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Pakistani cricket may have taken a beating over the last few years but their ability to put out a genuinely world-class pace attack in any circumstance remains unaffected. They’ve lost their last four Tests and have won only one of their last 18; their last series win came back in November 2006 but much of the blame can be put on a fragile batting line-up and poor catching.But since last year, with the emergence of Mohammad Aamer and the return of Mohammad Asif combined with Umar Gul at first change, they have regularly been able to create openings in most Tests they have played. Though they’ve played only five Tests together so far, the trio has picked up 59 of the 83 wickets to have fallen in those games; at Lord’s last week they took 15 of the 20 wickets.Now they head to Headingley to try and prevent a 14th successive Test loss to Australia, a bilateral dominance unmatched in modern Test cricket. Though the ground is no longer the swing haven it was in the 80s, it still offers help to pace bowlers and much of Pakistan’s hopes of avoiding a whitewash lie with the three.Michael Holding, the former fast bowling great, was commentating during the first Test and was impressed by what he saw, in particular of the youngest of the three, Aamer. “The impressive thing about Aamer is the fact that at 18, he has the ability to move the ball in both directions without any noticeable change in action or delivery, yet has the control to adjust so easily to left- and right-handed batsmen,” Holding told Cricinfo.Aamer picked up four wickets in the first innings, but was more erratic in the second, when he went wicketless. “The pace that he generates is good and consistent,” said Holding. “He is still a bit inexperienced as evidenced by his performance in the second innings when he started to experiment too much when he didn’t pick up early wickets but time will cure that.”Time is something Asif has served. Since his comeback to international cricket, following a virtual two-year absence on disciplinary grounds, Asif has picked up from almost precisely where he left off: he had 51 wickets in 11 Test at 23.13 until October 2007 and since then he has picked up 38 in 7 at 23.31. The strike-rates are marginally higher now, but the form has seen him shoot up to second place in the ICC rankings.Holding is impressed though he says the regular comparisons between Asif’s style and Glenn McGrath are misplaced. “Asif has done well and in this Test [Lord’s] and has been more consistent over both innings because he has been around a bit longer and has more experience,” Holding said. “He has enough pace when he puts it in to be disconcerting and has very good control.”I wouldn’t compare him with McGrath as I think there have been too many comparisons being made just because a bowler bowls medium pace and has good control. McGrath was taller and so able to get more bounce than most from closer to the batsman which makes a huge difference.”Gul’s second-innings performance of 4-61 was arguably the most significant of the three for he has struggled to realign his strategy to Tests since becoming the game’s leading Twenty20 fast bowler. Coach Waqar Younis highlighted a chink in the run-up during the Tests in Australia and Gul struggled at times with it during Lord’s, bowling 12 no-balls in all. But he periodically relocated the lengths that made him such a Test prospect in his early years and the bounce and seam movement he generated from that troubled Australia, never more than in a fine second evening spell.Holding warned, however, of the continuing impact the shortest form of the game will have on fast bowlers, a warning seconded by Imran Khan at the MCC’s Cowdrey lecture. “I’ve always thought Gul was a good prospect. I don’t watch that [Twenty20] format but it is obvious these days that fast bowlers will not last very long because of the amount of cricket they’re being asked to play.”They become medium-pacers at an early age, long before fast bowlers of the past because they just can’t physically manage the workload. There is no way of managing the fast bowlers these days. It’s just a fact that the amount of cricket they are being asked to play, they cannot last. Very soon, no one will bowl fast, they will all bowl at 80 odd miles an hour and try and last for a decade if possible.”

