Luke Ronchi blasted 89 from 49 balls and Adam Voges impressed with 71 after his surprise Test call-up as the Cricket Australia Chairman’s XI easily accounted for the England XI at Lilac Hill in Perth. The bad news did not end there for the visitors as Liam Plunkett, one of the five members of England’s Ashes squad playing the festival match, left the field injured late in the day.Plunkett hurt the ring finger on his right hand when he fielded a drive in his follow-through and he was unable to complete the over, heading off for a precautionary x-ray. It was a sorry finish to a disheartening day for the England attack, all of whom received harsh treatment from Ronchi in particular.He plundered 15 fours and three sixes to help the home side to 3 for 260 from 40.1 overs after the tourists made 8 for 259. Voges showed England his capabilities with two sixes and seven fours in an 82-ball innings while Marcus North (58 not out) also played well and brought up the win with a six.Monty Panesar, who was a popular figure with the crowd and received an ovation every time he came on, finally had Ronchi stumped by Chris Read. With just his second delivery Panesar beat Chris Rogers (32) in flight and had him bowled but like all the England bowlers he appeared rusty and finished with 2 for 63 from ten overs.The fast men pitched the ball too short too often and suffered square of the wicket. Sajid Mahmood looked the best of them but missed his chance for a wicket when he bowled North with a no-ball.The retired Test veterans Alec Stewart and Chris Matthews starred in the England innings. Stewart, 43, who captained the visitors, top-scored with a run-a-ball 69 while Matthews, 44, finished with 3 for 38. A 112-run partnership between Stewart and Ravinder Bopara helped England build a reasonable total after Ed Joyce and Owais Shah (22) made a steady opening. Bopara was caught in the deep for 53 from 56 balls, including two sixes.An unlucky run-out ended Joyce’s promising start. He was out for 36 when a Bopara drive deflected off the hands of the bowler Peter Worthington and crashed into the stumps at the non-striker’s end. Chris Read failed to make the most of his promotion to No.3, caught at mid-on for 0. A last-minute blitz from Adam Hollioake, whose 38 not out included four sixes, and Robin Smith (20) kept the crowd entertained.

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Sanjay Bangar returned career-best figures of 6 for 41 after to dismiss Vidarbha for 106 before Tejinder Pal Singh steered Railways into the lead on day one at Nagpur. Bangar, at the age of 34 and after 13 years on the circuit, rocked Vidarbha’s middle order with his medium pace variations. Amit Deshpande, the top-scorer with 23, was trapped lbw before Bangar snared three more victims in his next six overs. In reply, Railways stuttered at the start but Tejinder buckled down for a 106-ball 65 to help them take the lead just ahead of stumps.
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Led by Sangram Singhs’ superb unbeaten 132, a hungry Himachal Pradesh top order powered on the ignominy against Jammu & Kashmir and finished the first day on 337 for 2. Sandeep Sharma, the captain, got the ball rolling with a polished 65 after his opening partner Manish Gupta was forced to retire hurt early on, but it was the unbeaten 191-run stand for the third wicket that really punished the hosts. Taking the innings by the reins, Sangram smashed 132 from 128 balls, with 16 fours and two sixes, and was ably partnered by Maninder Bisla, who carted 86 from 114 balls. Neither batsman had really gotten going this season – Sangram’s highest was 37 and Bisla had just one fifty – but the duo stepped it up in style and promised plenty more on day two.
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Niranjan Behera’s 77 and a solid lower-order rally helped Orissa overcome a jittery start and post 265 for 6 on the first day’s play against Tripura at Agartala. Reduced to 60 for 3 by Vineet Jain, Tripura’s opening bowler, Orissa regained ground thanks to Behera’s 207-ball effort – a career-best knock, incidentally – and handy contributions from captain Pravanjan Mullick (39) and Rashmi Das (27). Behera and Rashmi both departed with the score on 189, but Debasis Mohanty (44 not-out) – who hit 67 in the last match against Jharkhand – and Halhadar Das (25 not out) added a vital 76 to varnish their efforts.
