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India A 135 for 0 (Jadhav 60*, Gambhir 59*) beat Kenya 133 (Odumbe 40, Bhandari 3-20, Bahutule 3-26) by 10 wickets
ScorecardIndia A registered their second victory in successive days in the tri-nation one-day tournament in Nairobi, thrashing Kenya by ten wickets in a hopelessly one-sided contest.Kenya had beaten India A by 22 runs in the first round of the group matches, but this time they stood no chance after Amit Bhandari wrecked their top order with an incisive new-ball spell. He took three early wickets as Kenya slumped to 18 for 3. Maurice Odumbe led a mini-revival with 40, but Kenya managed only a paltry 133, which the Indian openers knocked off in just 25 overs.Bhandari started the Kenyan slide early on, trapping Kennedy Obuya in front for 5 (8 for 1). Then, with the score on 18, Bhandari struck twice, having Hitesh Modi caught behind for 3, before nailing Steve Tikolo, Kenya’s captain, in similar fashion for a duck.Odumbe and Ravindu Shah got the innings back on track, putting on 62 for the fourth wicket, but all their good work was undone when four wickets went down for the addition of just one run, with Sairaj Bahutule and Aavishkar Salvi doing the damage. Odumbe was finally stumped by Mahendra Dhoni – who had five victims in the match – off Bahutule, and though the tail resisted briefly, 133 was all that Kenya could manage.It was a target which was never likely to test the Indians, and Gautam Gambhir and Dheeraj Jadhav ensured an early finish. Both scored half-centuries – Jadhav was unbeaten on 60 while Gambhir made 59 not out – as India romped home with half their total overs unused. India A and Kenya now have two wins from three games, while Pakistan A have lost both their matches so far.

Sussex were in the driving seat at the close on the first day against Australia after rattling up 355-4 declared from 81 overs before reducing the tourists to 19-2 by stumps.The county’s prolific opening pair Richard Montgomerie and Murray Goodwin both scored hundreds and then Billy Taylor made early inroads into Australia’s batting by removing Justin Langer and Ricky Ponting.Sussex’s openers put on 202 after the county had been put in by Adam Gilchrist; their third partnership of over 200 this season.Goodwin was stumped off Simon Katich after making 105 including 17 boundaries, most of them thumped with power and timing through the off side.It was the Zimbabwean’s sixth century of the season, but Montgomerie went one better and passed 2,000 runs in all cricket when he reached his seventh century.He eventually fell for 157, caught at slip off Damian Fleming with the second new ball. It was overdue reward for Fleming who saw Montgomerie dropped by reserve ‘keeper Wade Seccombe in the second over when he’d made just one.Acting captain Adam Gilchrist’s bowling options were reduced when Ashley Noffke had to be carried off with a sore ankle after he’d trodden on the ball in his ninth over. The luckless Noffke had earlier spilled Montgomerie on 32 when he top-edged a hook off Brett Lee down to fine leg.Sussex skipper Chris Adams chipped in with an unbeaten 66 and his enterprising declaration soon paid dividends.Taylor ensured Langer’s miserable tour continued when he trapped him lbw on the back leg and in his next over Ponting flicked the ball off his legs straight to Montgomerie at square leg.

Warren Hegg and Graham Lloyd hit glorious centuries to put Lancashire on thetrack of a 20 points championship win over Somerset at Old Trafford today.But the scent of failure was in the air after Surrey’s demolition ofDurham at the Foster’s Oval.Even if Lancashire go on to beat Somerset tomorrow, they look destined tobe runners-up for the third year on the trot. Theoretically Surrey would needone point from the last match of the summer at Old Trafford next week but,practically, there is no way Lancashire can stop them.Hegg, acting captain, hammered 128, only six short of his career best, andhis first century since 1996. He reached 100 with 13 fours off 171 balls.Lloyd, who has struggled for top form, also claimed his first hundred ofthe campaign, and it was a thrilling performance with 100 runs before lunch.He finished on 126, and there was a six and 19 fours in his century whichcame off 132 balls.They linked up with Lancashire at 160-5 and piled on 152 before Lloyd wasadjudged lbw, perhaps a little unluckily, to a delivery from Michael Burns.Hegg kept going, receiving solid support from Glen Chapple and MikeSmethurst, and when he was out, hoisting Adrian Pierson to long-on, hedeclared at 463-9.Somerset, 331 behind, looked daunted by their task and slipped to 63-4 inthe face of some potent seam bowling from Peter Martin, Glen Chapple and MikeSmethurst who nabbed Jamie Cox for the second time in the match.Lancashire are still waiting to see if they will suffer a points penaltyfrom the pitch inspectors. Mike Denness, A C Smith, and Tom Flintoff were atthe ground today and planned to interview head groundsman Peter Marron, thecaptains and umpires before reaching a decision.

