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Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKevin Pietersen was a model of decorum on a slow wicket•BCCI

India’s strategy of beating England on sharply-turning surfaces had left them 2-1 down with one to play so in Nagpur it was time to find another way. It was not pretty. Plan B was to drive England to distraction on the slowest, lowest, shabbiest pitch imaginable. It might yet work, but Test cricket, not in the best of health as it is, is a little sicker for it.That England came out evenly after the first day owed much to the self-denial of Kevin Pietersen, a quality with which he has rarely been associated, especially during a prolonged feud with England last summer which put his international career in jeopardy. But Pietersen yearns to end a largely unhappy year with a rare England Test series win in India and while others struggled he was a veritable professor of decorum. It is precisely because he had to work uncommonly hard that England will believe they are very much in the game.His 73 from 188 balls ranked among his slowest Test half-centuries but it was an innings of great purpose for all that and prevented England from becoming entirely becalmed on a tedious day when the run rate ground forward at two an over. Turgid cricket was inevitable on a sub-standard surface that demanded a defensive outlook from both sides as India sought a victory to level the series and dissipate gathering criticism of the captain, MS Dhoni and his coaching staff.Pietersen apart, England, needing to accumulate, largely gathered dust. Joe Root, a surprise debutant at No. 6, would understandably regard it as gold dust as he grafted for an unbeaten 31 in an unbroken stand of 60 with Matt Prior which stabilised England’s mood by the end of the first day. Root, a patient technician, was well suited to such denial. TV viewers in England, who had roused themselves for a 4am start, may have nodded off long before then, but crease occupation could be vital on a pitch that started dry, abrasive and heavily cracked.Pietersen fell early in the final session, flicking Ravindra Jadeja, India’s debutant, to short midwicket – an area where Ishant Sharma also twice come close to dismissing him. The wicket was the highlight of a quite unforeseen day for Jadeja, who also drifted his slow left-arm onto Jonathan Trott’s off stump when he misjudged a leave on 44, and who was generally met with such caution that he had 2 for 32 in 22 overs when Dhoni briefly honoured him with the second new ball. As the fourth-ranked spinner, he could not have expected that.Even allowing for the different characteristics of pitches worldwide, this surface was inadequate for Test cricket. For Sharma, the sole representative of that increasingly endangered species, an Indian quick bowler, to find such persistent low and uneven bounce on the first morning of a Test was a travesty; the only question was how much it was by accident or design. Praveen Hinganikar, the curator, had no reason for satisfaction.Sharma reduced England to 16 for 2 by taking the wickets of Nick Compton and Alastair Cook in his new-ball spell. It was vagaries in bounce that accounted for Compton, Sharma managing to get a short one chest high and drawing Compton into a defensive edge to the wicketkeeper. It was the vagaries of umpiring (mediocre throughout the series) that did for Cook as Sharma’s hint of inswing was enough to win an lbw decision from umpire Kumar Dharmasena even though the ball was clearly missing off stump. Sharma had come close to an lbw decision against Trott in his previous over and that might have helped.For England to find that they must repel India’s challenge in the absence of Cook, their ultra-dependable captain, must have come as quite a shock. In the first three Tests he had batted 1,565 minutes, 1,164 balls and scored 548 runs. He did not adorn those figures very much at all, managing a single off 28 balls. His departure brought India hope.The two wickets lost by England in the afternoon session were more self-inflicted, brought about by the pressure applied by India’s quartet of spinners on a ponderous surface that allowed minimal first-day turn. Dhoni was left to play a waiting game, dispensing with slip or men around the bat for most of the day, and arresting the run rate with ring fields until gifts fell into his lap.On several occasions, Trott and Pietersen, raised up on quick, bouncy South African pitches, made as if to pull a short ball before playing defensively on the crouch as the ball ambled towards them whenever it chose. Their third-wicket stand of 86 with Pietersen provided England’s only concerted response, but after Trott allowed himself to be bowled, Ian Bell’s unimpressive record in Asia continued as he punched a near half-volley from the legspinner, Piyish Chawla, to short extra cover.On a pitch where the ball repeatedly died on pitching, lbw is in play for any bowler maintaining a strict wicket-to-wicket line. Even as they strangled England’s innings, India must have seen enough to rue selecting four spinners instead of providing some fast-bowling support for Sharma. Steve Finn, omitted because of disc trouble in his back, was the type of tall, hit-the-deck bowler who might have been particularly effective and England could rue his absence.Although Trott occasionally swept India’s spinners to good effect and Pietersen, who was anxious to play positively against the spinners, muscled one or two shots down the ground, it was grim fare. Only a few thousand had turned out to watch it – this modern stadium on the edge of town echoing to the smallest crowd of the series. Those who stayed away were fortunate. Yawns all round.

Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) has advertised for the job of national coach, starting next April. By implication, current coach Alan Butcher’s contract will not be renewed.”ZC wishes to advise that the position of national team coach will become vacant on April 1, 2013 … ZC is therefore inviting applications for the position,” the Zimbabwe board said in a release.Former England batsman Butcher, 58, was appointed coach in February 2010, replacing Walter Chawaguta. While not yet officially confirmed, the advertisement would suggest that the away series against West Indies in March 2013 will be Butcher’s last in the role.The board set November 30 as the deadline for those interested in filing their applications. It said that all candidates must have played first-class cricket, must have at least a recognised Level 3 coaching certificate, and must have at least five years of coaching experience at the senior level.Zimbabwe are also looking for a new coach for their Under-19 team, to replace former New Zealand allrounder Chris Harris, who stepped down from the position in October following the U-19 World Cup. The team didn’t have much success at the tournament, finishing in 15th place, above only Namibia.

Tim Wright, the former chief executive at Deccan Chargers, who in July won a £10.5 million legal dispute against the franchise filed in the Royal Courts of Justice in London, has registered his ‘foreign decree’ in the City Civil Court in Secunderabad, asking the court to enforce the judgement of the London court. The hearing is set for October 3, but it is understood Wright is also pressing for an emergency hearing which could stall the plans of Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited (who own Chargers), who have put the franchise on sale on September 13.A foreign decree refers to a judgement that is heard in a court outside of India but which relates to an Indian company or individual. The claimant needs to file the decree in an Indian court for execution of the judgement delivered by the foreign court. UK and India are signatories to a reciprocal treaty on enforcement and the Indian court will only look at issues as may relate to enforcement. The Indian court is not empowered to look at the merits, but relies on the Judgment made by the courts of England.In the petition, filed under Section 44A of the Code of Civil Procedure in the City Civil Court at Secunderabad, Wright has sought execution of the order passed by the High Court of Justice, Queen’s Bench Division in London, UK, on July 16, 2012, against DCHL. In addition Wright also wants DCHL to pay his legal costs incurred during the court proceedings in London, an amount believed to be in excess of £1 million. He has asked the court to attach and sale of various movable and immovable assets and properties of DCHL, including the Deccan Chargers franchise.Wright, who took charge after the first IPL, sued both Deccan Chargers Sporting Ventures and DCHL in February 2009 after the franchise owners made repeated breaches of his contract. Following changes made to the team leadership and structure made by Wright, Deccan Chargers won the IPL in 2009 having finished last in the inaugural edition. Wright appointed Adam Gilchrist as the captain and gave Darren Lehmann his first coaching role.Under the terms of Wright’s contract, which contained a £10 million severance guarantee clause, Wright filed a claim in the Royal Courts of Justice in London, which DCHL initially challenged. But they lost the right to have the case heard in India and then formally submitted to the court in London agreeing to the date of the trial and other requirements. However, on the day of the hearing (July 16), DCHL, the defendant, did not report to the court.