Ireland women have announced their squad for the forthcoming tour of England in July, where they will play the hosts, New Zealand and MCC. Medium-pacer Heather Whelan will lead a squad that has a mix of youth and experience.The bowling attack will be lead by Heather and her sister Jill Whelan, with legspinner Ciara Metcalfe and the Joyce twins, Isobel and Cecelia, handling the spin duties. The batting revolves around the experienced Clare Shillington, the Joyce sisters and Jill Whelan. Allrounders Laura Delany, Kim Garth and pace bowler Louise McCarthy, who were part of the Under-17 European winning team last season, have also been included.”Wicketkeeper Mary Waldron will make her debut and another new player, exciting batting prospect Sinead Lyons, from Leinster joins the tour party,” said coach Paul Delany. “The selection very much reflects current form with all of the new players scoring runs and taking wickets.”Ireland’s campaign will begin on July 4 when they take on New Zealand women in an ODI at the Kibworth Cricket Club New Ground.Squad Heather Whelan (capt), Isobel Joyce (vc), Laura Delany, Kim Garth, Cecelia Joyce, Suzanne Kenealy, Sinead Lyons, Ciara Metcalfe, Louise McCarthy, Clare Shillington, Melissa Scott-Hayward, Mary Waldron (wk) and Jill Whelan.

Sri Lanka A 78 and 32 for 0 trail Australia A 402 (Bailey 154*, Cowan 126) by 292 runs
ScorecardGeorge Bailey made an unbeaten 154 with 14 fours and six sixes•Getty Images

Ed Cowan and George Bailey slammed centuries to give Australia A an overwhelming advantage on the second day at Townsville. It was hard work for the Sri Lanka A bowlers as the hosts stretched their lead to 324 before declaring.The day began with Usman Khawaja getting to a half-century. Khawaja and Cowan made steady progress before the former was dismissed for 69 by Sachithra Senanayake, nearly 23 overs in to the day’s play. The pair had added 141 for the second wicket, and that was followed by another century stand, this time between Cowan and Bailey. Cowan was eventually dismissed by Nuwan Pradeep for 126, caught by the wicketkeeper. Bailey and Peter Forrest added 94 in quick time to take the score past 350. Bailey scored in fifth gear, smashing 14 fours and six sixes in his 154 off 138 balls. He declared at 402 for 4, leaving the visitors to bat out 11 overs till stumps.The opening pair of Lahiru Thirimanne and Tharanga Paranavitana ensured they didn’t lose a wicket. The Sri Lankans will face a test of skill and character as they look to save this game with two days remaining.

The New Zealand selectors have retained the same 14-member squad that made the finals of the Women’s World Twenty20, for the tour of England. Suzie Bates takes over vice-captaincy from Amy Satterthwaite who was captain Aimee Watkins’ deputy in the West Indies.”We have kept faith in the same 14 players who recently reached the final of the ICC World Twenty20 in the West Indies,” said team coach and selector Gary Stead. “The squad features a nice blend of youth and experience and this tour will be used to look at developing some of the new players into important roles. This group is versatile and provides plenty of cover for the different conditions we are likely to encounter in England.”As part of the selection succession planning in leadership positions Suzie Bates will replace Amy Satterthwaite as vice-captain,” Stead said.The series kicks off with the first of three Twenty20 matches against England on June 29. This is followed by a single one-dayer against Ireland, a 50-over match against the England Academy, finishing with a five match ODI series against England.Squad: Aimee Watkins (capt), Suzie Bates (vice-capt), Erin Bermingham, Kate Broadmore, Nicola Browne, Sophie Devine, Natalie Dodd, Lucy Doolan, Maria Fahey, Sara McGlashan (wk), Liz Perry, Rachel Priest (wk), Sian Ruck and Amy Satterthwaite