Hosts Tamil Nadu lost their opening match of the P Subbiah Pillay Trophy,Ranji Trophy South Zone One-Dayers against Karnataka by 33 runs at the MAChidambaram Stadium at Chepauk. After a damp outfield delayed the start ofthe game by 190 minutes, Tamil Nadu skipper Robin Singh won the toss andput Karnataka in to bat.The decision turned out to be a good one as Thirunavukarasu Kumaran reducedKarnataka to 0/2 at the end of the first over. A quick yorker got rid ofJAK Arunkumar and off the very next ball, the fifth of the innings, stumperTilak Naidu dragged the ball back onto his stumps. With two batsmen back inthe hut and no runs on the board, Mithun Beerala and India One-Day discardVijay Bharadwaj came together.Mixing occasional clean hits with some precise running between the wickets,the pair blunted the Tamil Nadu attack. The mediumpacers gave way to thespinners and there was still no respite for Tamil Nadu. Former Testoffspinner Aashish Kapoor was welcomed to the attack by sixes over long onfrom both batsmen. At 101/2, a half hearted shot from Bharadwaj saw himpresent a simple catch to Sadagoppan Mahesh and Kumaran had his third scalpof the match. Bharadwaj had made 47. In the company of Beerala, he hadadded 101 runs to the total.Just 2.4 overs later a very tired Beerala was run out by a good bit offielding from Robin Singh and it looked like the balance might swing inTamil Nadu’s favour. Beerala’s run a ball 53 included three boundaries andthe solitary six.Dodda Ganesh (31) added a late in the innings charge that included twolusty sixes and Karnataka ended their 32 overs on a healthy 171/9. Inresponse, the strong on paper Tamil Nadu batting line up lost its waycompletely. Barring a promising 24 from Ramesh and a steady 25 from RajatBhatia at the top of the order, no one in the top five made it to doublefigures. The two put on 48 for the second wicket and this turned out to bethe largest partnership of the innings. At 77/6 after 21.1 overs there waslittle hope for the home side. A lively 32 from Sridharan Sharath delayedthe inevitable even as Tamil Nadu ended on 138/9 after 32 overs. The hostsplay Goa tomorrow and need to get their act together in a hurry.

Makoni’s cricketers have had mixed fortunes in recent weeks in the Lilthurbridge Cup. A month ago they travelled to Enterprise Country Club (30 minutes north-east of Harare) where they comprehensively outplayed these six-time champions. Set a modest 185 (Ant Mitchell 59, Roger Staunton 38), Makoni cruised home with 186/4 (Kenyon Ziehl 66, Kevin Curran 47*).The following week they handed out another six-wicket hiding, this time to former Country Districts powerhouses Hwedza. Winning the toss and fielding, Makoni restricted the visitors to 163/7. Richard Seager was luckily dropped four times during his 59 otherwise the game would have been over sooner. Zeihl(41), Hough (37), Frans Briers (34) and Curran (32*) knocked off the runs with ten overs to spare.Makoni – who always field first to get the worst part of the day over with – included former Zimbabwe B opening bowler Dave Timms. Now resident in the USA, ‘Gonzo’ was unfortunately unable to re-enact former glories. A huge man who occasionally played lock for Manicaland in the eighties, he once carried the drinks for Zimbabwe – dutifully wearing blazer and black shoes, believing his team mates’ assurances that this was protocol. A notable absentee from Hwedza’s ranks after 30-odd seasons was Mike Seager, now playing for Enterprise after a spat with the selectors.These results propelled Makoni as group winners into the play-offs. Early-season favourites for the title, they came unstuck at the first hurdle. Travelling to Chegutu (formerly Hartley), they were beaten by 89 runs by a young side bristling with Academy players. Batting first, Chegutu made 198/8 (Barney Rogers 44, D. Waterfall 32), with only Bokkie Moolman (2/45) enjoying limited success with the ball. Stunned by Academy bowler Van Rensburg (5/33 – all ducks) and De Vries (3/36), Makoni slumped to 109 all out, with only Kevin Curran managing 57. The Makoni veterans took exception to the tone adopted by these youthful townies who sledged and abused their way to an unpleasant victory.Last weekend with only nine players they drove 400 kilometres to receive a hiding from Karoi. Sent in, they made 194 (Nigel Hough 75, Kenyon Ziehl 35), which Karoi overhauled with 13 overs and seven wickets to spare. Robin Brown felt obliged to retire on 70 such was the disarray of these would-be cup bowlers. Simon Ballance had done an Achilles, Hough’s back had gone and Ziehl had pulled thigh, hamstring and armpit muscles. With only one game to go they are now unable to progress to the semi-finals.Last weekend saw all the provincial chairmen meeting for discussions in Bulawayo during the one-day internationals at Queens Sports Club. Plenty of fire was breathed on the state of the game and the direction its leaders were taking. There was a consensus that development needed huge financial support, most importantly in the form of full-time paid provincial administrators. With the game’s expansion and thrust, the amateur part-timers currently doing the job feel increasingly overwhelmed. All clubs are struggling financially and there are feelings that the ZCU should emulate other Test nations in equitable income distribution.