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Yashpal Singh, Services’ middle-order batsman, continued his good form with a crucial 103 out of a total of 216 against Jharkhand on day one at Jamshedpur’s Keenan Stadium. A feeble top and middle order crumbled against the spin trio of Sunny Gupta, Shahbaz Nadeem and Shahid Khan, but Yashpal, his side’s highest run-scorer this season by far, held the innings together. He watched batsmen come and go – three fell between overs 31 and 34 – but in Ashish Mohanty, who cracked 57 from No. 8, he found an able ally and the two added 123. Shahid wrapped up matters with 4 for 31 before Jharkhand’s openers played out eight overs to finish the day on 15 for no loss.
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Half-centuries to Somasetty Suresh and Sreekumar Nair formed the crux of Kerala’s first-day effort against Goa at Margoa, with the tourists finishing on 204 for 8. Hurt at the top of the innings by Saurabh Bandekar and Anil Naik, Kerala owed much to Suresh’s dour 58 and Nair’s gritty 65 and an 88-run stand for the fourth wicket. Once both departed, there was another mini-collapse with three wickets falling in the last seven overs of the day.
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It was slow moving on the first day’s play between Assam and Madhya Pradesh at Dibrugarh, with Assam inching along to 117 for 4 from 65.4 overs. Jagadeesh Arunkumar, the captain, top-scored with an unbeaten 44. The only wicket-takers for MP were the opening bowlers, Sanjay Pandey and Taduri Prakash Sudhindra, with two each. Rahul Bakshi, the wicketkeeper, had three catches to his name.

If familiarity breeds contempt, Brian Lara and Rahul Dravid might as well vent their anger in a boxing ring. Over the last nine months West Indies and India have run into each other at various corners. It started with the series in the Caribbean, followed by a whistle-stop at Kuala Lumpur and ended with a knock-out clash at Ahmedabad in the Champions Trophy. The scoreline is currently 6-2 in West Indies’ favour and Lara had no qualms in admitting that his side started this series, a rehearsal for the World Cup, with a “psychological advantage”.Ever since Dwayne Bravo floated a slower ball to Yuvraj Singh to level the series in the Caribbean at 1-1, West Indies have had India’s number. “It is a confidence booster,” said Lara when asked about his side’s recent record against India, “but it’s also an opportunity for India to get back. India weren’t as successful in the ODIs in South Africa so it’s a chance for them to bounce back. We have the psychological advantage and want to continue with it. We want to stay dominant over India.”We’re motivated enough to stay on top. We are committed to playing good one-day cricket close to the World Cup. We entered two finals in 2006 but unfortunately ended up losing both to Australia. We need to ensure more consistency. That’s what we’re looking to do over the next four games.”It’s a curious state of affairs when the hosts of the World Cup need to gear up for the event in the opposite corner of the world. But Lara preferred to highlight the positive. “It would have been much better if India came to the West Indies. The conditions there would have helped their preparations. But we need some international cricket. Our last series was in Pakistan in December. We weren’t able to get our full team here – [Ramnaresh] Sarwan and [Corey] Collymore aren’t here – but it provides a chance for a few players.”A few days ago, we weren’t sure if the series was on. That would have been a disappointment. It’s important we get some rest after this series, before the World Cup. I don’t see it as a disadvantage. It’s good we can come out here, play in conditions not too far away from West Indies, play against a very good team, head back home and prepare for the World Cup.”West Indies’ previous assignment was in Pakistan, against a side they will meet in the first round of the World Cup. Things didn’t go according to plan but Lara spoke about the heartening aspects. “We’d like to have won the Pakistan series,” he continued, “but we had a couple of players who came to the fore. Lendl Simmons had a couple of good innings and Marlon Samuels scored a great century in the only game we won.”We’ve been forced to make a few changes here. We have Rayad Emrit playing ODIs for the first time. Dwayne Smith has an opportunity with Darren Sammy pulling out. It’s a last lap in terms of preparations and we’re going to ensure that everyone gets an opportunity to stake their claim for the WC.”

