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Junaid Khan came good for the Pakistanis, claiming four wickets, as the two-day tour game in Bulawayo ended in a draw

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Aug-2011
Scorecard
Junaid Khan came good for the Pakistanis, claiming four wickets, as the two-day tour game in Bulawayo ended in a draw. The Zimbabwe XI managed only a three-run first innings lead after a lower-order collapse, following which the Pakistanis put on 72 for 1 in 24 overs before the match ended.Resuming on 30 for no loss, the Zimbabwe XI were jolted early by left-armer Junaid who trapped both Tino Mawoyo and Regis Chakabva lbw, the latter for a duck. Greg Lamb managed to provide overnight batsman Chamu Chibhabha – who top scored with 70 – with a bit of support and the pair put on 71. But legspinner Yasir Shah dismissed both in quick succession, Zimbabwe XI faltering at 132 for 4. Another period of brief resistance was followed by a slide, as the hosts lost their last six wickets for 43 runs. Offspinner Saeed Ajmal also picked up two wickets for the Pakistanis in a tidy spell.Mohammad Hafeez was positive when his side came out to bat, stroking 39 off 48 balls before succumbing to the left-arm spin of Cephas Zhuwao. Taufeeq Umar and Misbah-ul-Haq then safely negotiated till the end of play.Pakistan take on Zimbabwe in a lone Test from September 1 in Bulawayo.

Durham completed their eighth win of the season by beating Worcestershire by 151 runs 15 minutes after lunch at Chester-le-Street

15-Sep-2011
Scorecard
Mitchell Claydon removed Alexi Kervezee for a duck•Getty Images

Durham completed their eighth win of the season by beating Worcestershire by 151 runs 15 minutes after lunch at Chester-le-Street. It was Worcestershire’s 11th defeat in 16 games, making their Division One survival all the more remarkable, and they subsided swiftly after reaching 128 for 2 in pursuit of 365.Despite a late flourish from Richard Jones, who hit Ian Blackwell for two sixes and a four in one over, the visitors were all out for 213. Resuming on 65 for 2, James Cameron and Moeen Ali played well for the first hour, defying the best efforts of Graham Onions.The paceman was clearly riled by the defiance of the left-handed Cameron, who survived a confident lbw appeal just before edging just short of first slip on 38. After successfully settling into the opener’s role in late season, Cameron confirmed that he is also capable of quality strokes.Onions had done the softening up and Mitch Claydon cashed in with two wickets in his second over. Shortly after lofting Blackwell sweetly over long-on for six, Ali fell for 38 when he edged a drive to Michael Di Venuto at second slip and three balls later Alexei Kervezee edged to Phil Mustard.Then Blackwell turned one into Cameron to have him lbw on the back foot for 47. Gareth Andrew clearly had no intention of hanging around and Blackwell bowled him through a reverse sweep for 15.Matt Pardoe made 27 before edging Blackwell to slip then leg-spinner Scott Borthwick found extra bounce to find Ben Scott’s top edge as he shaped to turn to leg. A simple catch lobbed to backward square leg.Kemar Roach wafted at the first ball after lunch and edged to slip and Borthwick claimed his third wicket when last man Alan Richardson drove to mid-on.

Jamie Dalrymple’s return to Middlesex has proved short-lived as he and the county have chosen to part ways

