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A wrap of the opening day of the eighth round of Ranji Trophy matches in Group C

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Dec-2012
ScorecardSreesanth took 4 for 28 (file photo)•PA PhotosPlaying his second match on comeback from injury, Sreesanth took 4 for 28 to bowl Jharkhand out for 120 in Mallapuram. Robert Fernandez and VA Jagadeesh then drove home the advantage by reaching 165 for 1 despite the loss of a wicket first ball.The day began with Sreesanth dismissing Akash Verma in the first over. He then took the big wickets of Ramiz Nemat and Ishank Jaggi in his fourth and sixth overs. When Sandeep Warrier took out Saurabh Tiwary, Jharkhand had been reduced to 62 for 5. Sp Gautam and Sunny Gupta added 28 for the sixth wicket, but the next five well within 30 runs.Jaskaran Singh gave Jharkhand a dream start with the ball, but that was the only success they would enjoy on a horror day.
ScorecardVikramjeet Malik took the only five-for in all 11 matches on day one, helping Himachal Pradesh bowl Jammu & Kashmir out for 175. This was his 14th five-wicket haul in 65 first-class games.It was allrounder Rishi Dhawan who provided the first breakthrough, getting Ian Dev Singh out for 2 in the sixth over. Malik ran through the rest of the top order, including the big wicket of Parvez Rassol. Obaid Haroon and Owais Shah added 47 for the fifth wicket, but Malik returned to remove Shah and make it 103 for 5. The sixth-wicket stand, between Haroon and Ram Dayal, added 53, but after that J7K just subsided.The Himachal openers saw through the rest of the day without incident.
ScorecardAsked to bat first in the early start in Guwahati, Andhra got off to a poor start before B Sumanth and veteran Amol Muzumdar lent their score some respectability. Arup Das rattled them with three wickets in the first spell, but from 26 for 3 Andhra did well to end the day at 214 for 8.Sumanth and Muzumdar added 80 fir the fourth wicket before another slide began. At 136 for 6, though, Muzumdar found a fighting partner in Rajesh Pawar, formerly of Baroda. They added 65 for the seventh wicket before Assam struck twice just before stumps. Muzumdar was 18 short of a century at stumps, with only two wickets standing.In Agartala, no play was possible between Tripura and Goa because of fog and bad light.

A six-wicket haul from Shingi Masakadza led Mountaineers to a 30-run win against Matabeleland Tuskers

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Dec-2012A six-wicket haul from Shingi Masakadza led Mountaineers to a 30-run win against Matabeleland Tuskers at Mutare Sports Club. The performance – 6 for 16 – was Masakadza’s best in domestic T20s and the fifth best in all T20 cricket.Defending 136, Tendai Chatara struck the first blow for Mountaineers, dismissing Moeen Ali for 1 in the second over. In the third, Masakadza had the captain Gavin Ewing caught and Tuskers were 11 for 2. Craig Ervine made 41 but had no support from his team-mates. Tuskers had slipped to 104 for 7 when Masakadza bowled the 19th over and took four wickets to end the innings. He struck with the second, third, fifth and sixth ball to dismiss Tuskers for 105.Mountaineers had also batted poorly after they won the toss. Mark Pettini was the only batsman to pass 30 and he made only 31. They were struggling at 110 for 7 in the 17th over and Masakadza’s 16 lifted them towards 135 for 9. Tuskers’ bowlers shared the wickets around, with Keegan Meth, Glen Querl, Njabulo Ncube and Ali taking two each.The match between Southern Rocks and Mashonaland Eagles was washed out at at Masvingo Sports Club without a ball bowled.

Henry Williams, the former South Africa bowler who was involved in the Hansie Cronje match-fixing case, has admitted he was never offered a specific amount of money to fix games but had told a different story to the King Commission in 2000