A belligerent century knock by Yashpal Singh enabled Services to score 238/8 in reply to Punjab first innings total of 300 runs in the North Zone Ranji match played at Gandhi Ground, Amitsar.Punjab’s overnight score of 300/9 did not advance any further, and the innings folded with the third ball of the day from Sayed Javed, which bowled Babloo Kumar and increased Javed’s wicket tally to four.Services began their reply on a sad note as Gagandeep Singh’s impressive display of swing bowling sent back three batsmen back to the pavilion with only 27 on the board. Gagandeep struck in the very first over as PM Reddy (0) was compelled to play at an out-going delivery and edged it to gully fielder Sandeep Sanwal. Jasvir Singh (1) became the second victim of Gagandeep as he nicked an out-swinger for Yuvraj Singh to hold at third slip. Harish Bhaskar (7) was then surprised by a sharp in-cutter which shattered his stumps.Yashpal Singh & Sanjay Verma showed some resistance and cautiously added 40 runs for fourth wicket. Skipper Verma (11) fell, trapped in front by Reetinder Singh Sodhi with the score on 67.Sarabjit Singh stepped in at the departure of the skipper to join Yashpal Singh, who was shaping well. The pair took the total to 77/4 by lunch.Yashpal Singh was in good touch and was stroking the ball well through the gaps. In this essay, he completed his half-century in 66 balls. Sarabjit too was facing the challenge with courage, and the pair wrested away the early initiative taken by Punjab. Both scored fluently and added 93 runs in the session without separated.At tea, Services had scored 170 runs with Yashpal on 83 & Sarabjit on 49. The latter, however, was sent back by an accurate direct hit from mid-off by Yuvraj Singh while trying to steal a single to complete his half-century, ending a 106-run fifth wicket partnership.Yashpal Singh gave the Punjab bowlers more nightmares as he stood like a rock at one end to keep the scoreboard ticking. He showed his class and temperament during this knock, going to his maiden ton in style as he lofted a flighted ball from Sawal for a six over long-off. His century came in 202 balls with 11 boundaries and a six.Yashpal and CD Thomson were stabilising the innings when left-arm spinner Babloo Kumar gave a his team a double break as he bowled Thomson and trapped Javed in front. The Punjab skipper Vikram Rathore took the second new ball after 83 overs, with Services on 229/7. Yashpal was retired hurt, being struck on his left forearm by a lifting delivery.Gagandeep took his fourth wicket as he got Sudhakar Ghag (0) caught at mid-off by Yuvraj. The end of the day’s play was called at the fall of the eighth wicket, with Services still trailing by 62 runs with only two wickets remaining.Delhi squander early advantageHaryana’s spinners struck vital blows in the post-tea session to bring down Delhi from a commanding position and reduce them to 288 for seven in the first innings in the North Zone Ranji tie.Replying to Haryana’s 316, Delhi failed to capitalise on a 121-run opening stand between Gautam Gambhir (91) and Akash copra (48). From a dominant position of 166 for two, Delhi collapsed to 260 for seven, with Amit Mishra striking thrice and Gautam Vashisht twice.Earlier, resuming at their overnight score of 282 for eight, Haryana added 34 runs in eight overs before Arun Singh ended the innings by taking the wickets of Sumit Narwal (39) and Nitin Aggarwal (11). The Delhi openers settled down early and soon got into an aggressive mode, hitting pace bowlers S Vidyut and Narwal all over the ground.Just when the partnership was going strong, and the hosts were firmly on the road to a huge first innings score, Haryana got a breakthrough when Nitin Aggarwal’s direct hit broke the stumps at the non-striker’s end while Chopra was attempting a cheeky single.Gambhir added 43 runs with new man Radhey Shyam Gupta. Just when he looked set for a well-deserved century, however, he was deceived as he jumped out to a flighted ball from Vashisht, keeper Ratra whipping off the bails in a flash.Vashisht struck again after four overs, dismissing Gupta caught at silly point by Shafiq