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ScorecardTim Murtagh haunted his former county with five wickets on day one•PA Photos

For all the talk of Kevin Pietersen and, to a lesser extent Rory Hamilton-Brown, it was two unsung returnees who gave Middlesex an overwhelming advantage on the first day at The Oval.Neither Tim Murtagh nor Toby Roland-Jones enjoyed the Surrey careers they would have hoped for, but with consistent and late seam movement they combined to bowl Surrey out for a meagre 144. With Middlesex 99 for 1 by the close of play, it was hard to envisage anything other than their fifth consecutive championship victory against Surrey.The contrast between the performances of Murtagh and Roland-Jones, compared to Surrey’s seamers, must have given the hosts great cause to regret that it took moves to Middlesex for them to fulfill their potential. Murtagh’s promise always exceeded his performance during his Surrey career – though he once claimed 6 for 24 against Middlesex in a T20 game – and he left after 2006 with a first-class bowling average of 37. But for Middlesex he has been consistently outstanding, claiming 342 wickets at 25. Murtagh’s bowling appears unobtrusive at times but, such is his accuracy and nip, that all he needs is a little movement to be lethal. This haul of 5 for 37, featuring two wickets bowled, two caught in the slips and one lbw, was the perfect showcase of his qualities.Given Roland-Jones’ age – 24 – his departure will irk Surrey fans even more. As recently as 2009, he featured for Surrey second XI, but Middlesex decided to offer him a contract. He has certainly vindicated their decision since, as an outstanding record of 110 first-class wickets at 21 apiece attests. The bounce he generates from his 6ft 4ins frame and, above all, his nagging line and late seam movement have consistently embarrassed Surrey: his 3 for 38, which included three of Surrey’s top four, took Roland-Jones’ record against Surrey to 22 wickets at an average of 11. Comparisons with Steve Finn are not wholly unjustified.But, outstandingly as Middlesex bowled, there was no excusing the ineptitude of some of Surrey’s shots. For the second consecutive championship match, they followed the Steve Waugh dictum of winning the toss and batting – before proceeding to be routed. They could certainly have done with Pietersen, who wasn’t released by the ECB to play in this game and has apparently gone to Portugal on holiday. Rory Hamilton-Brown did return for his first Championship game since relinquishing the captaincy. He would not have planned to walk in at 28 for 3 but such is Surrey’s batting form that he can’t have been too surprised. Hamilton-Brown made just two singles before in-movement from Murtagh exposed an injudicious gap between bat and pad to remove middle stump.Having failed to pass 160 in three innings, including the CB40, at Durham, Surrey seldom looked as if they would do so on this occasion. Rory Burns and Zafar Ansari have both provided evidence of their chutzpah on occasions this season but ultimately the two have a combined age of 41 and are not natural openers. Under cloudy skies their failures were less than surprising, even if two Ansari straight drives off Roland-Jones highlighted his compact class.A stoppage due to rain after 9.3 overs was to Middlesex’s advantage, as it allowed Murtagh and Roland-Jones to extend their opening spell to 23 overs. By this time Roland-Jones’ tight line had accounted for both Zander de Bruyn – whose duck meant he has now passed 20 in only three of 21 innings this season – and Arun Harinath, for a stoic but seemingly strokeless 14, both of whom fell lbw.Relief of sorts arrived with the introduction of Neil Dexter and Steven Crook, who were unable to maintain the parsimony. But this only made Steven Davies’ aberrant swipe outside off-stump against Dexter all the more frustrating. Jason Roy at least played with some assurance. Understandably given the struggles of his team-mates, he sometimes resorted to one-day mode, with one “flamingo” whip off Dexter almost a parody of KP, albeit not of the Twitter variety. His was a well deserved half-century; that Murali Kartik’s streaky 23 was the second top score yet another indictment of Surrey’s batting.While Gareth Batty’s decision to bat first appeared highly dubious – given recent batting woes, overcast conditions and a Middlesex bowling attack well suited to exploiting them – he actually had little choice. By opting to select two spinners and only two frontline quicks – Jon Lewis, with five wickets at 62 since the T20 break, was omitted – Surrey gambled everything on batting first and watching the ball turn later. If such a strategy suggests desperation, desperate is increasingly what Surrey are as they attempt to avoid returning to Division Two.With utter inevitability, the sun finally broke out when Middlesex started batting. Although there was some turn for Murali Kartik, Middlesex’s opening pair of Chris Rogers and Sam Robson looked utterly assured. Rogers, along with Simon Katich, is probably the best overseas batsman available who is not wanted by his country. Driving and cutting to great effect, it was rather surprising when he was dismissed for 56 in the penultimate over to a fine leg-stump yorker from Jade Dernbach, triggering exuberant celebrations that revealed Surrey’s frustration. In ending just 45 runs behind with nine wickets remaining, Middlesex could reflect on a dominant day.