Firdose Moonda13-Jan-2013Henry Williams, the former South Africa bowler who was involved in the Hansie Cronje match-fixing case, has admitted he was never offered a specific amount of money to fix games but had told a different story to the King Commission in 2000. Williams was banned for six months after the investigation but did not play for South Africa again.At the inquiry, Williams testified that he had been offered US$ 15,000 from his captain Cronje to concede more than 50 runs in his 10 overs in the fifth ODI between South Africa and India in Nagpur. The same amount of money had been offered to Herschelle Gibbs to score less than 20 runs. However, while speaking to ESPNcricinfo during the practice match between the South African Invitation XI and the New Zealanders in Paarl two weeks ago, Williams claimed that no such details were discussed. Instead Cronje had joked with Gibbs and him, according to Williams, who said they were later convinced to pad up their stories for the King Commission.In the match in question, Williams injured his shoulder and only bowled 11 balls while Gibbs scored 74, and neither received any money.Williams admitted to being afraid of what might have happened to him and that he thinks there was a lot of pressure to produce a more detailed story to prove Cronje’s guilt. “It was serious then, and after that I thought, alright, life must go on: it can’t stop,” he said. “But at that particular moment there was fear.”When we testified to our lawyers what the story really was, they came up with a threat that we could be prosecuted for doing something like this. So it means we actually lied to our lawyers, who had to tell another story to get to somebody. I believe that was to get to Cronje and whoever was involved in this.”I had never been in a court before. We gave our Senior Counsel the story. We had to come back and testify to the King commission – a different story. I don’t know if we were forced to lie to get to somebody else. I’m still confused today.”When people ask me I will tell them the truth. I’ll say, ‘That’s what I said to my lawyers; what really happened’. Then, to the King commission, a different story. I don’t know why, because we were forced by the prosecution. I didn’t know what the hell was happening, what can happen to me. So I came up with a different story.”The version of the story Williams said is true was never heard by the King Commission, but he did expand on the details of what happened, almost 13 years later. “By the time I was in the shower [the morning of the Nagpur match], I heard Cronje in the room speaking to Herschelle but I don’t know what they are talking about.”When I put my shirt over my head, he [Cronje] said, ‘Hey, let’s throw this game’. I said, ‘Ja, let’s throw this game’. Because now he’s smiling with me and I’m smiling with him – if you’re going to bullshit me I’m going to bullshit you, so fine. There was nothing involved.”At lunchtime, he [Cronje] came to me and said, ‘We scored too many runs’. I looked at him and said, ‘What do you mean?’ He said, ‘Guys, the deal is off’. I said, ‘So what?’ He never spoke to us about money – you’re going to get this and you must go for that.”The lawyers who represented Williams and Gibbs at the King Commission, senior counsel Mike Fitzgerald and attorney Peter Whelan, deny that they had convinced Williams to lie on the stand. “That’s outrageous,” Fitzgerald said. “Why would I give my own client a version that implicates him? If I somehow persuaded him to lie, to whose benefit would that be?” Whelan called the allegations, “fundamental rubbish”.The King Commission secretary John Bacon said it was unlikely the investigations will be reopened unless they received something from Williams in writing.Williams currently works with the Boland Under-19 team, while Gibbs plays in various Twenty20 leagues around the world. He is at present with the Perth Scorchers for the Big Bash League and refused to get involved in the current issue. “I spoke to Herschelle and he wasn’t interested in commenting,” Scorchers media manager Daniel Davini said from Perth yesterday. “He said, ‘I have nothing say about that and I don’t want to have anything to do with that’.”

The preview of the Race to the Final of the Bangladesh Premier League between Dhaka Gladiators and Sylhet Royals in Mirpur