ScorecardKent emerged as the winners in a battle of cricketing wills in Canterbury when seventh-wicket partners James Hockley and James Tredwell batted their side into a position of strength against leaders Yorkshire. Tredwell, with an unbeaten 65 from 107 balls, will go into the final day with power to add and his side sitting pretty on 327 for 7 and an overall advantage of 361.Hockley, who was released by Kent in 2002 only to be hired for a second time last summer – seemed destined to post a maiden first-class hundred in reaching 82 in a shade over three hours. With 11 fours to his name he had already surpassed his previous career best, a modest 72 against Zimbabwe in Canterbury a decade ago, but three figures eluded him once more when he departed three overs from the close. Aiming to glance against left-arm spinner David Wainwright, he was smartly held down the leg-side by keeper Jonathan Bairstow to end a stand worth 113 in 29 overs.When the pair came together the game was still very evenly poised and, with Kent on 207 for 6, Yorkshire still fancied their chances of a third straight win in this the 200th game between the clubs. Having secured a slight 34-run first innings lead, the hosts made another dreadful start by losing both openers to the new ball before lunch. Joe Denly chased a drive against Tim Bresnan to the keeper then Key, working to leg, fell leg before to Oliver Hannon-Dalby.Kent rallied bravely with a 59-run stand between Geraint Jones (53) and Martin van Jaarsveld, but their fun ended eight overs after lunch when Jones, in aiming to reverse sweep against Wainwright, fell lbw. Sam Northeast leg before on the back pad to Bresnan, then Darren Stevens slog-sweeping to mid-wicket against Wainwright, also headed back to the dressing room within four overs.Hockley initially dropped anchor in tandem with van Jaarsveld, but the South African’s resolve ended for 78 from 121 balls – including the only six of the day – when he missed an Adil Rashid googly to go lbw. Though Hockley and Tredwell were finally parted 10 minutes from stumps, Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale must already have been pondering the fluctuating fortunes of a game that has seemingly slipped from his side’s grasp.The day had started with Yorkshire losing their last two wickets in the space of 22 minutes to concede a first innings deficit. Ajmal Shahzad went leg before to Amjad Khan (3 for 60) then Azhar Mahmood took his tally to 4 for 58 by snaring last man Hannon-Dalby lbw.

The controversy over the revelation of the Kochi franchise’s ownership details has taken a new, and possibly more serious, twist with ramifications beyond the IPL and the BCCI. In the past 24 hours Shashank Manohar, the BCCI president, has written a strongly worded letter to the IPL commissioner Lalit Modi criticising his decision to make public the ownership details, while Shashi Tharoor, a minister in the Congress-led federal government and a moving force behind the Kochi bid, has responded to charges of a conflict of interest by calling it an “extraordinary breach of all propriety” by Modi designed to discredit the franchise and disqualify the ownership.For his part, Modi is reported to have responded to Manohar’s letter by saying his revelations on Twitter were “in no way a breach of confidentiality”. He went on to say that the Kochi franchise had “a lot to hide and as such have lied about who are the actual owners of the shares.”

The story so far

• March 7: IPL franchise auction is called off after objections over stiff financial clauses

• March 21: Auction re-staged; Sahara wins Pune bid, Rendezvous group wins Kochi for $333.33 million. Shashi Tharoor, an MP from Kerala and junior foreign minister in the Congress government, plays facilitating role.

• Interim: Reports suggest Rendezvous’ surprise win has upset bigger players. Tharoor reportedly meets Congress leaders, asks them to ensure pressure eases on Kochi owners, says he has no personal material stake in franchise.

• April 9: Media reports say BCCI has raised questions over shareholding pattern, asked Rendezvous to clarify its ownership structure.

• April 10: Kochi owners meet Modi in Bangalore, sign formal agreement to be part of IPL, disclose ownership structure.

• April 11: Modi, in response to questions on his Twitter feed, reveals Kochi shareholding pattern. One shareholder is a woman whom Tharoor says he “knows well”.

• April 12: Kochi complain to BCCI over Modi’s revelations. BCCI chief Manohar criticises Modi for his action. Modi defends himself, saying no breach of propriety.

• April 12-13: Tharoor issues statement denying any personal stake in Kochi and alleging Modi wants the franchise moved out.