ScorecardHamilton Masakadza made his fourth consecutive score over 50, but it wasn’t enough for Zimbabwe•AFP

Bangladesh kept themselves in the running for a spot in the final of the Zimbabwe tri-series, just, with a six-wicket win over Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club. Nasir Hossain held Bangladesh’s pursuit of 150 together, responding to Hamilton Masakadza’s half-century with an unbeaten 41 to guide his side home with 15 balls to spare. The real credit for the win must go to Bangladesh’s bowlers, however, as they scuppered Zimbabwe’s charge at the death of their innings to keep the target within reach.An aggressive start from Zimbabwe’s batsmen had put the home side in a position to reach at least 160 after Brendan Taylor won his third toss in a row and, once again, decided to bat first. Zimbabwe were well-placed at 125 for 3 at the end of the 16th over, with two set batsmen at the crease before Bangladesh clawed their way back into the game.Left-arm spinner Elias Sunny provided the breakthrough by having Stuart Matsikenyeri caught at long on for an industrious 27, and from that point onwards wickets fell regularly. The complexion of the match changed completely as Mashrafe Mortaza returned to have Masakadza caught behind, heaving at a slower ball, for 56. In the same over Elton Chigumbura’s run out reduced Zimbabwe to 132 for 6 before Prosper Utseya was undone by an Abul Hasan slower ball and Graeme Cremer sliced an attempted slog to be caught in the deep off Mortaza, who was named Man of the Match for his efforts.Zimbabwe’s stumble, during which they lost five wickets for just 31 runs in the last five overs of their innings, gave Bangladesh a gettable target at which to aim and their openers, Tamim Iqbal and Mohammad Ashraful, launched the chase with gusto. Taylor opened the bowling with Prosper Utseya, the offspinner promptly being despatched for two crisp boundaries in his first five balls. Chris Mpofu’s first over went for 15, and Bangladesh were flying at 25 without loss.Bangladesh then suffered a stutter, courtesy some needlessly reckless batting from Ashraful, who was bowled attempting a paddle, and some equally casual running from Tamim. Graeme Cremer had Anamul Haque caught behind in his first over to reduce Bangladesh to a wobbly 52 for 3 in the seventh over, but Nasir Hossain then joined captain Mushfiqur Rahim in the middle and the pair set about repairing the innings.Theirs was a watchful partnership, and apart from Mushfiqur’s solitary six, their entire stand of 47 was made up of scampered ones and twos. Zimbabwe’s hopes will have been briefly raised when a superb pick-up and throw from Vusi Sibanda had Mushfiqur run out for 31, but Hossain and Mahmudullah closed out the match in a flurry of boundaries. They put on an unbeaten 54 at almost 13-runs an over to keep Bangladesh’s hopes alive in this series.Earlier, Masakadza had once again provided the backbone of Zimbabwe’s innings and his extraordinary run of form has now extended to a century and three fifties in his last four innings. After Masakadza lost his opening partner, Vusi Sibanda, to a run out, a partnership of 48 in 32 deliveries with his captain Taylor helped Zimbabwe to weather the early breakthrough and briefly keep the ascendancy. Taylor contributed watchful 38s in Zimbabwe’s previous two wins, holding the middle order together, but with his side seemingly assured of a place in Sunday’s final he chose to take the attack to the bowlers.Taylor raced to 27 from just 12 balls but then played one shot too many, a top-edged hoick ending up in Mahmudullah’s hands at deep midwicket. Taylor’s dismissal meant that Zimbabwe’s middle order, which hasn’t really been tested yet in this series, were offered the chance for some time in the middle. Craig Ervine couldn’t make anything of the opportunity, however, as his dreadful run with the bat continued when he played outside the line of a Mahmudullah straight-break to depart for a golden duck.While Masakadza remained Zimbabwe still looked like passing 160, and he was cheered to a 47-ball fifty in the 15th over. The crowds attending the matches at Harare Sports Club have swelled as Zimbabwe racked up consecutive wins, and a particularly noisy rabble around Castle Corner kept warm on a wintry afternoon with choruses of exuberant and vocal support. Once Masakadza was prised out by Mortaza, however, they had much less cause to celebrate.

