-run first-innings lead with an impressive batting performance. Jadeja celebrated his Test call-up with 138 runs and eight wickets in the match.
Scorecard
When the final day began, Railways seemed set to lose – they were at 54 for 5 in the second innings, still trailing by over a hundred runs against Madhya Pradesh. A fighting century from Mahesh Rawat and his dour 148-run partnership with PM Madkaikar, however, helped Railways salvage a draw, and MP had to contend with three points. As important as the runs the pair added were the overs they consumed, batting out nearly half the day. Though both were dismissed late in the third session, they had done enough to secure the draw. MP are now in fourth spot with 14 points, two spots ahead of Railways who only have seven.

Sunrisers have no answer to match-defining knock

ECB Reporters Network18-Sep-2021Western Storm 313 for 4 (Luff 157*, Griffiths 56) beat Sunrisers 277 (Griffith 49, Scrivens 46) by 36 runsIn-form Sophie Luff scored a brilliant career-best 157 not out to propel Western Storm to a 36-run triumph over Sunrisers in an entertaining Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy contest at Bristol.Delivering a timely message to the England selectors, Taunton-born Luff faced 142 balls, accrued 22 fours and shared in a match-winning fourth-wicket stand of 119 with Alex Griffiths, who registered 56, as Storm amassed 313 for 4 after winning the toss. The pick of the bowlers, Mady Villiers claimed 2 for 39 from 10 overs to derive credit in what was otherwise an uncomfortable experience for the Sunrisers attack.Cordelia Griffith top-scored with 49 and Grace Scrivens made 46 in an opening stand of 90 as Sunrisers made a decent fist of chasing, but neither was able to go on and post a really meaningful score and Storm change bowlers Nicole Harvey and Georgia Hennessy helped the home side wrest back control, returning figures of 2 for 46 and 2 for 45 respectively, while Nat Wraith completed a trio of stumpings.Needing to score 60 from the last 10 overs to register their first win in the tournament, Sunrisers ultimately came up short, dismissed for 277 inside 45 overs to end the 50-over campaign without a win in seven attempts.Their confidence boosted by victory over Lightning last time out, Storm came into the season finale with momentum and elected to bat first on a sluggish surface. Although Lauren Parfitt’s demise, pinned lbw by Kate Coppack without scoring, suggested otherwise, it proved a sound decision, Fi Morris trading almost exclusively in boundaries in garnering 30 from 36 balls to give the hosts lift-off.The advent of Villiers and spin halted Morris in her tracks, Sonali Patel holding a catch at deep backward square to reduce Storm to 51 for 2. No matter. Having survived a stern examination at the hands of Coppack, Luff quickly re-established Storm’s grip on the game, running hard between the wickets to raise 50 via 77 balls and dominating a partnership of 69 in 17 overs for the third wicket with Hennessy.Sunrisers skipper Kelly Castle generated late swing to snare Hennessy lbw for 25 with the score on 120 in the 29th over, only for Griffiths to then offer her captain outstanding support in a progressive fourth-wicket alliance of 119 in 16 overs, which effectively carried the game beyond the visitors.Luff’s second 50 occupied a mere 37 balls as she found acceleration to register her first hundred of the summer via 114 deliveries, while Griffiths went to 50 from 56 balls with 5 fours to increase the pressure on opponents rendered ragged in the field.Related

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Griffiths holed out to Fran Wilson on the square leg boundary off Villiers, but there was no stopping 27-year-old Luff, who required a further 25 balls to move from 100 to 150 before taking off her helmet and punching the air in celebration at reaching that particular milestone for the first time in Storm colours.Making the most of the platform provided by her skipper, Dani Gibson adopted a high-risk strategy at the death, weighing in with a brace of sixes and a four to finish unbeaten on 23 from 10 balls. Having held sway for three hours in an innings spanning 47 overs and adorned by 22 boundaries, Luff was still there at the end as Storm posted an imposing total in the September sunshine.Undaunted, Sunrisers mustered a spirited response, Griffith and Scrivens taking advantage of some wayward bowling to stage an enterprising opening stand of 90 in 13 overs. Griffith was just one run short of a half century when she was cramped for space and offered a return catch to Hennessy, while Scrivens, turned a short delivery from Harvey around the corner and was held by Claire Nicholas at short fine leg for 46.Wicketkeeper Nat Wraith demonstrated dexterous glove-work to remove the former Storm pairing of Alice Macleod and Naomi Dattani, while Harvey claimed the key wicket of England international Fran Wilson, bowled around her legs for a run-a-ball 34. Needing a further 89 from 15 overs to complete a first-ever victory over Storm in 50-over matches, Sunrisers slipped to 226 for 6 when Wraith completed a third stumping.
Villiers and Castle gave the visitors renewed hope in a seventh-wicket stand of 40, but when they departed in successive overs for 37 and 20 respectively, the game was all but up.