“I have minutes of what they [Kochi franchise] said at the meeting. And, in fact, when I questioned who the shareholders were, they had no answer,” Modi wrote. “They said they would revert back. Within minutes of me asking the same, I got a call from Shashi Tharoor asking me not to ask about who these shareholders are. You [Manohar] had mentioned that we should ignore who this owner is, but our condition requires us to authenticate who they are.”I am happy to disclose all the facts at the next governing council meeting. As regards not raising it at the time of the tender – we didn’t have the foresight to go through the voluminous documents attached to verify each and every shareholder. As regards many other things I have said on my Twitter account, they have actually not been any classified information. It’s factual and only something we have or would have put into the public domain.”The BCCI’s only official response to the developments was an announcement, made through a vice-president, Rajeev Shukla, that a meeting of the IPL Governing Council would be convened within 10 days to “discuss all the issues and take a decision”.In his letter, as reported in the , Manohar chided Modi for revealing the stakes of Kochi’s owners, saying the BCCI was a body that “functions in accordance with its constitution” and not through the media.”The issue, if any, could have been discussed at the governing council meeting and that action on your part of raising it on Twitter is unbecoming of you as a chairman of the a sub-committee of the board. Your action is in serious breach of the confidentiality clause in the agreement,” Manohar wrote. “Till date, you have made public statements about a lot of issues which were not even discussed in the meetings of the governing council when it is the governing council which has the authority to take decisions with regard to each and every issue related to IPL.”Tharoor’s part in the story stems from his relationship with Sunanda Pushkar, one of those listed by Modi as having free equity in the Kochi franchise. While media reports suggest they have plans to marry, Tharoor in his statement referred to her as someone he knew well but said there was no material gain from it. He said he had “neither invested nor received a rupee for my mentorship of the team… Whatever my personal relationships with any of the consortium members, I do not intend to benefit in any way financially from my association with the team now or at a later stage.”Tharoor said the consortium’s successful bid in the March 21 auction “upset the plans of a lot of powerful people, who had wanted the franchise to go elsewhere”. He said “attempts were made by Modi and others to pressure the consortium members to abandon their bid in favour of another city in a different state”.He also denied Modi’s charge that he had called the IPL commissioner and asked him not to probe the ownership structure. He had called Modi, he conceded, but “only to ask why he was further delaying the approval of the franchise when all the legal requirements had been fulfilled”.”I called Mr Modi to ask why he was further delaying the approval of the franchise when all the legal requirements had been fulfilled.. Mr Modi had held up approval by the IPL of the franchisee agreement earlier in the day, by insisting on the reversal of a change in the document that he himself had earlier suggested.”This change was made, the consortium members flew to Bangalore and met with Mr Modi after that night’s IPL game for what they had been told would be a routine exercise. Instead they were submitted to a barrage of questions which led some to suspect that Mr Modi was seeking a further excuse to delay approval. This was the reason for my intervention with Mr Modi. Had he conducted himself in good faith throughout, no call would have been necessary.”

Match Facts

Sunday, February 28, Port of Spain
Start time 1400 (1800 GMT)
Hamilton Masakadza had a prolific 2009•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Big Picture

West Indies and Zimbabwe begin a fresh phase in international cricket under newly-appointed coaches, though the mood is more upbeat in the tourists’ camp. While West Indies will expect to kick start a season of favourable results after a winless tour of Australia, Zimbabwe will have their eyes set on a goal far more significant – a return to Test cricket after their self-imposed exile in 2006.Alan Butcher is expected to join his team midway through the tour but Zimbabwe will be, in the interim, under the supervision of current coach Walter Chawaguta and former captain Dave Houghton, who has targeted a return to the five-day format before the end of this year. Heath Streak will be supporting him as bowling coach, and Grant Flower begins his duty as batting coach in October.The return of distinguished former players in coaching roles to boost the team, a refurbished domestic structure based on five regional franchises to better administer first-class cricket, the organisation of a domestic Twenty20 league and the participation of a Zimbabwe XI in the Intercontinental Cup – these are all measures indicating a committed plan to facilitate Zimbabwe’s transition to the cricketing mainstream.However, Zimbabwe’s exposure to limited-overs cricket in the recent past has been largely confined to playing Bangladesh – they’ve won four and lost ten ODIs against them since 2009 – and Kenya. They haven’t played a Twenty20 international since October 2008. To realise their goal, they need to challenge superior teams and a demoralised West Indies, who, among other disappointments, were also beaten comprehensively in the two Twenty20 internationals against Australia, are a good place to start.