Andrew Symonds wants to play at least the second half of the World Cup after being named in the squad on Tuesday, but John Buchanan is concerned the allrounder will re-injure his arm by rushing back. Symonds had surgery almost two weeks ago on a torn bicep and is not worried about snapping the tendon again because he “knows he’ll be okay”.Symonds, who can be replaced if he doesn’t recover in time, believes a comeback against South Africa on March 24 is possible, but Buchanan thinks it is too soon. “My personal view is he might be ready for round three of the Super Eights, which is a week after the South Africa game,” Buchanan said in the Courier-Mail. Buchanan said he did not want Symonds to jeopardise the next four years of his career by returning too quickly.”The World Cup is a big deal to me,” Symonds told the paper. “It’s not the end of the world if I snap it again, it can heal and be okay. So I’m not too worried about it if it goes again because I know I’ll be okay. If it goes, it goes.”Symonds has been told to think long-term but said he tended to think about one thing at a time. “I will play hopefully half of the World Cup,” he said, “if not more.”Australia’s current plan is for Symonds to start batting in four weeks and then add throwing and bowling to his program. Symonds suffered the injury in Australia’s CB Series group loss to England and his absence in the finals severely affected the team’s balance. The side’s first game of the World Cup is against Scotland on March 14.It is likely Cameron White, who was devestated to miss the squad, would replace Symonds if he failed to regain fitness for the tournament. “If there came a time towards the end of March where Andrew wasn’t progressing as we would hope then we might need to look at naming a specific player and making sure they continue to train,” Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors, said in the Sydney Morning Herald. Hilditch’s 15-man squad included Shaun Tait and Brad Haddin, but Stuart Clark, the New South Wales fast bowler, was not included.

When Tasmania played Victoria in their Pura Cup match in November, George Bailey was third in command for the Tigers. Ricky Ponting was available for a rare outing for his state and Dan Marsh, the team’s leader for most of the last four years, was bumped down to second in charge.Now, at the business end of the season, Bailey has been thrust into the captaincy for the first time as Marsh recovers from a calf tear and Ponting takes a break ahead of the World Cup. Tasmania are equal on points with New South Wales, who are on top of the Pura Cup table.With two games remaining, the Tigers have a good chance not only to contest their fourth final but to host it for the first time. Bailey knows the pressure will be on as he guides the team against South Australia at Adelaide Oval starting on Thursday.”In previous years Tassie have been needing to win the last couple of games and see what happens in other games,” Bailey said. “This year our destiny is in our own hands.”Bailey, 24, has captained his club side, South Hobart-Sandy Bay, and brings to the leadership impressive links with the state team: his great-great-grandfather was the Tasmania player George H Bailey. His first chance to act as the Tigers’ skipper was during their limited-overs loss to the Redbacks last week.”I like to have some control over what’s going on out in the middle,” Bailey said. “There are plenty of blokes with some experience [to call on for advice], Michael Di Venuto has filled in before. As a team we know where we’re heading, I’m just there to marshal them out on the ground.”Tasmania have a few seasoned campaigners – Di Venuto, Sean Clingeleffer and Damien Wright – but Bailey said the team’s progress in 2006-07 was thanks largely to their newer faces. Last year three key members of their attack – Ben Hilfenhaus, Brendan Drew and Brett Geeves – were in only their first or second seasons of first-class cricket.