AB de Villiers, South Africa’s vice-captain, does not want any changes made to the team’s starting XI for the second Test against England, which starts on Thursday. Despite strong performances from some of the reserves and the lack of batting time for Alviro Petersen and JP Duminy, de Villiers believes the team that won convincingly at The Oval should remain the same for Headingley.”We won the first Test so whether or not some of us are in good or bad form we played well as a team. We would hate to unsettle that whole vibe that we had,” De Villiers said after the drawn tour match against Worcestershire. “We felt in control the whole time, the guys played exceptionally well and we went one-nil up. It’s really hard to change a winning formula, especially at Test level, when you are really comfortable with the 11 guys to go out there in the field. I would like to see the same team coming out in the next Test.”Although South Africa have a tendency to lapse after big win, and last won two consecutive Tests in a series against Bangladesh four years ago, de Villiers also thinks they don’t have to do much altering to their gameplan. “We must just go out there and play as we did in the first Test match,” he said. “It was good enough there and I can’t see why it won’t be good enough again.”Despite pushing for consistency, de Villiers has warned against complacency and said South Africa are motivated by what they have achieved so far to avoid it. “We know England are going to come out harder. We must put emphasis on the big moments of the game,” he said. “We are expecting big pressure from them early on in the second Test and it’s a matter of just fighting through it. We’ve worked hard to get the one-nil lead and we don’t want to give it away.”After the two-day match at New Road, the spotlight will be on opening batsmen Petersen, who scored 10 and 11 in two innings, bringing his tally to 42 in England. He is the only one of the South Africa line-up who has yet to register a half-century on tour, with JP Duminy doing it at Taunton and Jacques Rudolph getting there at Canterbury.Petersen’s Test form had not taken the dip his current tour suggests, however. He last scored a century two matches ago, in Wellington, and de Villiers, as one of the leaders of team, is not concerned about his lack of runs so far. “He is a class player and so are the other guys who are not in form at the moment,” he said. “It’s a game of momentum: sometimes it’s with you, sometimes it’s not.”Most of the rest of the batsmen have not had enough opportunity to see whether the momentum de Villiers speaks about is on their side, including the man himself. Having taken over the wicketkeeping gloves after Mark Boucher’s retirement, de Villiers’ batting is an area being closely watched, because of his history of back spasms.He did not bat The Oval but scored 80 against Worcestershire and kept for a brief period of time, and he said he is trying to marry the two elements of his game. “I don’t believe the keeping is going to take anything out of my batting. I really like watching the ball and being part of the game the whole time,” he said. “I can see different lines and I can pick up the bounce of the wicket quite quickly.”De Villiers dropped a catch off Imran Tahir and gave away eight byes when the legspinnner was bowling, which could be one of the “areas of concern” he said he had spent the last few days working on. He was careful not to isolate Tahir as the person he finds it most challenging to keep to and instead said he is getting better at being behind the stumps to the spinner.”I like to think I pick him. I can definitely see his googly,” he said. “At The Oval, there were big rough patches, especially to the left-handers and I found that difficult. I might be a little bit hard on myself though, because I think any keeper would have struggled there. I face him all the time in the nets and I just watch the ball as it comes out of his hand.”Although South Africa’s future wicketkeeping plans have not been spoken about De Villiers said he “wants to become a better keeper and give us the option of maybe using me long term”. Back-up gloveman Thami Tsolekile, who was nationally contracted in March, is also an option. He played at Worcestershire, where he kept wicket for most of the innings and took two catches.

Chris Tremlett has confirmed he will remain at Surrey. The England fast bowler, whose central contract and Surrey contract expire at the end of this season, admitted he feared for his future after he was obliged to undergo back surgery having been forced home from England tour of the UAE with a disc injury.Now, however, having returned to action in the Championship match at Guildford, Tremlett is looking to the future with more confidence and, despite turning 31 before the end of this season, retains some hope of returning to the England side.”I’m still talking to the club,” Tremlett told ESPNcricinfo, “but there is a one-year contract on the table at the moment. Coming to Surrey has changed my career and I’ll definitely be staying. It is a much more ruthless environment than I was used to and the standards of what are required and expected from you are far higher.”Tremlett admitted playing for England again would be “a bonus,” but said that members of England’s coaching and support team had remained in contact and offered their encouragement.”All sorts of things went through my mind when I knew I would have to have an operation,” he said. “You wonder if you’ll play again and I thought I wouldn’t play this season. Having fought my way back into the England side and done pretty well, that injury was a real kick in the teeth.”It was painful. I did it halfway through the Test, so there’s no way I would have been able to bowl in the second innings and, knowing that I would have to undergo surgery was a massive blow.”But the ECB found the best surgeon for the operation and, after I spoke to him, I was confident. He had operated on Graham Onions, among others. The operation has been a success. I wouldn’t say I don’t feel any pain – I guess it is stiffness and the reaction of nerve endings more than pain – but I’ve bowled quite a few overs in this game and, while there were times I struggled for rhythm, I’m pleased with how it went.”Tremlett bowled well against Lancashire. Generating customary bounce from a sleepy surface, he might have had two or three more wickets had Surrey’s catching had been sounder. Perhaps more importantly, he bowled 27 overs without experiencing any significant negative reaction.Recovering a place in the England side might prove a bridge too far, though. The continuing emergence of Steven Finn and the resurgence of Onions has left England with an embarrassment of fast bowling riches, though Tremlett’s record – he has a Test bowling average of 26.75 – provides ample proof of his effectiveness at the top level.”I haven’t played enough to get back into the side for the South Africa series,” Tremlett said. “I’d love it to happen, but it is unrealistic to think in those terms. Playing for England again would be a bonus. I don’t want to put any pressure on myself by thinking like that. Even in this game, I became a bit impatient a couple of times, but I just have to get back to doing in 2010 when I was selected for England: bowling as well as I can for Surrey. Clearly the club has been through a lot of late and if I can help then that will be great.”I speak to the England physios about once a week and I’ve spoken to the bowling coach David Saker and to Andy Flower a couple of times. I know Saker is a big fan of mine – he knows I have the skills and natural attributes – but we all know there are a couple of guys who are ahead of me now. I’m trying not to think about that. I just want to build up my pace and rhythm and enjoy playing cricket again.”