Form Guide

Zimbabwe: WLTLL (All before 2009)
West Indies: LLWLW

Watch out for

Adrian Barath is back in the West Indies squad and will look to build on the bright start he’s had to his international career as an explosive opener. In the absence of Chris Gayle for Sunday’s game, he’ll take the lead at the top of the order.Barath’s counterpart in the opening slot, Hamilton Masakadza enjoyed a prolific 2009 with 1087 runs at 43.48, including three centuries. He was also the highest run-getter in the Stanbic Cup, Zimbabwe’s domestic Twenty20 tournament. Along with Tatenda Taibu, who launched his tour of West Indies with a match-winning century against UWI Vice Chancellor’s XI, Masakadza is Zimbabwe’s most relied-on batsman.

Team news

West Indies are boosted by the return of several injured players: Barath (hamstring), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (thumb), Sulieman Benn (knee) and Darren Bravo (shoulder). Allrounder Dave Bernard jnr and batsman Andre Fletcher have also been recalled.West Indies (probable) – 1 Adrian Barath, 2 Andre Fletcher, 3 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 4 Darren Bravo, 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Denesh Ramdin (capt and wk), 7 Darren Sammy, 8 Dwayne Smith, 9 Kemar Roach, 10 Sulieman Benn, 11 Nikita MillerZimbabwe prevailed by five runs in their 50-over tour match, thanks to Taibu and a combined bowling effort, with the trio of Chris Mpofu, Kyle Jarvis and Elton Chigumbura bagged two wickets each.Zimbabwe (probable): 1 Vusi Sibanda, 2 Hamilton Masakadza, 3 Charles Coventry, 4 Tatenda Taibu, 5 Stuart Matsikenyeri, 6 Greg Lamb, 7 Elton Chigumbura, 8 Timycen Maruma, 9 Shingirai Masakadza, 10 Kyle Jarvis, 11 Chris Mpofu.

Stats and trivia

• Zimbabwe have never beaten West Indies in a bilateral ODI series. They’ve never played West Indies in a Twenty20 international and have won just two out of seven games.
• Hamilton Masakadza was the fourth-highest run-getter in 2009 in ODIs, behind MS Dhoni, Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey.

Quotes

“We have got to start winning matches and our goal is to get back into Test cricket in a year-and-a-half. The guys are working very hard at this, and this tour is very important in this regard.”
“That series is gone. We are looking to the future. We have a new coach who is looking to great things from us.”

Match facts

Tuesday, March 16
Start time 2000 (1430GMT)Shane Bond might be part of KKR’s three-pronged pace attack along with Ishant Sharma and Charl Langeveldt (file photo)•Getty Images

Big Picture

The irony is unmissable: It’s early days yet but Kolkata have two wins from two and are looking down at Chennai, who find themselves in the unfamiliar depths of the points table. As Chennai chase their first win Sourav Ganguly comes up against his spiritual heir MS Dhoni under the lights at Eden Gardens.Kolkata have been here before; they won their first two games in the first season, only to fizzle out and finish sixth. They ended up last the next season but now look to have shrugged that off and stride to a new momentum.Chennai, on the other hand, were outclassed by their southern neighbours Deccan Chargers in their opening match, left floundering in all departments. However, they lost their opening match last season as well, against Mumbai Indians, but eventually reached the semi-final for the second year running and Dhoni knows his team’s bouncebackability.