Khan with the scoreboard reading 179 for three. Haryana clawed their way back into the game, grabbing four more wickets within a space of 10 overs, the Mishra-Vashisht combination bowling accurately.But Delhi skipper Mithun Manhas (45 off 32 balls) refused to give up and executed some powerful shots in trying to stem the rot. He collaborated with Pradeep Chawla to add 44 runs, even as Haryana’s bowlers were on the rampage.Manhas could not hold on for long, though, as he was trapped in front by Aggarwal. Even as Delhi’s middle order failed, the tailenders not only showed resistance, but adopted attack as the best form of defence, with Sarandeep Singh (20) and Abhishek Sharma (23*) making some quick runs and hitting four boundaries each. Sharma and Amit Bandhari (4*) were at the crease, and the hosts still trailed by 28 runs, when stumps were drawn.Himachal restrict Jammu and KashmirHost Himachal Pradesh bowled out Jammu and Kashmir for 187 in their first innings on the second day of North Zone Ranji tie at Mandi, thereby conceding a lead of 42 runs.Accurate bowling by Vishal Bhatia (4-55) and Shakti Singh (3-71) helped Himachal Pradesh contain the visitors to a moderate score. Jammu and Kashmir failed to capitalise fully on Himachal Pradesh’s low first-innings total, and none of the batsmen could put up a sizeable score. Abdul Qayoom was the highest scorer, making 32, followed by Vikrant Taggar with 31.Resuming play at an overnight total of 21/1, Jammu and Kashmir lost Kavaljit Singh at 43, followed by opener Raju Seema at 51.Himachal Pradesh, in reply, were 73 for two in the second innings, with both openers Nischal Gaur (18) and Sandeep Sharma (14) back in the pavilion. Rajiv Nayyar, however, who was unbeaten on 41 in the first innings, was at the crease on 17, while Sangram Singh was not out on 22 at the close of the day.

Australia took the winner’s points yesterday and New Zealand the loser’s lessons to apply before they achieve their aim of meeting again in the final of the CricInfo Women’s World Cup at Christchurch’s Lincoln University.The tournament defied the weather of the previous 12 hours and started only an hour late, largely due to the attentions of the ground staff who, during the night, moved 10,000 litres of water from the BIL Oval.What made the start time even more incredible was the fact that the ground is not a sand-based one.That such a fine pitch, with the potential for some high scoring before the tournament ends on December 23, was available for play was little short of amazing.New Zealand was required to bat first, but the only real handicap it suffered was the lack of value for outfield shots due to the slightly damp conditions.Australia’s bowling allowed little room for manoeuvre and Therese McGregor produced a man of the match performance which belied the fact she was playing in her first World Cup game.Her 4-18 off 10 straight overs at the start of the innings completely knocked the stuffing out of New Zealand’s aspirations.But the work put in by New Zealand over the summer was rewarded with a fightback from the perilous position of 48-5.The injured skipper Emily Drumm returned, once her elbow recovered from a blow which knocked the feeling from her arm for 10 overs, and took the bowling by the scruff of the neck to revive the innings.She was finally out for 74.”We were 20 runs shy of what we should have got. It was disappointing to get into such a weak position to start with.”We had nothing to lose when I came back. You don’t spend months training over the winter to lie down,” she said.However, she always knew the 166-9 her side scored was not going to be enough.Apart from McGregor’s effort, Cathryn Fitzpatrick took 0-26 from her 10 overs bowling at good pace while Charmaine Mason took 2-29.”Therese bowled an amazing spell,” her skipper Belinda Clark said.McGregor said she normally bowls in five or six over bursts and while it had been hard to adjust to bowling into the wind to start with she soon adjusted and felt good.Clark didn’t think there was any special advantage in winning the first game against the side considered Australia’s most serious rival and