Yorkshire have signed David Miller, the South African batsman, as their second overseas player for the Friends Life t20. He joins Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc, who is already with the county.Miller, 22, played for Durham in last season’s competition, scoring 212 runs in 13 matches, including one half-century as Durham reached the quarter-final, losing at Hampshire. He has also played in this season’s IPL, with 98 runs in six innings for Kings XI Punjab.”David is available for the whole tournament which made him an attractive proposition,” Yorkshire’s director of cricket Martyn Moxon said. “You look at his strike-rate, he averages 120-plus per 100 balls, and in the Indian Premier League he’s been scoring at 150-plus.He’s that explosive type of player we’ve been looking for. I’m excited by the squad we’ve assembled for this campaign.”Miller, a powerful middle-order batsman, has also played eight T20s for South Africa and 16 ODIs, including a best of 59 from 51 balls against Australia in Port Elizabeth. He made his international debut in May 2010, where he top-scored in a T20 against West Indies.Yorkshire’s first game in the Flt20 is against Miller’s club of last year, Durham, at Headingley on June 15. He will hope to help Yorkshire to their first quarter final since 2007.

ScorecardChris Read dominated Nottinghamshire’s first innings•Getty Images

If good leadership is about setting an example, Chris Read might have to be considered a masterful captain. While his colleagues poked and prodded like blind men, Read compiled an outstanding century that made it appear, as Peter Trego put it “as if he was playing on a different pitch.”The simple facts are these: while Read made a chanceless, unbeaten 104, none of his team-mates managed more than ten. While Read made 72 of his runs in boundaries – 15 fours and two sixes – his ten colleagues could muster only three fours between them. None of the top five managed any. And while Read recorded the 21st century of his first-class career, the next highest contribution was extras with 17. Read scored 64% of Nottinghamshire’s runs and looked a class above a top-order containing four other men whose batting has won them international caps for England. Three games into the season, Nottinghamshire have yet to pick up a batting bonus point.Not until Harry Gurney joined Read did he find any meaningful support. When Gurney, making his Nottinghamshire debut, came to the crease with the ninth wicket down, Read was on 58 and there were no thoughts of a century. Yet Gurney, showing fortitude that some of his top-order colleagues would do well to emulate, resisted for 36 balls to allow his captain to take the attack to the bowling. The pair added 56 for the tenth wicket – the highest partnership of the innings – with Read feasting on Somerset’s support bowlers and showing excellent shot selection against the impressive Trego and Steve Kirby.Read’s heroics were somewhat overshadowed by an injury to Marcus Trescothick. The 36-year-old fell to the floor in pain when running after a ball in the field and was diagnosed with a recurrence of the ankle ligament injury that troubled him towards the end of the 2011 season. He was subsequently taken to hospital for scans, the results of which will be known on Saturday. While Trego thought Tresocthick would bat – “he’s a tough old goat” was Trego’s assessment – Brian Rose, Somerset’s director of cricket, was more cautious in his assessment. It would be a major surprise if Trescothick was available next week.Trescothick’s injury also took some of the gloss off an excellent performance from Trego, the 30-year-old all-rounder, who had previously only taken one five-wicket haul in his first-class career – 6 for 59 on this same ground when playing for Middlesex in 2005 – but fully deserved his second with an excellent display of swing bowling. After left-hander Paul Franks was beaten by a fine one that swung back and trapped him prodding half forward, Ben Phillips was unfortunate enough to receive a beauty that pitched middle and leg and swung away to take the outside edge. It would have dismissed most batsmen.Trego has had a busy winter. He not only played domestic cricket in Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, but also in the BPL, the Champions League and the Hong King Sixes.But he is not the type to complain at a heavy workload. After a couple of years, 2003 and 2004, when his form and his reputation – possibly an unfair reputation – as something of a waster forced him out of the professional game, he is relishing every moment of his return. With bat, ball and in the field, he has finally developed into the cricketer his talent always suggested he could be.”I was signed by Somerset when I was 15 and straight out of school,” Trego said. “They give you your kit and your bats and you feel fantastic.”But that was all taken away from me when I was 23. After that I had to scrap for a job and it made me realise how much the game meant to me. Once you have had to fight to get something back, you are much less likely to let it slip away again and I think the whole experience made me a better cricketer and a better person.”Playing a lot of cricket suits my body. I’m physically stronger and, having bowled on docile pitches all winter, I am in the habit of putting the ball in the right place. I have a huge desire to play for England; it would make me the happiest man in the world. But I can’t make that my focus. I am very happy helping Somerset win games of cricket.”Somerset’s greatest foe in this game could yet be the weather. The rain that had so curtailed play on the first day returned to steal 40 overs on the second. While Somerset’s batsmen demonstrated the patience and application that their hosts could not to set up a solid foundation, they will need more luck with the weather to take press home their dominance.Arul Suppiah, timing the ball elegantly through the covers off front and back foot, was particularly impressive. He experienced only one nervous moment when, on 21, he edged the deserving Gurney just short of third slip. Samit Patel claimed the catch but, after the umpires conferred, Suppiah was given not out.”Somerset’s batsmen applied themselves well and some of ours were responsible for their own downfall,” Read said. “It’s always dangerous to play away from your body at Trent Bridge and our batsmen will have to ask themselves if they applied themselves correctly. Samit Patel may have to rein himself in a bit.”