The Preview by Mohammad Isam14-Feb-2013Match FactsFebruary 15, 2013
Start time 1800 (1200 GMT)Big PictureChris Gayle will return to boost Dhaka Gladiators•Getty ImagesUnlike the first BPL season, the top four teams this time will be involved in a series of play-offs to reach the final, starting with the Race to the Final between Dhaka Gladiators and Sylhet Royals, the top two teams. The team that wins that match will qualify for the final, while the other team will have another shot, when they play a ‘second semi-final’ against the winner of the ‘first semi-final,’ contested by the third and fourth-placed teams in the league.The format will suit the Royals, who are up against a team that has some of the best Twenty20 cricketers in the world. With the acquisition of Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard, Gladiators now have an enviable line-up. Tillakaratne Dilshan and Gayle will open the innings, with Shakib Al Hasan, Mohammad Ashraful and Pollard to follow. Anamul Haque and Darren Stevens have been useful during the tournament, and they will be the perfect foil for such a strong top order.If Mashrafe Mortaza returns as captain, he will be part of an attack that will be led by Alfonso Thomas. The South African fast bowler has become the second bowler to take 200 wickets in Twenty20s after Dirk Nannes.The Royals have banked on the whole team contributing, in all of their nine wins in the competition. Shivnarine Chanderpaul complements the aggressive Paul Stirling, and the captain Mushfiqur Rahim will lead a middle order that is filled with big-hitters. Nazmul Hossain Milon and Elton Chigumbura have often come good in tough situations while Mohammad Nabi’s last-ditch effort in the team’s previous game will increase their confidence.Nannes will look to stop the likes of Gayle and Dilshan, and the performance of the spinners Sohag Gazi, Nabi and Suharwadi Shuvo will also be important. The two sides are not evenly matched; Royals will have to bring their best game to win the contest.Form guide(Most recent first)Dhaka Gladiators LWWWL
Sylhet Royals WWLWLIn the spotlightGladiators’ Mosharraf Hossain can bowl four quiet overs, which will be valuable to them. Royals’ batting line-up has often attacked the weak spinner in the opposition, so Mosharraf will be tested.The Royals will hope Mohammad Nabi continues to surprise with his skills. Initially, he took wickets while opening the bowling, then he also started taking wickets towards the second half of the innings, and lately he has started scoring valuable runs. Nabi will be up against some of the best Twenty20 players in the world. If he can hold his own, a lot more doors will open up for the Afghanistan allrounder.Team newsChris Liddle and Josh Cobb may have to make way for Gayle and Pollard in the Gladiators line-up. If their regular captain Mortaza returns to the side, it will have the best of its local and foreign talent.Dhaka Gladiators (possible): 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Chris Gayle, 3 Mohammad Ashraful, 4 Shakib Al Hasan, 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Darren Stevens, 7 Anamul Haque (wk), 8 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), 9 Mosharraf Hossain, 10 Alfonso Thomas, 11 Saqlain Sajib.The Royals will bring back Nannes for the big game, in place of Sulieman Benn. They may also be tempted to use Dwayne Smith’s all-round skills, but the side is settled and has enough spin-bowling allrounders to fill the middle and lower-order.Sylhet Royals (possible) 1 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 2 Paul Stirling, 3 Mushfiqur Rahim (capt & wk), 4 Mominul Haque, 5 Elton Chigumbura, 6 Mohammad Nabi, 7 Nazmul Hossain Milon, 8 Suhrawadi Shuvo, 9 Sohag Gazi, 10 Dirk Nannes, 11 Bishwanath HalderPitch and conditionsThe Mirpur pitches have given the batsmen a lot to be happy about, and the spinners will not buy into the claim that the wickets have been slow in this tournament. The obvious expectation would be of a lot of runs and batting first will be advantageous.Head-to-headThe teams have played each other twice during the league stage. The Royals won the first game by seven wickets, before the Gladiators beat them by 31 runs four days later.Quotes”I think the Sohag Gazi-Chris Gayle battle will be resumed tomorrow, which I guess will be interesting to see. Pollard is also on fire. He got a hundred against Australia and took three wickets in the last game, he is in fantastic form.”
“The biggest strength for us is the coordination and the cooperation that the players have shown throughout the tournament. We want to focus on our performance rather than consider who we are playing with.”

Former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga has asked Sri Lanka players to boycott the IPL if they are unable to play at all venues in the country

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Mar-2013Former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga has asked Sri Lankan cricketers to put their pride before money and boycott this season’s IPL unless they are allowed to play at all venues.”If you are not welcome in one part of the country then why play in other venues just because of the money,” Ranatunga asked.He was speaking to the in response to the IPL governing council’s decision to bar Sri Lankan players from playing in Chennai, because of growing political tensions in Tamil Nadu stemming from the treatment of ethnic Tamils in Sri Lanka.Ranatunga, currently a Member of Parliament for Kalutara district in Sri Lanka, said he believed this decision was nothing more than politics and sport being intertwined, and that cricketers were easy prey because of the fan following and media scrutiny they deal with on a daily basis.”It won’t be easy for players to say no to their pay cheques but at times one has to stand up and say ‘no thank you’ rather than compromise for the sake of money,” he said. “Sri Lankan cricketers are not as well-paid as some of their counterparts and playing in the IPL is a huge attraction but by giving the tournament a skip they make a statement.”He said the decision would be a loss only for the IPL, as the tournament would be without some of the best players from Sri Lanka.