Bailey said Hilfenhaus and Drew had been especially impressive with their work ethic and ability to keep improving. “Those guys are a bit more experienced and it’s a bit the same with the batting,” he said. “Birty [Travis Birt] and me have been around longer now and are starting to feel as though we belong there.”The chance to spend a week under Ponting’s guidance in November also proved beneficial for the younger players. “As much as playing with him we also had the chance to spend a couple of days training with him and seeing the way Ricky prepares to play was really valuable,” Bailey said. “He can reel off what’s been happening in your second XI or grade sides. It’s great to see how seriously he takes it.”Bailey said the competition from players outside the starting 11 had also strengthened the Tigers, as Michael Dighton proved with two centuries and two fifties since his recall just before Christmas. “He took his opportunity when [Michael] Bevan retired and hasn’t looked back,” Bailey said. “To have guys like that sitting in the wings for the first half of your season … he’s been on fire since he’s come in.”Bailey has been pleased with his own form this year but said with only one century in 2006-07 the time had come to lift his output. “I’ve been more consistent this year with getting a start but have only got one hundred to date,” he said. “I need a big one and hopefully I can do it against South Australia.”Although he is looking forward to Thursday, Bailey hopes his tenure as captain is just for one match. Marsh is an outside chance to return for Tasmania’s last game against New South Wales starting next Thursday.In the meantime, Bailey won’t be taking the last-placed Redbacks lightly. “They’re as dangerous as any team going around,” he said. “There are guys in that team who might be playing for their careers.”

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Half-centuries from Lisa Sthalekar and Melissa Bulow steered Australia to a comfortable six-wicket win against England at the IIT Chemplast Ground in Chennai. Sarah Taylor had struck 101 to boost England to 268 for 8 but Australia reached their target with 20 balls to spare.After being asked to bat, Sarah provided the ideal start. England lost Laura Newton for 38 but Sarah added 119 runs for the second wicket with Claire Taylor. Sarah struck her century off 111 balls and hit 15 fours. Claire’s 54 took just 56 balls but her dismissal led to a steady fall of wickets.”My 41 against New Zealand helped me get into a rhythm. I tried to hit fours and take as many singles as possible,” said Sarah after her maiden ODI century. “What I have concentrated on is the mental aspect of batting when practicing at the nets. The wickets in India are different from those in England in the manner that the ball comes on a little more and the pitches are harder.”All of England’s middle-order batsmen got into double figures but no one made it count. Beth Morgan struck 23 off 20 balls at the death to push England to 268 when at one stage they looked set for much more.”We were probably lucky that England didn’t get to 300,” said Karen Rolton, the Australian captain, echoing that sentiment. “On this ground the game can really change any time. It looked like we would go down to the last over but some good hitting by Cathryn Fitzpatrick right at the end meant that we got home with three overs to spare.”Australia started off well, with it’s top-order making nuggety contributions with Bulow and Sthalekar scoring 52 and 77 respectively. The openers, Bulow and Shelley Nitschke, added 80 in quick time before both fell on the same score. Rolton joined Sthalekar for a 71-run stand for the third wicket before Kate Blackwell and Sthalekar added 75 for the fourth.Australia now face India on Saturday in what is effectively a semi-final. The winner of that game will play New Zealand in the final on March 5.

When the itinerary was drawn up, April 15 was marked out as a special date. Had the results gone according to the seedings, it would have been India against Pakistan in front of a full house at the Kensington Oval, with a semi-final place on the line. As it is, with both having slumped so meekly in the first round, it becomes a big clash of a different kind, with both Bangladesh and Ireland desperate not to finish bottom of the Super Eights table.Bangladesh have already supplied the Indians with return tickets and put a serious dent in South Africa’s World Cup ambitions, while Ireland’s victory over Pakistan at Sabina Park was one of those “I was there” days to savour. But both have found life a lot tougher at the top, with Australia and New Zealand handing out heavy defeats and a reminder that the consistency which separates the best sides from the rest doesn’t come overnight.With the Kensington Oval pitch assisting the quicker bowlers in the morning, the toss will be vital. Both Ireland and Bangladesh were out of depth against the new ball on a surface where the ball reared up from a good length, and neither will want to be in a similar position on Sunday. The likes of Glenn McGrath, Shaun Tait and Sajid Mahmood may not be in opposition, but even Mashrafe Mortaza and Boyd Rankin will fancy theirchances of doing serious damage if they bowl first.After the drubbings meted out by New Zealand and Australia, the Irish are desperate to lift the mood. “It’s not nice to be beaten like this,” said Adrian Birrell, the Ireland coach, after the Australia game. “But we’ve got to focus on the next game. It [the Bangladesh game] was the biggest fixture. We’re still a good side and we’ve got two more games to show that.”After the manner in which they dismissed South Africa, and pushed England to the finish, Bangladesh will surely start favourites, though some of the senior players will have disturbing memories of the last World Cup where they lost to unfancied Canada.That was another team, in another time, but Habibul Bashar, the captain, certainly won’t be taking anything for granted. “We’ve seen Ireland’s games on TV,” he said. “They’re not a bad team at all. They have some good batsmen and their pacers are fine.”