ScorecardShemaine Campbelle’s half-century helped lift West Indies to 197•WICB

Sri Lanka Women held their nerves to beat West Indies Women by one wicket with two balls to spare. With the win, Sri Lanka have squared the three match ODI series, with a match remaining. Chamani Seneviratna was the star of the match with a quick 36 during the chase, following her two wickets during West Indies’ innings.The chase was held together by Yasoda Mendis’ gritty half-century – she was part of partnerships of 33 for the second wicket, 39 for the third wicket and 32 for the fourth. But with ten runs required with two wickets remaining, it was left up to Seneviratna to make sure that she finished the game.West Indies had set a good foundation for their middle order as opener Juliana Nero, who scored 45, led the team to 67 for 1. But Sri Lanka’s bowlers picked up regular wickets to reduce West Indies to 114 for 5. A half-century by Shemaine Campbelle and her 61-run partnership with Merissa Aguilleira lifted West Indies to 197.

Shane Watson has pledged to rid himself of a run-out affliction that he admits is affecting the progress of the Australian team.A horrid misjudgement to account for Ricky Ponting in the first innings of the Bridgetown Test was perhaps the worst of the eight such dismissals Watson has been implicated in over his 33 Tests.The incident visibly affected Watson, leaving him hunched over his bat and cursing for several seconds as Ponting marched off, and contributed to a clouded state of mind that had him driving impertinently at the second ball after lunch and edging behind.”That [Ponting run-out] hurt me,” Watson said at Queen’s Park Oval. “Unfortunately I’ve been involved in too many run-outs, which is not good enough, but this one especially really did affect me, so I made sure that I’ve given Ricky a few presents and provided him a number of things I could to try to cheer him up a little bit, because it did affect me a lot. I’ll be doing everything I possibly can to make sure it doesn’t happen again.Having made a bold 54 on the final afternoon that helped set-up Australia’s dramatic chase to defeat the West Indies in the first Test, Watson will play his second match at No. 3 with confidence about the position, but is acutely aware that it will not be his strokeplay or technique that team-mates will be most wary of.”I’m going to have to do a couple of things differently, definitely,” Watson said. “There’s no doubt the way you’re brought up running between the wickets, everyone’s slightly different, like your technique and how that develops.”I’ve got to have a look at my technique of running between the wickets and my calling, because in the end it hasn’t been compatible with the guys I’ve batted with as well. I seriously need to find a way to make sure it works, because at the moment it hasn’t been working consistently anyway, and it’s not good enough.”Any form of the game but especially in a Test match on a flat wicket when runs are so valuable, it’s certainly not good enough. I’ve been having a chat to a few guys and I know there are a couple of specific things that I know I can do differently to be able to communicate better to ensure there’s less chance of that occurring again.”Having had six Test matches out of the national side due to injury, a run-out in Watson’s first match back did not escape the attention of the Australian team room, and he said he was under as much pressure from the rest of the squad as he was from himself to correct a damaging fault in his game.”Peer group pressure I think [has influenced Watson to change],” he said. “And also I am very honest with myself in all of my life, let alone my cricket side, and I know when there’s something not right that I need to address. This certainly is one of those because it is not good enough and it’s affecting the team. I know from my perspective I’m very honest with myself to know that’s something I do need to rectify. But also peer group pressure means I certainly need to.”I’ll be doing everything I possibly can to make the adjustments I need to make to be able to get it as right as possible. Run-outs do occur, but trying to limit the amount from my perspective. It’s a fine line. You want to make sure you are putting the pressure back on the West Indian bowlers and fielding team to be able to score the runs and rotate the strike.”But also the fine line of not taking a big risk which means you could lose a wicket as well, whereas being cautious means there can also be some mix-ups as well. It is a fine line and that’s the reason why in games there are run-outs. But from my perspective it is something that hasn’t been good enough and I definitely need to rectify it, because we can’t afford those things to happen.”