Team talk

While the threat of Matthew Hayden and his Mongoose bat looms large, Kolkata will be eager to get Shane Bond going in the third season. He finished as New Zealand’s top wicket-taker in the recently-concluded ODI series against Australia with nine wickets at 21, and rather than replacing Charl Langeveldt, he might be part of a three-pronged pace attack along with Ishant Sharma. Rohan Gavaskar might be the casualty in that case. Alternatively, Kolkata may not wish to change a winning combination.Makhaya Ntini has been out of favour with the South African selectors but recently played his part in Warriors’ Pro20 title triumph in the domestic circuit with a decisive opening spell. With Chennai’s pacemen looking suspect, Dhoni might be tempted to draft him in and capitalise on his freshness. Manpreet Gony, who shot into prominence during the IPL, might also look to make the most of the stage again if picked. Justin Kemp, who couldn’t match up with bat or ball in the last match, may be the one sacrificed. Parthiv Patel did decently in the 2008 edition, scoring 302 runs at 27.45 but his stock dipped the following year, scoring only 142 runs at 15.77. Whether he is favoured over Murali Vijay, who managed 3 against Deccan, in the opener’s slot remains to be seen as well.

Previously…

Kolkata were thumped by Chennai by nine wickets in the first IPL clash and lost by three runs via the D/L method at home. Fortunes turned around in South Africa with Kolkata winning by seven wickets at Centurion, while the earlier encounter was washed out.

In the spotlight

Lop-sided Morkel: He usually makes up for his expensive spells with some big hitting, but Albie Morkel’s credentials as an allrounder have recently taken a beating with him failing to plug the runs. He went wicketless against Deccan and his four overs cost 41 runs. The fireworks though were on display as he smashed 41 off 26 balls, including one four and three sixes, during the chase. The dual effort would only be in the best interest of Chennai, who are tottering on the fast-bowling front.Home comforts for Tiwary: He was almost anonymous during his stint with the Delhi Daredevils, but the company of his Bengal team-mates seems to have worked wonders for Manoj Tiwary. He quickly made amends for a first-ball duck against Deccan in the opening match with a Man-of-the-Match-deserving 50 off 29 balls next up against Bangalore.The Mongoose: It was on display only in the Chennai dugout during their first match, but the imposing Matthew Hayden, its brand ambassador, might resort to this even more imposing weapon in the cauldron of Eden. The longer and flexible handle, designed to increase power by 20% and bat speed by 15% than normal ones might be the perfect way to ensure the spectators stay wide awake well into the Kolkata night.

Prime numbers

• Kolkata will hope Angelo Mathews’ contributions only get better. He has a batting average of 65.00 and has five wickets from two games at 9.20 and a measly economy rate of 5.75.
• Kolkata possess the two highest run-scorers in Twenty20 cricket. Hodge has 2547 runs in 77 innings at a strike-rate of 129 and David Hussey has scored 2355 runs at a strike-rate of 139.

Chatter

“I guess I was slowly fading from the collective consciousness. This innings is a reassuring factor for me that I am still very much around”

“CSK have been one of the most consistent teams in the IPL – runners-up the first year and semifinals in 2009. This year we’re more than ready to take the step up.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
HawkeyeHarbhajan Singh answered India’s call with spin bowling aggressive and patient, smart and persistent•AFP