Scorecard
Baroda left-arm spinner Bhargav Bhatt took six wickets to run through Odisha’s middle order on the first day in Vadodara. Odisha’s Govind Podder made a battling 82 but he had very little support from the rest of the batsmen, with five of the top seven making single-digit scores. Around lunch time, Odisha were at a reasonably comfortable 82 for 2, before a Bhatt double-strike, including the wicket of the in-form Biplab Samantary, pulled them back. Bhatt struck twice in an over soon after leaving Odisha at 105 for 6, and it took a brisk unbeaten 37 from the No. 9 Saurabh Sehgal to take the score to 181. Baroda lost the wicket of opener Saurabh Wakaskar as they reached 34 for 1 by stumps.
Scorecard
Suresh Raina fluffed another chance to press for a place in the Test middle order by falling for 8, but Uttar Pradesh still finished the day on a solid 248 for 4 thanks to a long partnership between Mohammad Kaif and opener Mukul Dagar. Vidarbha removed Tanmay Srivastava in the third over, before Kaif and Dagar put on 195 patient runs for the second wicket. Dagar went on to complete his third century in five matches, while for the third time this Ranji season Kaif failed to reach his hundred despite crossing 80. Vidarbha got some respite towards the end of the day as Sandeep Singh removed both Kaif and Raina, before Shrikant Wagh had Dagar bowled for 116.
Scorecard
Haryana’s batting has been notoriously fragile this season, and they seemed headed for another low total after slipping to 63 for 4 against Maharashtra, but substantial contributions from the lower-middle order lifted them to a middling score. Opener Rahul Dewan was the only one in the top order to resist as Maharashtra’s quicks struck several times early. Yatharth Tomar, playing only his second first-class match and his first since 2010, hit 48 to steady the innings before Amit Mishra, who made a crucial half-century in their win over Delhi earlier this week, chipped in with 35. The top scorer of the innings was Jayant Yadav, with 63, his second first-class half-century.
Scorecard
On a pitch that resembled a lawn, with the only patches of white near the rough on either side, Karnataka captain Vinay Kumar chose to give his batsmen first use of the pitch, despite their batting struggles all season. While it might be perceived as a brave decision, it backfired on the hosts. Karnataka were still searching for their first outright win, and they were presented with what looked like a result-oriented wicket. Delhi weren’t complaining though. Their seamers, led by Parvinder Awana, bundled out the hosts for 192 and ended the day in front despite losing two wickets as the shadows lengthened in Bangalore. A full match report is here.

تلقت جماهير فريق ليفربول صدمة من المدير الفني يورجن كلوب، رغم الفوز المثير على توتنهام مساء أمس في بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

واستضاف ملعب “الأنفيلد” مباراة الفريقين في إطار منافسات بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي، الجولة الرابعة والثلاثين، حيث فاز ليفربول بأربعة أهداف مقابل ثلاثة.

وأصبح ليفربول في المركز الخامس برصيد 56 نقطة في المركز الخامس، ولديه مباراة مؤجلة.

ورغم ذلك، يرى كلوب صعوبة التأهل إلى دوري أبطال أوروبا الموسم المقبل، مما يمثل صدمة لجمهور ليفربول.

وعندما سُئل عما إذا كان ليفربول قادرًا على التأهل إلى دوري أبطال أوروبا، قال كلوب: “بالطبع لا”، في إجابة صريحة وصادمة.

وأضاف في تصريحات نشرتها شبكة “بي بي سي” العالمية: “إذا فاز مانشستر يونايتد ونيوكاسل بجميع مبارياتهما، فكيف يمكننا الوصول إلى هناك؟ إذا بدأ الفريقان في الخسارة، فنحن قريبون”.

اقرأ أيضًا.. ميرور: كلوب يواجه تحقيقًا محتملًا بسبب مباراة ليفربول وتوتنهام

وواصل: “حتى ذلك الحين، علينا الفوز بمبارياتنا من أجل اللعب في أوروبا الموسم المقبل”، قاصدًا بذلك التأهل إلى الدوري الأوروبي أو دوري المؤتمر الأوروبي بشكل عام، وليس دوري أبطال أوروبا تحديدًا.

وأردف: “هناك برايتون كذلك الذي قدم واحدة من أفضل مباريات كرة القدم التي رأيتها في حياتي، نهاية هذا الأسبوع، ، يجب أن أقول أن روبرتو دي زيربي مدرب رائع”.