ScorecardGary Ballance’s unbeaten century carried Yorkshire to an eight-wicket win over the Unicorns at Scarborough.Left-armers Ryan Sidebottom and Mitchell Starc took three wickets apiece as the visitors were bowled out for 184 despite an unbeaten 83 from wicketkeeper Tom New. The Tykes slipped to 26 for 2 but Adam Lyth (60 not out) joined Ballance – who hit eight fours and four sixes – in an unbroken stand of 160.Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale put the Unicorns in to bat and Sidebottom removed James Ord in the first over for a duck before switching ends and adding the scalp of Michael Thornely, caught by Phil Jaques for 20. As wickets fell steadily, New was left as the mainstay of a score which always looked like being below par, especially once Starc removed captain Keith Parsons for 19.From 107 for 4 at that point, the Unicorns slipped to 150 for 7 as Starc took three wickets for six runs in 3.1 overs. Former Leicestershire man New reached a 67-ball half-century in between but Moin Ashraf claimed two tail-end wickets before Sidebottom returned to pick up Steven Cheetham with the final ball of the innings and finish with 3 for 44.Gale made 17 in an opening stand of 23 with Lyth, but he was trapped in front by Warren Lee before Jaques edged Glen Querl to New having made just 3.Lyth hit three fours in Lee’s next over, giving Ballance leeway to play himself in patiently. The Zimbabwe-born 22-year-old stepped up the pace with two sixes in successive Luke Beaven overs and soon passed Lyth’s scoring rate, reaching his half-century from 58 balls before hitting Lee for two sixes and a four in successive balls.Lyth took 71 balls to reach 50, by which time Ballance was on 98. The latter moved to three figures with a four off Bradley Wadlan from the 88th ball he faced before Lyth hit the winning boundary off Querl.

Faisal Iqbal, a middle-order batsman who is set to make his third comeback to the Pakistan team when they tour Sri Lanka this summer, is eager to cement his place in the Test side once and for all this time. Meanwhile Mohammad Ayub, who is set to debut on the same tour, is wary of the ‘tight competition’ in Pakistan’s middle order.Iqbal has played 26 Tests across the past decade, the last of which was in January 2010 and, he said, it took mental discipline to keep him going. “I have been surviving only because of my mental toughness,” Iqbal told ESPNcricinfo. “In the past I have been playing mainly as a replacement player [in the national team], which is why I wasn’t able to cement a permanent place. But now I think I can make it.”This recall has been triggered by Iqbal’s steady performance in the Quaid-e-Azam 2011-12 season, where he averaged 46.87. He also scored two hundreds in the two games he played for Sind in the Faysal Bank Pentangular Cup, aggregating 263 runs at an average of 87.66 in the tournament.”The last two years have been tough but I kept my fingers crossed and was optimistic, believing that Pakistan’s doors are never shut on any active player,” Iqbal said. “I kept my fitness levels high, never experimented with my position and scored all the runs as a specialist middle-order batsman.”Being the nephew of former Pakistan captain Javed Miandad only added to the pressure on him, Iqbal said, insisting that he didn’t take any shortcuts as a result of this connection. “Being a nephew of Miandad, you [journalists] knew very well how my cricket suffered. It’s very tough to cope with such pressure.”I was a soft target for many and my selection was criticised on grounds of nepotism though my performance was a convincing one. All these things were setbacks to my career but at the same time I was getting mentally strong.”Ayub, 32, has been close to national selection for several years, having been among the top performers on the domestic circuit and having scored heavily since 2009. He was in contention even before the series against England in the UAE earlier this year.”My performance was satisfactory for the last few years but being selected for national side wasn’t in my control,” Ayub told ESPNcricinfo. “Though my call-up to the national squad is a bit late, I think the chance being offered to me is fair enough and I am happy. I have been disappointed before and was hurt too each time I was snubbed, but remained optimistic that I will be rewarded for my hard work.””The process of learning has never stopped. My cricket has matured, the key to my success is the experience I have got from playing an ample amount of first-class cricket.”Ayub understands that the Pakistan Test team is currently in good shape and he doesn’t have too much time to establish himself. “Expectations are high and the competition is tight, but have faced a similar situation for many years. You have competition at every level. I have worked very hard and I deserved this chance, and I will live up to the expectations.