In addition to Mortaza and the impressive Syed Rasel, Bangladesh can also call on their trio of left-arm spinners, and Trent Johnston, the Irish captain, had no doubt that they would be the main threat as his side sought a first win in the Super Eights.”They pose a different challenge,” he said. “One of the areas where we need to play better is [against] spin bowling. We’ve been squeezed by the spinners in the middle and after watching Bangladesh beating South Afica, we know they have good spinners. We’ll do our best to counter them.”Ireland are likely to be boosted by the return of Andrè Botha, whose accurate medium-pace and middle-order batting have been sorely missed in the last two encounters. As for Bangladesh, there are unlikely to be any changes, though a few more runs from Bashar – he has just 61 from six innings – would be most welcome.”I’m not putting any pressure on the players,” said Bashar when asked how important this match was for his side. “We’ve already had a very good World Cup. We’ll just go out there and enjoy it. Two games remain and we want to go home in a good mood.”

Jacques Kallis, the South Africa vice-captain, has warned that Australia’s unbeaten record in the World Cup will count for nothing when the sides meet in the semi-final in St Lucia on Wednesday.”They’ve played some very good cricket in this tournament, being unbeaten, while we’ve had a few hiccups along the way,” Kallis said. “But now it all doesn’t mean much. There’s all the hype before the game but carrying your points through doesn’t count for anything in a semi-final. It’s a game where whoever produces the goods on the day will win.”Kallis said both teams would go into the match with high expectations. “They’ll carry a lot of confidence through because of the way they’ve played but we’re also confident after a massive win against England,” he said.”There’s no need to stress the importance of the game. It’s important that we stay relaxed and calm. From our perspective the trip to the Caribbean has been a positive thing. We’ve had some pressure situations, like when we faced possible elimination in the match against England. We’ve had some other close calls to deal with and we’ve managed to stay calm throughout.”Kallis is one of four survivors from the dramatic tied semi-final against Australia in the 1999 World Cup at Edgbaston, along with Shaun Pollock, Mark Boucher and Herschelle Gibbs. All four said after a team practice on Saturday that they believed the experience of playing in that game would have positive benefits.”From our side we gained a lot of experience in that game,” Kallis said. “Looking back there are a few things that we might have tried to do differently so the experience we’ve carried around for all these years will probably stand us in good stead.”Pollock said he was looking forward to the challenge of trying to contain or dismiss Australia’s hard-hitting top-order batsmen. “We’ve had some close encounters against Australia and we’ve learnt from those,” Pollock said. “It’s the kind of challenge that you want to play cricket for. You want to come up against the best and if you can win the battle it gives you real satisfaction. “Gibbs said there was no pressure on the South Africans. “Our backs were against the wall [before the game against England]. Now we’re just going to go out there and enjoy it.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

Mashrafe Mortaza played an innings that was as entertaining as it was invaluable as Bangladesh averted the follow-on, and potential disaster, after their top-order had made a mess of things. For a time it seemed that Bangladesh’s bungling might just make up for the loss of nearly two full days due to rain at Chittagong, but Mortaza’s spunk took them towards safety as they replied to India’s first-innings 387 with 238 and then had India at 44 for 2 with one day left to play.When the day began, half-an-hour late thanks to more rain, the task before Bangladesh should have been a relatively simple one. There was also encouraging news that Anil Kumble, suffering from high fever, would not bat and, more importantly, would be unlikely to bowl on the day. Bangladesh then furthered their cause by quickly getting rid of Zaheer Khan, and then Mahendra Singh Dhoni, forcing India to declare their innings on 387 for 8, having added just three to the overnight score.From there