واستكمل: “إنهم خلفنا في الجدول ولديهم مباراتين مؤجلتين، أستون فيلا يتطور، إذا تمكنا من إبقائهم وراءنا في الجدول، فذلك سيكون نجاحًا بالفعل”.

MatériaMais Notícias

Segundo informação que foi veiculada nessa sexta-feira (7) pelo portal Globo Esporte, o atacante brasileiro Luiz Adriano está com a intenção de retornar para o Internacional com direito até mesmo a conversar com os diretores de seu atual clube, o Spartak Moscou-RUS, para alinhar a sua vinda que seja por empréstimo.

O jogador de 31 anos de idade é formado na base do Colorado e conseguiu grande sucesso na Europa com sua passagem pelo Shahktar Donetsk-UCR com 130 gols em 262 aparições durante os oito anos em que defendeu o clube ucraniano além de levantar 15 troféus.

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Depois disso, o centroavante que chegou a acumular quatro convocações a Seleção Brasileira teve uma passagem um tanto quanto discreta no Milan-ITA antes de retornar ao Leste Europeu para atuar no mercado russo onde já tem 64 partidas, 36 gols anotados e dois títulos nacionais (Campeonato Russo e Supertaça da Rússia).

Quem deve ter atuação intensa nessa situação, segundo o que foi informado, é o seu empresário, Gilmar Veloz. Ele teria acertado junto a Luiz Adriano que conversará com os cartolas do Spartak para reforçar a ideia de emprestar o atacante para o Inter. Tendo desde já total ciência de que a compra de seus direitos (o site Transfermarkt trabalha com o valor de mercado em 6,4 milhões de euros ou R$ 28,3 milhões) está fora de cogitação por parte do Colorado.

O contrato de Luiz Adriano com o clube russo tem duração até junho de 2020.

With Archer also out of the second leg of IPL 2021, the franchise will be without three of their England stars

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Aug-2021The Rajasthan Royals have signed West Indies opening batter Evin Lewis and fast bowler Oshane Thomas as replacements for Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes, for the second leg of IPL 2021, which will run from September 19 to October 15 in the UAE.Lewis is West Indies’ fifth-highest run-getter in T20Is, with 1318 runs, including 103 sixes. Only Chris Gayle (121) has hit more sixes for West Indies in T20I cricket. Lewis is currently part of St Kitts & Nevis Patriots in the ongoing CPL 2021 at Warner Park, where he has started the tournament with scores of 6,62 and 30.This will be Lewis’ first stint with the Royals and second overall in the IPL, having been part of the Mumbai Indians side in 2018 and 2019.For Thomas, this will be his second stint with the Royals in the IPL; he played four games for the franchise in 2019, taking five wickets at an economy rate of 7.90. Thomas will be the second player from the Barbados Royals in the CPL to join the Rajasthan Royals for the second chunk of IPL. Earlier this month, New Zealand’s Glenn Phillips was lined up as a replacement for Jofra Archer.Related

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Thomas can regularly hit speeds upwards of 140kph and most recently at the CPL, he bowled Gayle with a 142kph dart. With the absence of Buttler and Stokes, the Royals will now be without three of their England stars. While Buttler has opted out due to the impending birth of his second child, Stokes has taken an indefinite break from the game for mental-health reasons. Archer is the other absentee, with an elbow fracture ruling him out of cricket for the rest of the year.The Royals, placed fifth in the points table, will resume their IPL 2021 campaign against the Punjab Kings on September 21.

تحدث مدرب مانشستر يونايتد، إريك تين هاج، عن سقوط فريقه في فخ التعادل أمام توتنهام، بعدما كان متقدمًا بثنائية نظيفة.

وفرض توتنهام تعادلاً إيجابيًا على مانشستر يونايتد بهدفين لمثلهما، ضمن منافسات الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

وقال تين هاج متحدثًا إلى بي تي سبورت: “بالطبع عندما تكون متقدمًا 2-0، فإنك تشعر بخيبة أمل بعض الشيء عندما تتعادل، هذا واضح تمامًا، لقد أتيحت لنا الفرص للتسجيل بعدما أصبحت النتيجة 2-1، ولم نفعل ذلك واستقبلنا الهدف الثاني، أعتقد أنه في هذا الأسبوع 2-2 تعادل جيد”.

وأضاف: “كان علينا تسجيل هدف ثان ولكن بصراحة كان بإمكانهم التعادل قبل نهاية الشوط الأول مباشرة، قبل أن نسجل هدفًا، لا أعتقد أننا كنا بهذه الجودة خلال 90 دقيقة، بعد نهاية الشوط الأول كان علينا تسجيل هدفًا آخر”.