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah celebrate a famous upset•AFP

Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan delivered an improbable win for Bangladesh that left Sachin Tendulkar’s record 100th international century in the shade and threw the Asia Cup wide open. As the focus remained on Tendulkar’s achievement for most of the match, Bangladesh did what they had threatened to do in the tournament opener against Pakistan – they showed that they could chase big totals under pressure against Test opposition.Bangladesh had asked India to bat knowing that chasing has been easier on the Mirpur pitch in this tournament than batting first. Though the strategy had not worked against Pakistan, India did not have an Umar Gul or a Saeed Ajmal to stop a side hungrier than they were for success.Shakib and Mushfiqur did not succumb to the gnawing tension that an asking-rate of above eight runs an over brings. Instead, India’s bowlers crumbled against their aggression. Shakib blitzed 49 off 31 deliveries and were it not for a close stumping decision going against him, might have finished the game on his own.With 66 needed off 50 deliveries, Shakib was adjudged stumped off R Ashwin with replays showing enough doubt for the benefit to have gone to the batsman. Mushfiqur, who had said yesterday that India’s thin bowling unit gave Bangladesh confidence, slammed 46 off 25 as Bangladesh won with four deliveries left.A steady build-up from Tamim Iqbal and Jahurul Islam had left Bangladesh with a climbing asking-rate. With Nasir Hossain in control at one end, Shakib gave Bangladesh hope with hitting that was as uninhibited as it was daring. He took 18 runs off the 37th over, bowled by Ashok Dinda, with a couple of swings over midwicket and thick edge to third man. R Ashwin dropped it short, and was punched and pulled for boundaries. It was now Irfan Pathan’s turn. A slash followed another pull, and the momentum had shifted in Bangladesh’s favour.India managed to sneak in some quiet overs after Shakib fell. It came down to 37 needed off 24. India’s quick bowlers were having problems in controlling their deliveries and full tosses had been dished out often. The 48th over was when it fell apart for them. Irfan bowled a wide outside off stump. MS Dhoni ran upto him with some advice. Irfan bowled a length ball on Mushfiqur’s pads next. Flicked over deep square leg for six. A stern-looking Dhoni had more words for Irfan. A high full toss followed from around the wicket. Swung over deep midwicket for six more.With 16 needed off 12, Praveen began the 49th over with a waist-high no-ball. Sliced over point for four. A length delivery followed. Mushfiqur wound up and dispatched it over long-on. Game over. Mushfiqur roared on the field; Shakib did an encore in the dressing room. Bangladesh had only their third ODI win over their big neighbours.When Tamim and Jahurul were ensuring that Bangladesh did not lose too many wickets during the middle overs, it had seemed that Bangladesh were not far away from coming short against the stiff asking-rate. Tamim again displayed his recent penchant for buckling down to play a long innings while Jahurul picked up the scoring after a slow start. The duo kept getting the odd boundary but could not really dominate. They fell after reaching their fifties, trying to keep up with the requirement, but Shakib and Mushfiqur stunned India with their refusal to give in.Defeat would have been the last thing on India’s minds when, after a year of hype and expectation, Tendulkar got his 100th international century in the country where he had equalled Sunil Gavaskar’s then-record 34 Test centuries in 2004 on way to his highest Test score. It wasn’t one of Tendulkar’s better hundreds and will