They couldn’t out Hashim Amla at all. So India, down to three bowlers and led by an exceptional Harbhajan Singh, found a way around him, leaving him stranded with nine mandatory balls to go and sealing a heart-stopping, series-levelling win that also meant they retained the top spot in the ICC rankings. As was fitting, it was Harbhajan who brought about the final wicket with a slider to the left-hand batsman Morne Morkel, who had put together a 76-minute last-wicket stand with Amla. The final few steps didn’t come easy for India: the last three wickets batted out 53.3 overs to set up a beautiful Test-match finish.For eight hours and 19 minutes in this innings, which took to 23 hours and 22 minutes the total time he’s spent at the wicket for the series, Amla saw everything: offbreaks, topspinners, unintended doosras, big legbreaks, googlies, bouncers, full ones, a blow to the elbow, the bowlers’ joy, their frustration, and Harbhajan’s eruption on taking the last wicket. At every stage – when he reached fifty or his hundred, when he was hurt, when he was concentrating, when he was defending, during those final few overs of counting each delivery down, and when he was walking back after one of the biggest disappointments he has experienced on a cricket field – the calm expression on his face was unchanged.Amla batted like the Monk who didn’t need to sell a Ferrari, and it took a special bowling effort to deny his side the series win. Harbhajan answered India’s call with spin bowling aggressive and patient, smart and persistent, and came up with that wicket-taking delivery when it had deserted the other bowlers.If Amla never looked like getting out, Harbhajan never looked like letting anyone settle. India had 98 overs to get seven wickets but 52.2 of them were a write-off: they were bowled to Amla, and this man was going to get out. Not today. They did well, though, to create enough pressure in the remaining overs – despite two dropped catches – to finish off the match with 16 minutes remaining in the day’s play.India woke up to a bright and sunny day, but were thwarted in the first session by Amla and Ashwell Prince. For about two hours, Amla kept killing their hopes, Prince kept raising them only to not edge to hand. Finally, just when the draw started to become the favoured result, Harbhajan came back for his second spell of the day, from his favoured High Court End.In the first spell, he had tried to get Prince lbw in a fashion similar to the one in the first innings, and failed. In his second he went over the stumps and made it difficult for Prince to judge which deliveries to leave. The leg line troubled Prince, and finally he jabbed at one outside off and lobbed it to mid-off.Amit Mishra once again produced the special delivery out of nowhere, this time a googly to take out AB de Villiers in the penultimate over before the lunch break, the third time he had taken a wicket just before a break in the innings. de Villiers’ was the big wicket because he was the one batsman capable of using his feet and hitting spinners off their length.India couldn’t dismiss Hashim Amla all day, but got all his partners instead•AFP

In the second spell, six overs each either side of lunch, Harbhajan looked menacing with almost every delivery. After lunch, Harbhajan went on to suggest JP Duminy might become his new Ponting. Offbreak, offbreak, slider. Duminy caught in front again. Dale Steyn didn’t have a clue about deliveries spinning down the leg side, and kept getting beaten. Harbhajan smartly moved round the stumps, and trapped him too.Thereafter Amla found an able partner in Parnell, who looked much more assured than Steyn, and helped by a dropped catch by Suresh Raina at a wide fourth slip, played out 24.2 overs. Amla manipulated the strike well: out of eight overs that Harbhajan bowled during that stand, Parnell got away by facing only 12 balls from the best bowler around.A soft shot befitting a No. 9 arrived duly, after which Amla shielded Paul Harris for a while. From facing four balls of each over, he gradually let Harris face three each, and by the time Harris generated enough confidence in Amla, a soft shot befitting a No. 10 came by. Ishant got both the wickets, but 8.3 more overs had been negated.That started the most exciting period of the match. Morkel batted solidly along with Amla, they both judged the leaves well, they both defended with soft hands, they both frustrated India more with every passing delivery. Towards the end, mind games began. Amla took a single late in a Mishra over to face Harbhajan in the next over, Dhoni removed Harbhajan and tried the part-time stuff from Sachin Tendulkar and Sehwag, and got Harbhajan to bowl at Morkel again.Nothing gave. Amla seemed to have found a partner who was holding his nerve well. The desperation on Indian faces kept getting more and more apparent with every passing delivery. With 3.2 overs to go, Amla cut Tendulkar towards the boundary, took a single so as to face two more overs as opposed to one. Sehwag hoped it would reach the boundary as he chased, but slyly tried to kick it over when he saw it stop inches before the rope. Just to keep Morkel on strike. That’s how much it mattered.Amla duly played out the next over, Dhoni duly saved Harbhajan for the over after that. Harbhajan had six more balls left, from the High Court End. The first pitched middle, turned away. The second pitched leg, and broke towards off. The third was the killer slider, Morkel made his first mistake in 60 deliveries. Harbhajan roared, Amla’s expression didn’t change much.