وعن البدلاء وتأثيرهم، أردف تين هاج: “كنا متشابهين بعد نهاية الشوط الأول، كان الأمر نفسه كما كان قبل نهاية الشوط الأول وفقدنا السيطرة، استقبلنا الهدف ويمكننا رؤيته قادمًا وكانت التغييرات متأخرة جدًا”.

وبشأن المباراة المقبلة ضد أستون فيلا، أشار الهولندي: “إنها مباراة أخرى ونحتاج إلى الطاقة وعلينا أن نكون مستعدين ليوم الأحد”.

وأفاد تين هاج: “كان رأيي أننا لم نلعب جيدًا، لم نلعب بشكل جيد، لكننا سجلنا هدفين ثم يتعين عليك إنهاء المباراة”.

وعن الفرص الضائعة، شدد مدرب مانشستر يونايتد:” بالطبع (كرة فرنانديز بالعارضة كانت محبطة)، لكن لا تلوم لاعبًا واحدًا، وأعتقد أنه كان علينا تسجيل المزيد، الأهداف التي استقبلناها كانت سهلة للغاية وكان بإمكاننا تجنبها”.

واستطرد: “لقد جئنا إلى هنا، مثل كل مباراة، من أجل أن نحقق الفوز، كان من الواضح كيف أداروا المباراة وأردنا الفوز، وهو ما لم نفعله”.

وأتم: “إذا فزنا يوم الأحد، فسيكون هذا أسبوعًا رائعًا ولكن علينا أولاً أن نصل إلى هناك ونحتاج إلى كل الطاقة، نتعافى ونستعد للمباراة ونركز وننطلق مرة أخرى”.

A round-up of the third day’s action of fourth round Group A matches in the Ranji Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Nov-2012
ScorecardSandeep Sharma and Siddarth Kaul shared nine second-innings wickets between them•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

A solid all-round showing from Punjab on Monday helped them ease past Saurashtra by eight wickets in Mohali with over a day to spare, and record their third win in four games in the Ranji Trophy this season. While medium pacer Siddarth Kaul closed out the Saurashtra innings quickly in the morning to ensure Punjab were chasing just 119, Karan Goel anchored the chase with 75 not out.Saurashtra had begun the day on 212 for 7, 97 ahead, and it took Punjab less than eight overs to claim the remaining wickets. Kaul took two of those wickets to finish with a career-best 6 for 63. Like in Saurashtra’s first innings, it was the seamers who did all the damage, claiming all 10 wickets among them. Kaul’s six-for puts him at joint-third on the wickets chart, tied for the moment with his team-mate Sandeep Sharma (who took three in the innings to finish with a 10-for) and Assam offspinner Arlen Konwar.In the chase, opener Jiwanjot Singh had his first real failure of the tournament, but Goel held firm at his end. Mayank Sidhana made a contribution too with a rapid 21, before Mandeep Singh and Goel took Punjab home. The win helps them extend their already sizeable lead on the Group A points table.
Scorecard
Akshath Reddy and Hanuma Vihari put on the largest partnership in Hyderabad’s history to pummel Mumbai at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal. Twenty-one-year-old Reddy, who is the stand-in captain, and 19-year-old Vihari, who was part of India Under-19s World Cup-winning squad, batted almost the entire day as they added 386 for the second wicket to put Hyderabad comfortably on course for taking the first-innings lead. Mumbai were weakened by the absence of their captain Ajit Agarkar and fast bowler Dhawal Kulkarni, and experienced bowlers like Aavishkar Salvi and Ramesh Powar could make little impact against the young Hyderabad pair. Both batsmen made career-best scores, but both missed out on double-centuries, dismissed a handful of overs before stumps. Still, this was a dramatic turnaround in the match after Mumbai were at a dominant 325 for 2 at stumps on the first day.
Scorecard
A slew of half-centuries from Gujarat’s batsmen helped them stay in the game against Railways, and though they still have work ahead, Gujarat finished the day in a relatively more comfortable position than they have been in all match. After the openers Smit Patel and Samit Gohel hit half-centuries, Parthiv Patel made his sixth 50-plus score in seven first-class innings to keep Gujarat’s hopes of salvaging a draw alive. After his dismissal, Manprit Juneja took over, ending the day unbeaten on 57 to put Gujarat 97 ahead with four wickets still remaining. Taking the game to the fourth day itself is an achievement for Gujarat, after imploding for 117 on the first day and then letting Railways take an almost 200-run lead.
ScorecardMadhya Pradesh secured a first-innings lead, bowling Bengal out for 299 despite some stiff resistance from Abhishek Jhunjhunwala and No. 10 Veer Pratap Singh. Jhunjhunwala, playing his first game of the Ranji season, kicked on from an overnight 41 to his fourth first-class century. Bengal began the day disastrously, losing Laxmi Shukla and hat-trick man Shami Ahmed for ducks, before Jhunjhunwala put on a fighting tenth-wicket stand of 83 with Veer. That was still not enough to lift them past MP’s 342 – they fell 43 short. In their second innings, MP suffered a wobble, falling to 37 for 3, before an unbroken 98-run stand between Ankit Sharma and Udit Birla put them firmly on top.