Albie Morkel injured his left ankle during the Ram Slam T20 final and which could force him to miss a portion of the IPL

Firdose Moonda07-Apr-2013Albie Morkel left the field after bowling 2.3 overs in the Ram Slam T20 final with an ankle injury. However, he dispelled concerns over his participation in the IPL by *tweeting the next morning that he will be leaving for India on Monday after undergoing a scan. Scan went well. Will be on my way to India today,” he said.While sending down his 15th delivery of the innings, Morkel turned on his left ankle and fell onto the pitch, where he lay for several seconds before turning over with a grimace. He was treated on field and had to be helped off.Morkel returned to bat later in the match although he appeared in some discomfort. He limped through his runs put batted for 29 minutes before becoming the last man out.”We don’t know how bad it is yet. He will have to get it checked out,” Titans captain Henry Davids said after the game. “He turned over his ankle, which can be quite serious. But it was good that he could come out and bat again, he is a very destructive player.”This is not the first time Morkel has been troubled by ankle problems. He picked up a similar injury on South Africa’s tour of England last July. On that occasion, Morkel required only 10 days to recover.CSK’s other big South African signing, Faf du Plessis, will miss the first four weeks of the IPL with a lower-back problem which will leave them without two key players. They will, however, have the services of Chris Morris in their squad.

Scan went well. Will be on my way to India today. #CSK

— Albie Morkel (@albiemorkel) April 8, 2013

*The story has been updated after Morkel’s tweet confirmed he was leaving for India

The preview of the match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians in Hyderabad

The Preview by Devashish Fuloria30-Apr-2013Match factsWednesday, May 1, 2013
Start time 1600 IST (1030 GMT)The pacifier: Darren Sammy’s inclusion has given the Sunrisers Hyderabad’s lower middle-order a settled look•BCCIBig PictureThe scramble to finish in the top four is getting intense as the league moves into the second half. While Chennai Super Kings have floated to the top and two teams with inertia working against them have settled at the bottom, others are still moving up and down randomly in Brownian motion. Sunrisers Hyderabad were at the top a week ago, but after two away losses they have descended to No. 5. They have a chance to catch the updraught again when they face a strong Mumbai Indians team at their home venue.Most teams this year have thrived in home conditions and Sunrisers are no different – they have won three out of three in Hyderabad on the back of some inspiring spells by their all-round bowling unit even after repeated batting collapses. With the inclusion of Shikhar Dhawan and Darren Sammy, the line-up appears – at least on paper – a bit spunkier. If they can find a way to extend the aggression shown by their bowlers to their batting – and fielding – they can continue springing surprises. The only problem that remains to be solved is their constant juggling of the captaincy.Mumbai Indians’ home record is immaculate, but playing away, they have blown hot and cold. Their batting was dismal in Jaipur and their bowlers appeared listless in Delhi. However, they seem to have bumped into the right formula under the new leadership of Rohit Sharma and have won three consecutive matches, although that has neatly covered up the lack of form of their 40-year-old opener. Can they pull up a similar act without the Mumbai crowd behind them?Form guide (most recent first)Sunrisers Hyderabad LLWWL
Mumbai Indians WWWLLWatch out for …Sunrisers’ rickety batting line-up was overly dependent on Thisara Perera for the big hits, but in Darren Sammy, they now have another player who can clear the boundaries with ease, can play the defensive role, be a decent bowler and an athletic fielder. His half-century against Rajasthan Royals gave Sunrisers a chance to fight and showed his value in the team. For what it’s worth, he is also from West Indies, the players from where have played a number of starring roles this season already.Rohit Sharma is probably the best striker of the ball in India behind MS Dhoni. But he is not the usual murderer of the cricket ball; he takes his time and then makes it up later with hits that are easy to the eye and brutal on the bowler’s psyche. Some of his sixes this season have landed deep into the stands; one off a full toss off David Hussey ended up in the top tier at Wankhede on Monday night. Dale Steyn’s bowling was dented by Dhoni the other day in Chennai. Can Rohit do the same against the best fast bowler in the world?Stats and trivia Thisara Perera is the leading run-scorer for Sunrisers Hyderabad this season with 144 runs, but he sits on No. 28 in the batting charts Rohit Sharma has smashed 23 sixes this season – 10 more than the third-placed Eoin Morgan. Chris Gayle is on the top of the list with 36. 130 by Royal Challengers Bangalore is the highest total achieved by a visiting team in Hyderabad this season Quotes”As we have seen in the past and we will probably see in the future, teams like Mumbai are not unbeatable.”