ScorecardRamesh Powar turned the match firmly in Mumbai’s favour with his five-wicket haul•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Ramesh Powar turned this match in the second session with a spell of 5.3-3-9-5, virtually sealing Mumbai’s entry into their second consecutive Ranji final. His five-for, the first by a Mumbai bowler this season, ended Delhi’s efforts to ensure some parity in the contest and the defending champions ended the day with a 412-run lead.Though Delhi picked up a couple of quick wickets as the shadows lengthened across Brabourne Stadium, the fightback came too late for the visitors, who were never able to gain a foothold in the match. On the first day Abhishek Nayar and Onkar Khanvilkar repaired the early damage and raised a platform for the lower order to push the score to 500; on Monday the Mumbai medium-pacers rattled the visitors’ top order with incisive seam and swing bowling.The onus on Tuesday morning was on the overnight pair of Shikar Dhawan and Rajat Bhatia to ensure Delhi did not lose their grip entirely. But Ajit Agarkar got rid of the dangerous Dhawan immediately, snaring him with a classic fast bowler’s trap. He fired in a shorter delivery that Dhawan duly hooked for two runs. Immediately Agarkar moved the long-leg fielder slightly towards the deep square-leg, selling Dhawan the dummy. The next ball was fuller, pitched on a length, and Dhawan fished at it, but the ball moved away to take a thick outside edge on its way to Vinayak Samant behind the wicket.Bhatia remained unruffled. His strengths have been perseverance and bloody-mindedness – the second characteristic is a Delhi cricketing trait but the first is not. When Agarkar tested him with a short one in the second over of the day, Bhatia immediately turned his hips to hook an effortless boundary, the first of the morning. When Usman Malvi pitched it fuller Bhatia punched a firm straight drive for another four. He brought up his fifty with an on-drive that rolled past the mid-wicket boundary as Malvi pitched full on his legs.At the other end Gaurav Chhabra, who scored a crucial century in the quarterfinals, continued his good run, hitting some textbook drives and adopting an aggressive style to relieve the pressure. Half an hour before lunch Bhatia hoisted Powar over long-off for a huge six as Delhi finally seemed to start their rebuilding phase.Mumbai captain Wasim Jaffer continued to deploy two slips and a gully for the fast bowlers in the second session. The plan was to attack the off stump and force the opponent to commit a mistake. But the wicket was on the drier side today and though Agarkar continued to bang it short both Chhabra and Bhatia were watchful. Chhabra smartly came up with a mixture of steers, glides and cuts to beat the Mumbai strategy. In the fifth over after lunch, when Agarkar overcompensated and sprayed it wide of off stump, Chhabra quickly stepped back to cut strongly twice in successive deliveries: the first was a miscue but the ball flew over the slips to the third man boundary but on the second occasion, the ball raced in front of square for four more.In the next over, Bhatia slog-swept left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla over long on for his second six of the day. A glide past Jaffer, who was at second slip, got him into the 80s and the Mumbai captain was probably ruing the easy offering that he spilled Monday evening when Bhatia was on one.But Powar, who had bowled a tight seven-over spell from the Pavilion End switched to the Churchgate End mid-way into the second session and it worked wonders. The pitch was taking decent turn and imparting considerable bounce but Powar, a classical offspinner, was not looking for assistance. Relying on loop and flight, he became increasingly accurate with every ball. Bhatia was tempted to slog-sweep one such loopy delivery but missed the line completely as the ball broke off the pitch and hit off stump.A couple of balls later Powar pitched it on a length and Puneet Bisht stood his ground to defend, but was beaten by the turn and bowled. Powar was on a roll. In his next over he surprised Pradeep Sangwan by the bounce as the helpless batsman top-edged into the hands of Onkar Khanvilkar at forward short-leg. Ishant Sharma charged Powar casually and was stumped while Parvinder Awana top-edged a sweep to Jaffer. An excited Powar started celebrating as though he was in an aerobic class, and was joined by the entire team.This was Powar’s first five-for after a match-winning spell against Hyderbad last year in the league phase. He has missed three games this season with a side strain but has been at his attacking best since his return. Going into the quarterfinals he just had six wickets in five matches but he bounced back with four crucial wickets to quell Haryana’s challenge and today he proved his worth once again.