Sri Lanka coach Graham Ford admits he was surprised by the lack of fight his team showed in Melbourne and that it felt worse than any game he has ever been involved in

Andrew Fernando29-Dec-2012Graham Ford was coach of South Africa when his team subjected Sri Lanka to their worst Test defeat ever, in Cape Town, vanquishing the visitors by an innings and 229 runs. He now finds himself with the team he helped demolish at Newlands on the other end of a one-sided result. The disappointment feels worse than any game he has ever been involved in, he said.Sri Lanka avoided beating their own worst loss at the MCG, but did not manage much better in their biggest Test of the year, losing inside eight sessions, by an innings and 201 runs. It was a loss characterised by their lack of resolve, particularly with the bat, as they fell for 156 in the first innings, before losing three for three, then 13 for four in the second innings, as they attempted to save the Test, having conceded a 304-run first innings deficit.There were few redeeming aspects of Sri Lanka’s performance, save a silken58 from Kumar Sangakkara in the first innings which took him over the10,000 run threshold in the same number of innings in which Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar also achieved the milestone. Sangakkara will take no part in the remainder of Sri Lanka’s tour in Australia however, having fractured his hand when he was hit by a Mitchell Johnson bouncer in the second innings.”It’s not a good feeling at the moment,” Ford, the Sri Lanka coach, said after the match. “Right now it feels like it’s the worst Test match I’ve been involved in. I don’t think I’ve been involved in a defeat inside of three days. It’s been quite difficult to find that many positives out of this one apart from Kumar’s wonderful milestone.”I was surprised at the lack of fight. I have often spoken about the fight that Sri Lankan cricketers have. What I’ve become accustomed to is a lot of fight. Admittedly a lot of that fight has been more in the one-day format than in the Test match format, but we have shown some good fight in Tests. Australia got some really good momentum going and we didn’t get the start that we wanted.”Sri Lanka’s bowlers also performed creditably in patches, creating an avenue back into the match when they removed the Australia openers and Phillip Hughes in quick succession on the first evening, but poor catching thwarted their efforts. Shane Watson and Michael Clarke’s 194-run partnership put Australia in command of the match, and set up theirmammoth first-innings lead.”Maybe if we held those catches – I know they were spoken about a lot on that first afternoon – that might have halted some of their momentum. But they got to the point where the momentum just became too much for us. Unfortunately with a few things going against us with injuries, we weren’t up to it.”The injury to Sangakkara means reserve batsman Dinesh Chandimal is almostcertain to play in the third Test in Sydney. Chandimal may also take thegloves at the SCG, with Prasanna Jayawardene also under an injury cloud,having sustained a fractured thumb as a result of another Johnson bouncer. Either fast bowler Nuwan Pradeep or offspinner Suraj Randiv is also likely to start, with Nuwan Kulasekara’s cracked rib likely to rule him out of contention. Chanaka Welegedara has also been ruled out for the Test, after tearing his hamstring on day two in Melbourne.”Chandimal is very, very keen to get on to the Test match stage. He’s worked extremely hard throughout the tour. So for him if he does get on and play, it will be a great opportunity for him.”The injuries are a challenge. At the moment, we are still discussing andassessing the damage. That’s something we’re going to have to talk about.We have got back-up in the squad and I know that the back-up has beenworking extremely hard. And sometimes out of injury, careers are made.People get opportunities and they can grab them. One of our young guys willget to play in a New Year’s Test in Sydney and if they can play well, theycan establish themselves as Test players and gain great confidence fromit.”Ford also said he would like to have the services of Lasith Malinga for thefinal Test, but believed it to be impossible for the fast bowler to make a Testcomeback in time for Sydney. Malinga is in Australia playing in the BigBash League at present.”We certainly need him, but that’s a contractual issue that I’m notinvolved in at the moment. He’s contracted to the Big Bash at the moment,and not available to us.”