After the high-scoring opening match in Cardiff, there was a low-scoring nail-biter at The Oval with West Indies securing a priceless two-wicket victory

The Report by Andrew McGlashan07-Jun-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKemar Roach’s new ball spell set West Indies up for a good afternoon at The Oval•International Cricket CouncilWhatever your persuasion when it comes to one-day cricket the Champions Trophy looks set to offer something for everyone. After the high-scoring opening match in Cardiff, there was a low-scoring nail-biter at The Oval with West Indies surviving major problems against Pakistan’s pace and spin combination to secure a priceless two-wicket victory.Amid a passionate, excitable crowd dominated by Pakistan support – this is arguably the closest they will get to a home crowd given their current situation – West Indies, who themselves used to have a vast following at The Oval in the 1970s and 1980s, threatened to throw away their outstanding work in the field with a nervous batting display. They eventually limped over the line with Denesh Ramdin and Kemar Roach at the crease: a wicketkeeper and a pace bowler, as it was in the darkness for the triumph in 2004.Perhaps aware that pushing and prodding was dangerous, Ramdin and Sunil Narine did not try to eke their way to the target after Dwayne Bravo, in his first match as captain, was lbw to Saeed Ajmal with 28 still required. The bold, and occasionally reckless, approach quickly sunk the requirement down to six only for Narine to edge Mohammad Irfan behind. A few tense deliveries followed until Roach, in the spirit of Ian Bradshaw, scythed a boundary over the off side.Pakistan’s bowlers, as they have regularly in the past, so nearly rescued their batsmen. Irfan’s bounce was intimidating, Wahab Riaz’s pace unsettling and Saeed Ajmal’s variations beguiling. But, after just two of their batsmen reached double figures – Misbah-ul-Haq ended unbeaten on a career-best 96 – they were just short of runs.Despite losing two early wickets against the towering Irfan, a partnership of 63 between Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels had made significant inroads into the chase and brought the requirement down below 100. Then a well-flighted doosra from Ajmal flummoxed Gayle as he tried to launch it over the leg side and Pakistan sensed their opening.Wahab, on the ground where he took a five-wicket haul on his Test debut in 2010, bowled with pace and controlled aggression throughout – occasionally nudging 90mph – and produced a lifting delivery which brushed Ramnaresh Sarwan’s edge.Samuels had unfurled a couple of the sparkling off-drives which lit up the previous English season, but when he charged at Mohammad Hafeez and was beaten by the drift the game had edged back in Pakistan’s favour.Kieron Pollard, shelving almost all his natural instincts apart from one straight blow for six, produced probably his most cautious one-day innings – taking 18 balls to get off the mark – alongside Bravo which changed the balance of power again. But Pollard was another batsman undone by pace and bounce as Kamran Akmal completed the fourth of his five dismissals and West Indies’ lower-order depth was severely tested.It was a fantastic match for those who enjoy their cricket with the ball holding sway. Roach knocked over the top of Pakistan’s batting with three wickets in his first four overs, leaving them 15 for 3, and Narine sparked another collapse in the middle order with six wickets falling for 33.Either side of those wobbles, Nasir Jamshed and Misbah repaired a lot of the early damage with a fourth-wicket stand of 90, only for it to be wastefully given away amid rash shots and run outs from the lower order. Only Irfan, at No. 11, showed the common sense to try and stay with his captain but could not quite help him to a maiden one-day hundred.During the tense finish, the 32 runs added for the last wicket were shaping as vital, as was the let-off Misbah received before he had scored which did not cast Ramdin in a glowing light. It was not just a simple dropped chance; Ramdin initially gathered the inside edge which would have given Roach his fourth wicket but in falling to his left the ball escaped his gloves.Although it was clearly grounded, Ramdin then rolled the ball to the square-leg umpire and claimed the catch. Perhaps he was unaware of the Law that the fielder has to also be in control of the release – and not just the catch – but it did not look good for Ramdin on replays.If the chance had been cleanly taken, Pakistan would have been 17 for 4. Roach roughed up their top order with an outstanding six-over spell which had begun by removing Imran Farhat in the opening over. Hafeez was bowled by a full, straight delivery which he played around and then Asad Shafiq, suckered in by some extra bounce, cut to third man. By now, Bravo was responding with the “attacking” brand of cricket he promised by setting fields that included three slips, a short leg and a leg gully.Mishab took 14 balls to score – not that he gets flustered by such issues – and when he burst out of his shell with a straight six off Pollard, Pakistan were beginning to prosper for the first time. But it all began to unravel again when Jamshed, two balls after reaching a grafting fifty, picked out long-off. Three deliveries later Shoaib Malik – surrounded by close fielders – chipped to short midwicket and Akmal became Narine’s third when he edged a cut. Despite Misbah’s resilience, and the skills of his bowlers, it was a costly collapse.

Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor said that his side’s failure to start well with the bat and ball cost them the T20 match against Bangladesh

Mohammad Isam12-May-2013Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor said his side’s failure to start well with the bat and ball had cost them the second Twenty20 against Bangladesh. The hosts went down by 34 runs mainly due to the partnership between Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal, and later due to the loss of two wickets during their innings in the batting Powerplay.”They got off the mark quicker than us today,” Taylor said. “They approached their batting better than us and bowled better in the first six overs. They were going at tens, we were going at sevens.”Zimbabwe had pulled off a close win in the first Twenty20 on Saturday, but were missing the same enthusiasm in the second and final game. Shakib and Tamim added 82 for the second wicket, and though Zimbabwe fought back with the ball, they batted in fits and starts during the chase and ended up losing by a big margin.”I don’t think we were relaxed. I think we didn’t execute as well as we had done on Saturday [in the first Twenty20],” Taylor said. “They scored quite freely as we couldn’t put the ball in the right areas. We pulled it back nicely towards the end, and we thought that 169 was very gettable. Unfortunately, we lost crucial wickets at the wrong time.”Taylor was pleased with his side’s performance against Bangladesh in the Tests as well as the limited-overs games. Zimbabwe beat Bangladesh by a whopping 335 runs in the first Test and later went on to win the ODIs after losing the first game of the three-match series.”We are very pleased with how the ODI series went. Our record in Bulawayo against Bangladesh isn’t good, so we can take a lot of confidence out of that. We can also hold our heads high for drawing the T20 series.”Our players were very hungry in this series and we needed to put up our best performance after the West Indies tour. We were determined to do well at home, where we have had good results in the past.”One of the positive outcomes for Zimbabwe was the manner in which they kept Bangladesh in check. “I think Bangladesh will be pretty disappointed, I don’t think they played their best cricket,” Taylor said. “We saw Shakib come good in the last game. The likes of Tamim and Mushfiqur would be pretty disappointed. They’re quality players, so I am sure they’d bounce back stronger. We knew we were going to go up against a confident Bangladesh side that did well against Sri Lanka. We executed our plans really well.”

Narsingh Deonarine’s best figures of 3-25 suffocated Sri Lanka A’s middle order in the second unofficial one-day match in Grenada to help West Indies A level the series at 1-1.

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jun-2013
ScorecardNarsingh Deonarine’s best figures of 3-25 helped suffocate Sri Lanka A’s middle order, after a promising start by the openers, in the second unofficial one-day match in Grenada to help West Indies A level the series at 1-1.Set a modest target of 240 after West Indies A captain Kirk Edwards won the toss, Sri Lanka A captain Dimuth Karunaratne and wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella knocked over one-third of the target themselves with a 94-run opening partnership.Karunaratne became one of Nikita Miller’s two vicitims in the 21st over, soon after scoring his second consecutive fifty of the series. Sri Lanka A, who were maintaining a healthy run-rate of nearly five per over until then, could only add 21 runs in the next ten overs, during which Deonarine’s part-time offbreaks prised out Angelo Perera, Thilina Kandamby and Ashan Priyanjan. They were not too comfortable in the last match either, contributing 51 runs to a chase of 283.Fast bowlers Sheldon Cotterrell and Jason Holder took two wickets a piece to polish off the tail as Sri Lanka A folded for 150 in the 43rd over.West Indies A were also powered by a solid opening partnership, as Nkrumah Bonner made amends for his four-ball duck in the first match with a half-century that included five fours and a six. He and Lendl Simmons put on 89 runs before Simmons fell to left-arm spinner Chaturanga de Silva in the 23rd over. De Silva would pick up two more to finish his quota, as West Indies A lost five wickets, including the crucial run-out of Deonarine, in their last ten overs.