on, Bangladesh’s top-order needed only to bat sensibly to reach the 187 needed to avert the follow-on. But, as they have done often in the past, the leading lights chose the path of recklessness. Javed Omar can be spared the rod for he was unlucky to be given out lbw to a ball from Rudra Pratap Singh that appeared to have pitched outside leg, but the rest of the top-order have plenty to answer for.Habibul Bashar chopped hard at his second ball and managed a duck as the thick edge flew fast and straight to Sachin Tendulkar, who snatched a good reflex catch above his left shoulder at first slip. Bangladesh’s 20 for 2 was given a facelift by a 27-run third-wicket partnership between Shahriar Nafees and Rajin Saleh, but once again an error in judgment tripped the batting side up. Nafees (32) went hard at a full ball from Zaheer Khan and edged to slip, where Tendulkar took a catch tumbling to his left.Mohammad Ashraful, obviously eschewing his natural positive game, came out of his shell briefly and fatally, gliding a short, wide ball from Rudra Pratap that was slanting away from him towards gully. Dinesh Karthik leapt to his left and snapped up an athletic catch, leaving Bangladesh at 58 for 4. Suddenly the follow-on target did not seem so attainable.Saleh, who had been getting nicely behind the line of the ball and not attempting anything fancy, found a solid ally in Saqibul Hasan, making his debut. Saqibul was a bit more positive than his partner – striking consecutive square-drives off VRV Singh to the fence – but no less careful. It was finally an attempted defensive shot that did for him, as he stood on tip-toe and tried to keep out a climbing ball from VRV, only to see the ball head onto the stumps off the bat.When Saleh (41) fell, finding Sourav Ganguly at point off a cut shot to a wide ball that gave Ramesh Powar his first Test victim, and Khaled Mashud was given out lbw to a full ball from VRV that might just have brushed bat on the way to pad, Bangladesh were tottering at 122 for 7. Then came the first of two partnerships – both centred around the talismanic Mortaza – that changed the complexion of the game.Mortaza and Mohammad Rafique, both aggressive cricketers, and clearly people who have aninstinctive feel for reading a game of cricket, quickly realised that hanging about wasn’t going to see their team limp past the follow-on mark, even on a pitch that was still good for batting. They launched into some fearless, if occasionally chancy, hits, primarily targeting two areas – square of the wicket on the off side and straight down the ground – and added 27 at a run-a-ball. Just when it looked like they would, between them, take Bangladesh to safety, Rafique fell, smartlystumped overbalancing as he tried to heave Powar out of the ground.Mortaza found a surprisingly useful batting companion in Shahadat Hossain, who began slowly and carefully but opened up as the follow-on target neared, jamming two boundaries through point. Hossain provided half a chance just before the follow-on was averted, when Powar almost held on to a miscue at mid-on, but the matter was settled soon after. Hossain slashed Zaheer over slip and punched the air in delight as Bangladesh forced India to bat a second time in this Test. It mattered little that he fell soon after, bowled by a Tendulkar googly, for the 31 runs he made were crucial in a 77-run ninth-wicket partnership.Mortaza, buoyed by the fact that the follow-on had been averted, continued to stroke the ball freely, and was last dismissed, top-scoring with 79 from 91 balls with seven fours and three glorious sixes before being cleaned up by a full ball from VRV. Bangladesh had managed only 238, but it was enough to give them some breathing space.That breathing space then turned into cause for celebration as Wasim Jaffer completed a pair for the Test, skewing an awkward pull to mid-on off Shahadat, bringing Rahul Dravid out to the middle before a run was on the board for the second time in this Test. In the first dig, Dravid had immediately stamped his class, dominating the bowlers, but that was not to be late on Monday evening. He flicked Shahadat beautifully through on, and looked on in shock as Saleh leapt full length and plucked the ball out of the air one-handed at square-leg.At 6 for 2, leading only by 155, India momentarily found themselves in position of vulnerability, after dishing it out virtually all day. But Tendulkar, along with Karthik, ensured that no further damage was done as India rode out the day to end on 44 for 2, an overall lead of 193. One day remains, and if what has gone so far is any indication, it’s likely to be either really interesting, or one spent watching puddles form in the outfield.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