she wasn’t too concerned about the target the side faced.”Whether its 160 or 250, that’s what we’ve got to chase. We’ve had a lot of contests in the past when targets have been around that score of 160 and we knew it would be close,” she said.Australian coach John Harmer said he was delighted with the efforts of his pace bowlers but that his spinners showed they hadn’t bowled enough recently when the side fell into a hole at one stage.He was disappointed that the batsmen didn’t work the ball around enough when under pressure from New Zealand’s bowlers.Australia showed the depth of its batting however when its top order took control of the chase.Drumm commented: “Their top five are very strong and we know that if we can make inroads we can put them under pressure. A total like 166 is not defendable against a quality side.”Our objective is to go back to the drawing board a little bit. It’s not a disaster,” she said.Lisa Keightley and Karen Rolton gave a great example of how to accrue runs. Keightley, operating at the top of the order scored 44 off 83 balls while Rolton took a swashbuckling approach as New Zealand probed for victory.She hit the winning runs and also brought up her half century in that act to finish 51 not out off 54 balls. Her power was Bothamesque and could see her become one of the star players of the tournament such is her brutal finesse.Sharing the burden through the latter stages was Cherie Bambury who was run out eight runs short on 38.New Zealand coach Mike Shrimpton believes there are three or four overs, or 20-30 runs, difference between the two teams.”This really lays a very good base of what we need to do. We took a lot of information out of this game. Had we had this sort of game later, it might have been detrimental to us,” he said.

Mohammad Akram, Pakistan’s National Cricket Academy head coach, has resigned from the post due to family reasons, three months before his contract expires. The resignation is yet to be accepted, but Akram is committed to quitting a full-time job to be around his family who is based in England.”I have resigned with no regret,” Akram told ESPNcricinfo. “I have enjoyed every moment working with Pakistan cricket. I have done a lot to the best of my ability and I see the players now started to bloom. I worked so hard to get the system going and the result of my efforts is quite evident. I am leaving the set-up in safe hands.”Akram, 41, had joined the set-up as Pakistan bowling coach three years ago and since then had worked in various capacities including selector, head of illegal bowling committee, Pakistan A coach, and is the man responsible for imposing the fitness clause on Pakistan cricket. His other big achievement was reviving the youth and A team tours to other countries and to make a second-string team at every level.According to Akram, he had been thinking about resigning over many months. His family is based in England and he was based in Lahore in National Cricket Academy. He said living away from his family and not seeing his kids growing up was a painful thing for him.”I am a family man but with this job from 9 to 5 in Lahore, living away form family, it isn’t working for me. Earlier, when I was a bowling coach, I still had a time to visit my family frequently, but since then I have shifted to an in-house job I was not able to make it. I came here to contribute for cricket but at the same time my family is much more important.”Akram is also presently under immense pressure over his part-time job as an analyst with the host broadcaster during the ongoing Pakistan-England Tests. He was given all the due permissions from relevant PCB authorities, including media director Amjad Hussain and the director NCA Aizad Hussain Syed, but in the media his job was questioned.”I am not bothered at all about any undue criticism because I am here with the permission,” he said. “Back home at NCA, I didn’t have much to do as head coach as these are the idle months. I am not stepping down due to criticism but the main thing taken precedence in my resigning is just my family as I want to reconnect with my kids and my family back in England.”