Group BNasrullah Khan took 5 for 28 to bundle Faisalabad out for 161 and give Islamabad a 71-run victory in Sargodha. Nasrullah scythed through Faisalabad’s top order, reducing them to 7 for 4. Asif Hussain tried to revive Faisalabad with his 73 but the early damage was too much and they could only last 43.2 overs. Umair Khan and Nauman Masood had got half-centuries as Islamabad posted a middling total that proved more than enough.Umar Waheed scored 81 not out to help Rawalpindi recover from 57 for 5 and chase Sialkot‘s 213, at the Jinnah Stadium in Sialkot. Rawalpindi had put Sialkot in and restricted them thanks to left-arm spinner Yasim Murtaza’s 3 for 31. Shehzad Malik scored 70 but Sialkot’s innings never got going and Rawalpindi were presented with a modest target. They stuttered early though, with Mohammad Imran and Mohammad Abbas ripping through the top order. Waheed began the repair work with Mohammad Nawaz, who retired hurt after scoring 42. Yasim Murtaza then kept Waheed company and the pair got Rawalpindi home in 46 overs.Abbottabad and Karachi took a point each after their game at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium was abandoned after 25 overs. The hosts had reduced Karachi to 170 for 9 but did not have the opportunity to chase. Khalid Latif had smashed 87 off 65 balls for Karachi.Group AState Bank of Pakistan started their campaign with a 38-run win over Water and Power Development Authority at the Lahore City Association Ground. State Bank were put in and their openers got them off to a brisk start before Mohtashim Ali and Adnan Raees both got into the 40s at Nos 3 and 4. A few quick wickets threatened to derail the innings but Jalat Khan contributed 40 down the order to take the total to 258. WAPDA lost early wickets in the chase and looked out of the game at 159 for 7. A 50-run eighth-wicket stand gave them some hope but they fell well short in the end. Aamer Sajjad’s 93 was what kept WAPDA in with a glimmer of a chance but State Bank’s bowlers all chipped in with wickets to give their side the win.Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited easily chased Pakistan International Airlines’ 198 thanks to half-centuries from Yasir Hameed and Babar Azam, at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad. ZTBL were 10 for 2 in the chase but Hameed scored 77 and Azam 86 to get the innings back on course, and the chase was eventually completed in 41.3 overs. PIA’s top order had been rocked by strikes from Mohammad Khalil. Then the other medium-pacers, Rehan Riaz and Junaid Zia, got into the act and struck regularly. The three took eight wickets between them as PIA were bowled out for 198, with Faisal Iqbal’s 74 the only significant contribution.Habib Bank Limited nearly made a mess of their chase of National Bank of Pakistan‘s 187 but eventually got home with four wickets remaining, at the Gaddafi Stadium. HBL were cruising at 107 for 1 thanks to Taufeeq Umar’s half-century, but lost five wickets for 57 runs and were in some trouble at 164 for 6. Medium-pacer Uzair-ul-Haq had caused the mini-collapse with three wickets but HBL managed to get home. Their bowlers had bowled out National Bank in 45.4 overs, with Danish Kaneria picking up three wickets.