ultimately be remembered only for being the one that brought up the unprecedented landmark. In fact, it was his second-slowest innings of 100-plus in ODIs and ended up restricting India’s progress. They ended up on 289 for 5, an underwhelming outcome considering their power-packed batting line-up had had a platform of 173 for 1 in the 36th over.Bangladesh’s attack was persevering but limited. Tendulkar duly milked them to finally go past a landmark that hardly anyone knew existed before he got close to it, but put tremendous pressure on the player himself in a frenzied build-up that lasted a year.Tendulkar had motored to 80 off 102 deliveries but took another 36 before he took his hundredth run, off Shakib Al Hasan. The monkey off his back, he belatedly took charge, hitting consecutive boundaries off Shahadat Hossain before a slog ended up in the keeper’s hands. Tendulkar’s departure came immediately after Suresh Raina’s brisk innings had ended after having kept India going amid his senior partner’s quest for the century. Raina hit 51 off 38 and built on a 148-run second-wicket partnership between Tendulkar and Kohli, who looked set to become the first India batsman to score three consecutive ODI hundreds until he played on for a breezy 66.The hosts should have had Kohli with the first ball of the sixth over, when Shafiul Islam struck him on the back leg in front of middle stump, but umpire Paul Reiffel remained unmoved. Kohli’s form took over after that, and with Tendulkar batting as safely as he does during some of his long Test innings, India motored along without giving Bangladesh half a chance more.Bangladesh had themselves to blame for allowing Tendulkar to settle with a generous sprinkling of wide deliveries from their fast bowlers. His first four scoring shots were all boundaries, as he cashed in on width to drive and punch through the off side.Shafiul had Gautam Gambhir playing on early off a forcing flat-footed drive, but Kohli did not take long to get going after his reprieve. The field hardly moved as he flicked and cover-drove for fours in consecutive overs.Spin was expected to be a major factor on a dry-looking pitch but Tendulkar and Kohli negotiated Bangladesh’s slow army without any problems. The scoring-rate did take a slight beating as singles dominated but Tendulkar soon found the freedom to slog sweep Shakib Al Hasan over wide long-on. With his feet moving precisely now, he made room to cart Shakib inside-out over extra cover to reach his first international fifty in 13 innings. As he passed 80, Tendulkar took his time amid some nerves. Meanwhile, after having contemptuously worked his way to another fifty, Kohli played on against Abdur Razzak.Raina’s slog sweeps and lofted shots over extra cover kept the runs coming, though, but Tendulkar was clearly feeling the pressure at the other end. He played out a maiden to Mashrafe Mortaza on 83, and on several occasions took off for non-existent singles before being sent back. The century arrived in the 44th over, and Tendulkar’s relief was evident. With the innings in need of a final burst, Dhoni slammed 16 off the 50th over to get India to 289, but for once Bangladesh chased with as much faith as their fans have in their team.Edited by Dustin Silgardo

ScorecardThe Titans beat the Lions by 45 runs to win the MiWay T20 challenge final at the Wanderers on Sunday to mark the end of South Africa’s domestic season. Both teams qualify for the Champions League T20 in September.Fad du Plessis spun the Titans to victory with a return of 4 for 24 after his team posted an imposing 187 for 6, batting on the same pitch that was used for the Twenty20 between South Africa and India on Friday night. The Titans had the advantage from the get-go when Lions’ international signing Dirk Nannes was ruled out of the match with a hamstring injury. Ethan O’Reilly replaced Nannes and battled with his lengths throughout, conceding 45 runs in his three overs.Henry Davids and Heino Kuhn started aggressively, blasting 42 off the first 20 balls, before Davids was bowled off the pad by Chris Morris. Kuhn was caught behind in the next over and Roelof van der Merwe holed out to deep midwicket two overs after that, off the bowling of Aaron Phangiso.The left-arm spinner was the Lions’ only economical bowler, giving away just 14 runs in four-over