ScorecardVirender Sehwag struck 15 fours in his 92•PTI

While highlighting the need for their batsmen to apply themselves, Haryana coach Surendra Bhave had on the eve of their Ranji Trophy season-opener pinned his hopes on two individuals. While Virender Sehwag was expected to lead by example in his first match for Haryana, Bhave had earmarked teenager Himanshu Rana as “one to watch out for”.Sehwag and Himanshu both lived up to their reputations, as they kept Haryana in the hunt for a sizeable first-innings total on the opening day of their Group A tie against Maharashtra at the Maharashtra Cricket Association’s stadium in Gahunje. Thanks to Himanshu’s stubborn knock of 138 not out on his 17th birthday, and Sehwag’s breezy 92, Haryana escaped from a precarious 32 for 3 to end the day at 303 for 6.Sehwag and Himanshu had to first see off Samad Fallah, who was swinging the ball both ways and scalped three of the top four batsmen to leave Haryana in a spot of bother. Once the wicket had eased out, the two batsmen got among the runs. While Sehwag, who batted at No 3, was the star of the first half, Himanshu took over once Sehwag was dismissed, in the 46th over.Seventeen years ago, Sehwag scored a century the first time he batted in first-class cricket, and right from when he punched Fallah for four off the first ball he faced today, Sehwag appeared to be on course to also mark his Haryana debut with a big score.With a four-pronged Maharashtra pace attack testing Sehwag’s patience by bowling outside off stump, the boundaries did not come frequently. But whenever Fallah, Nikit Dhumal, who was preferred ahead of Anupam Sanklecha, and Shrikant Mundhe bowled close to off-stump, Sehwag’s drives and slashes came into play. Once Domnic Joseph started extracting bounce off the wicket, Sehwag targeted the third-man region with his upper-cutsWith Himanshu playing the second fiddle, Sehwag had raced to 72 by lunch, and he continued to accelerate even after the break, hitting Mundhe for two early fours. Sehwag’s first mistake came when he was on 87. He slashed Domnic outside off, but Kedar Jadhav could not pouch the resulting edge at first slip. Jadhav did not have to curse himself for long, though.In the next over, Mundhe managed to jag one back in just a little bit, and Sehwag’s tired waft was a bit late. The off-stump was uprooted, forcing a visibly disappointed Sehwag to take the long walk back. Sehwag missed out on a hundred, but Himanshu ensured there was a three-figure mark on the opening day for his team.Himanshu found an able ally in wicketkeeper Nitin Saina after the debutant Rahul Dagar was run out by Chirag Khurana at forward short leg. Himanshu played a risk-free innings, focusing on singles, but also not letting a scoring opportunity go. The shot of the day came in the second session, when his straight-batted backfoot punch off Mundhe raced through the covers.The nervous nineties could have hit Haryana hard had Khurana caught a lofted shot off Himanshu’s edge at midwicket . Himanshu was on 95 then. He went on to reach his century, but soon after, had another lapse in concentration. However, an edge off Khurana went begging as Maharashtra’s captain-keeper Rohit Motwani spilled a regulation catch. Then on, Himanshu put his head down and ensured he carried his bat into the second day, keeping Haryana’s hopes of crossing 350 alive.

Despite an entertaining 90 by Mohammad Kaif, the India Seniors teamedged past India B by six wickets with eleven deliveries to spare inthe Challenger Trophy at Ahmedabad on Friday night.Batting first, the India B team put up a much better show than theIndia A team had the previous day. Kaif enjoyed a good run of formthroughout the recently concluded Under-19 World Cup, but could notmake a big score there. On Friday however, there was no stopping himas he shared a 115-run partnership with captain Ajay Jadeja and sawIndia B through to a score of 274 off their allotted 50 overs. Jadejawas his innovative self and made a half century in quick time.When Kaif tried to push the scoring rate towards the end of theinnings, he fell just 10 runs short of the century mark. Robin Singhgot a ball to stop on Kaif and the youngster went through with hisshot. The ball skied up in the air and Nikhil Chopra pouched thecatch.Nikhil Haldipur made a useful fifty at the top of the innings butprobably did not do enough to stake a claim for selection.Although India B lost quick wickets towards the end, it was of noconsequence as they still managed a challenging total.The India seniors bowlers took some stick from Kaif. The spearhead ofthe Indian bowling attack Anil Kumble went for 57 runs off his 10overs.In response, the Indian senior team went about the job with a rarelydisplayed air of professionalism. Shiv Sunder Das coming off a goodknock in the previous match fell quickly. After he was dismissed, VVSLaxman and pinch hitter Sunil Joshi took the attack to thebowlers. Joshi’s quickfire 16 included a four and a six. ReetinderSingh Sodhi pulled off yet another bit of good fielding as he lungedlow and took a sharp return catch to dismiss Joshi.Rahul Dravid then got into a good rhythm and kept the scoringgoing. He was joined by Vinod Kambli at the fall of Laxman’swicket. The resurgence of Kambli’s career took yet another positiveturn as the Mumbai southpaw made a solid unbeaten 78. When Dravid toowas dismissed, the required rate was mounting and Robin Singh used thelong handle to good effect. Some surprising bowling changes by AjayJadeja proved costly. Jadeja brought Dodda Ganesh and himself on atthe death and they conceded 12 and 17 runs off their oversrespectively.The experience of Singh and Kambli saw the seniors through to victorywith not much to spare. This victory means that the seniors havequalified for the final. On Saturday, the lesser teams of thetournament will clash and that will decide who takes on the seniors inthe title clash.