The burning question at the start of play, considering the poor weather forecast for the next couple of days, was when Sri Lanka would declare. The answer may not have been a popular one, at least not in Bangladesh, but it went according to the script. Sri Lanka ground down the visitors in humid conditions, with 125 runs coming in the first session, 107 in the second and 118 in the third as the lead swelled to 488.Mahela Jayawardene allowed Prasanna Jayawardene and Chaminda Vaas to bring up their maiden centuries before finally declaring 15 minutes before the close. The Bangladesh openers safely played out three overs before the close.Prasanna, who scripted a fluent knock, and Vaas, who played a chanceless innings, stitched together an unbroken 223-run stand while Michael Vandort got to his third hundred. Just for good measure, Jayawardene reached his 17th century as Sri Lanka indulged in a run orgy.Sri Lanka had started off with a positive intent in the first session: Vandort batted aggressively, Tillakaratne Dilshan belted the ball around and Jayawardene upped the ante. Things slowed somewhat in the second session and meandered along at a leisurely pace in the third but the writing was on the wall. The first Test was limping towards a predictable conclusion.The attack was more incisive once the new ball was taken in the second session. It helped that Jayawardene fell almost immediately, slashing uppishly at a swinging delivery well outside the off stump. Mashrafe Mortaza made the batsmen poke tentatively, Shahadat Hossain got it to kick up from short of a length, and Prasanna and Vaas went quiet. Only 19 runs came in eight overs before both men pulled Shahadat in the ninth over to break the shackles.The stranglehold was broken as Vaas began to pull with purpose when Shahadat hurled in a few bouncers. Mohammad Ashraful, the captain, sent down a few long hops, and they too were promptly dispatched.In the morning, with the sun out and a light breeze blowing, the pitch was perfect for batting. Ashraful started off with a pace and spin combo – Mortaza and Abdur Razzak. Mortaza kept pinging the full length, while Razzak sent down one arm-ball after another. But a comatose pitch and aggressive batsmen resulted in the ball being dispatched all around the field.

Dilshan carved the fifth ball of the day, from Mortaza, to the point boundary and two overs later, Vandort waltzed down the track to send Razzak’s floaters over the rope twice. A ball later, he brought up a convincing hundred with a sweep shot. It was an innings that hinted at a promising future.Ashraful, leading for the first time, was aggressive – there was a slip, short-leg and a silly point for the spinner, while only one man was out for the seamer. Perhaps, looking at the dark clouds that the weathermen promised, he could have had an inside-out field and delayed the declaration.No one could fault his bowling changes though. He rotated the spinners well, giving two spells to Mortaza, but the dead track and the high-quality batsmanship didn’t help. The busy Dilshan was, as always, on the look out for the runs. He chose to go back to the spinners to cut, forcing them to bowl fuller, upon which, he drove them nuts.He showed a strong preference to the off side, scoring nearly three-quarters of his runs in that region. A complete mess-up ended his breezy knock. He square-drove to left of sweeper-cover where Mortaza fumbled, creating thoughts of a second run in Dilshan’s mind. But Jayawardene, who retired hurt yesterday due to cramp, stayed rooted to his crease.Vandort had departed early, after setting the tempo. Using his height, he stretched forward well to drive anything remotely full. He also swept the spinners impressively but he fell, against the run of play, when he pushed a touch lazily at a Mohammad Rafique delivery.Jayawardene was unhurried and classy, and used the pull shot well to accelerate the scoring. By the close of play, only one team could lose and that was not Sri Lanka.