spell. Dwaine Pretoris chipped in with the wicket of du Plessis, who Pretorius dropped the ball before the South African middle-order batsman pulled to Morris in the deep. The wickets allowed the Lions to pull things back and they had the Titans cornered at 115 for 5 after 15 overs.Farhaan Behardien shared in two sizeable partnerships to ensure the score soared. He put on 42 runs for the sixth wicket with Albie Morkel and 33 for the seventh, in 14 balls. The Titans blasted 72 runs off the last five overs, in which the Lions dropped Behardien once and had him caught off a no-ball from Pakistan international Sohail Tanvir.The Lions made an already tough task even more difficult as they collapsed to 24 for 3 after three overs. Jonathan Vandiar was caught at third man off the second ball of the innings and Alviro Petersen and Quinton de Kock were both victims of Albie Morkel in the same over.Neil McKenzie and Jean Symes put the Lions back on track with a 50-run stand for the fourth wicket, the biggest of the match. Then, the dominoes began to fall. Symes was bowled by a du Plessis googly that kept low and Pretorius went the same way, in the same over. When Neil McKenzie was bowled, by Roelof van der Merwe in the next over, the Lions’ fate had been decided. du Plessis added the scalps of Morris and Thami Tsolekile to his haul to finish as the second highest wicket-taker for the Titans in the competition.The Titans have enjoyed their most successful summer in three seasons. They also won this season’s first-class competition, the SuperSport Series, under new coach Matthew Maynard. The Titans will now compete in their first Champions League. They were due to play in the 2008 version which was cancelled after terror attacks in Mumbai.The Lions defeat extends their trophy drought to six years. The last cup they won was in 2006, when they beat the Cobras in the final of the domestic twenty-over competition. They have had some recent success though and qualified for the Champions League T20 two seasons ago, when they lost to the Warriors in the final.

Peter Borren, the Netherlands captain, has said his team now has the belief they can become the best of the Associates and will surprise opposition with their improvement, at the World Twenty20 qualifier in the UAE. Borren said Netherlands’ aim for the tournament was not just to qualify for the World T20 in Sri Lanka in September but to actually win the qualifier.”I believe we now have a side capable of becoming the best of the rest,” Borren said. “In the past, maybe we didn’t quite have that belief but this is a new team and I think other sides will be surprised to see our improvement.”Our results over the last year in all competitions have been encouraging, particularly our season in the Clydesdale Bank 40 [England’s domestic 40-over competition] where we won five matches. We have learned how to win games.”We have a varied and disciplined attack with plenty of options available. We have a dangerous batting line-up which is nicely balanced between guys who have the ability to rotate the strike effectively and guys who can find the boundary.”Netherlands are looking for a return to the World T20 after failing to make it to the 2010 edition. They competed for the first time in the 2009 tournament in England, and caused the surprise of the tournament by beating the hosts. Their quest to qualify for the 2011 event is hampered by the absence of Ryan ten Doeschate, who has won the ICC Associate player of the year award three times in the last four years, and scored 214 runs at 42.80 for Netherlands in T20s. ten Doeschate will remain in South Africa playing for Impi in the MiWAY T20 Challenge.”Any team in world cricket would love to have a player of Ryan’s class in its side. So, he will naturally be missed,” Borren admitted. “Given his commitments around the world, we are very used to playing without him. If you look at our top five batsmen there should be enough runs there to cover in Ryan’s absence.”The chief threat to Borren’s side in group A of the T20 qualifiers will be Afghanistan – ranked two places below them in the ICC ODI rankings. Netherlands also find Canada, Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong, Bermuda, Denmark and Nepal in their path to the knockout stage of the 16-team competition.”We have played reasonably regularly over the years against Afghanistan, Canada and Denmark and used to play a bit against Bermuda,” Borren said. “We have a good record against these four sides. I am confident that we have the game to beat them.”As for PNG, Hong Kong and Nepal, we do not know so much about them. We are going to have to do some early scouting at the tournament and learn how they play. I know that PNG has improved an awful lot and has some very dangerous players.”Netherlands will prepare for the tournament with a week in Cape Town and get their campaign underway on March 13 against Canada in Dubai.Edited by Alex Winter

On a day dominated by bowlers, Baluchistan were restricted by Federal Areas to 223 for 8 at the Multan Cricket Stadium. Asked to bat, Baluchistan were struggling at 57 for 4 at one stage but recovered thanks to a middle-order fightback. Rehan Rafiq made 67 and was supported by Naved Yasin and Taimur Ali. Wicketkeeper Gulraiz Sadaf was unbeaten on 54 at stumps, having built important stands with Rizwan Haider (27) and Ahmed Raza (13). Seamers Sadaf Hussain and Iftikhar Anjum bagged three wickets each.Seamers Bilawal Bhatti and Asif Raza ran through the Sind batting line-up, giving Punjab the advantage on the first day at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Sind will rue the fact that several of their batsmen got starts but were unable to push on. No.3 to No. 10 all got into double-figures but the highest among them was 36 from Khurram Manzoor. Bhatti picked up five wickets, Raza collected four, and Sind were bowled out for 225. Punjab were well placed in their response, their openers adding 59 before the close.

ScorecardStuart Meaker took four wickets as England Lions coasted to victory in the second one-dayer to square the series against Bangladesh A. Meaker helped bowl the hosts out cheaply before Jonny Bairstow’s half-century saw the Lions home with 12 overs to spare.Bairstow’s 50 not out from 65 balls was the mainstay of the chase in an unbroken partnership of 70 with Jos Buttler, who made 41 not out.The chase began badly with the Lions slipping to 23 for 2. Jason Roy was bowled first ball of the innings and Joe Root fell for 5 in the sixth over. James Vince and captain James Taylor got the Lions’ reply moving with a stand of 48 before Bairstow completed the win.The Lions’ bowlers set up the victory with an early burst that saw only one of Bangladesh’s top seven make double figures. Stuart Meaker bowled Rony Talukder with the fourth ball of the match and also cleaned up captain Raqibul Hasan for 2. Danny Briggs also picked up two cheap wickets as Bangladesh A were reduced to 59 for 6.Nazimuddin held things together and reached 50 of 96 balls with five fours. He added eight more boundaries, including four sixes in an unbeaten 99. Suhrawadi Shuvo made the second top score with 20 from 27 balls.Dolar Mahmud’s 17 contributed to the only meaningful partnership of the innings, dominated by Nazimuddin. The pair added 81 in 16 overs to prevent the innings from complete destruction. But Simon Kerrigan had Mahmud caught by Roy and Meaker returned to take the last two wickets.

Harbhajan Singh, the India offspinner, has been ruled out of Punjab’s Ranji Trophy game against Railways, which begins today, because of a shin injury. Uday Kaul will lead the side in Harbhajan’s absence.”Against Saurashtra, Harbhajan first felt this shin pain,” Punjab’s coach Vikram Rathore told . “Harbhajan is in touch with a physio from the NCA [National Cricket Academy in Bangalore] and will possibly be going there to recover. He is expected to return for Punjab’s next fixture in Jaipur.”Punjab lost their previous match against Saurashtra and have six points after three games. Harbhajan took only two wickets in those games at an average of 102. He was left out of India’s squad for the home Test and one-day series against West Indies, as well as the Test series in Australia, after taking only two wickets in two Tests in England before an abdominal muscle injury forced him to return home.In Harbhajan’s absence, offspinner R Ashwin and left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha took 22 and 20 wickets in the Test series against West Indies, which India won 2-0, at averages of less than 23. They were both selected in the Test squad for the series in Australia.