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Oct-2011Jamie Dalrymple’s return to Middlesex has proved short-lived as he and the county have chosen to part ways. Dalrymple had re-signed for Middlesex in May this year and made a steady contribution to their success in Division Two of the County Championship with both bat and ball, but became frustrated by the lack of leadership opportunities with the county and has decided to move on.”I have seen very few cricketers more committed or harder working than Jamie and during his time with Middlesex he set the right example to the rest of the squad,” said Managing Director of Cricket, Angus Fraser. “His leadership experience was valuable too, helping to get a young side over the line when things got a little tight at the end of the season.”However, his passion lies in leadership and man management roles and these are not positions that are currently available at Middlesex. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Jamie for all his input into Middlesex over the course of ten seasons in total and to wish him well for the future whether that is in the game or elsewhere.”Dalrymple’s return to Middlesex had been prompted by his departure from Glamorgan, to whom he had gone after turning down a new contract with Middlesex in late 2007. He was appointed as Glamorgan’s captain for the 2009 season, but after two seasons became a high-profile casualty of a tumultous shake-up at the county. Stripped of the captaincy – with the position going to South African Alviro Petersen – Dalrymple promptly left and returned to Lord’s.”I’d like to thank Middlesex and Angus Fraser for the opportunity to return to play this season after the difficulties I had last winter,” said Dalrymple. “Furthermore, I’d like to say how much I enjoyed playing and working with the squad, both young and old, and particularly contributing to a Middlesex team that gained promotion from Division Two as champions.”Cricket has been my passion for many years now and my experiences so far have shown me how much I relish the challenges of leadership and management. Unfortunately that opportunity is unavailable at this time. I now have a chance to consider whether I want to keep playing, to look for a leadership role within the game or to move on to something completely different.”While Middlesex may miss Dalrymple’s steadying influence in the middle order, his offspinning role could be filled by allrounder Ollie Rayner, who has joined Middlesex in a permanent deal following his two loan spells at Lord’s during the summer.The 25 year-old, who signed for Sussex in late 2005, went on to play 43 first-class matches in all for Sussex in his six seasons at Hove, taking 95 wickets and scoring over 1000 runs in the process.”We are all sorry to see Ollie leave as he has been a part of the club since an early age, but we recognise his desire to play more cricket in all forms of the game,” said Sussex’s Professional Cricket Manager Mark Robinson. “We’d like to take this opportunity to thank him for all his hard work during his time at the club and we wish him all the best at Middlesex”.

West Indies are lucky to have a leader like Darren Sammy. Throughout this series – as he has so far in his captaincy tenure – Sammy once again proved that with commitment, his team can achieve many things

N Hunter26-Nov-2011West Indies are lucky to have a leader like Darren Sammy. Throughout this series – as he has so far in his captaincy tenure – Sammy once again proved that with commitment, his team can achieve many things. Only South Africa have known the taste of beating India in India in the last five years. Yet Sammy’s inexperienced bunch came very close today to nearly shock India on a cathartic final day’s play which ended with the game being drawn off the last ball.It was a dramatic day of Test cricket, which would not have been possible without the courage displayed by West Indies. Their captain could not bowl with a sore hamstring and hobbled around the field all afternoon; their specialist spinner, Devendra Bishoo, also limped with a thigh strain picked up while batting in the first innings; their experience-thin bowling attack had to not only counter the formidable Indian batting but also a vociferous home crowd hurling abuses.Sammy had to keep thinking on one leg if he had to stop India from securing a 3-0 whitewash. The day had started off with the West Indies batsmen shockingly throwing away their wickets in complete contrast to the admirable application they had shown on the first two days. “We took the position for granted,” Sammy said. “Knowing that we had scored 590 in the first innings we relaxed a little bit. Some of the shots played were not called for. At the end we paid the price for it. I know the coach will definitely talk about it. It is about us being mentally prepared to bat in both innings of a Test.”A target of 243 in 64 overs did not seem out of hand for India. Virat Kohli had said the previous evening that India could chase down a target in one-and-a-half sessions. The game was on when Virender Sehwag, having started steadily, was clocking boundaries at his usual rate as the Indian boat streamed at five runs an over.It did not deter Sammy and his troops. He had read the final day pitch well and made Samuels bowl for nearly three hours for a marathon spell of 25 overs. From the other end, Bishoo gamely challenged the Indians to take him on.Sammy knew the pressure would get to India once the wickets fell. He changed his field constantly but purposefully, encouraging his bowlers to pitch attacking lines. Ravi Rampaul got the old ball to reverse wonderfully. On Friday, Rampaul bore the brunt of abuses from the Wankhede crowd once he cut short Sachin Tendulkar’s fairy tale. He said he would not step out of the team hotel last evening. Today afternoon he stepped out to deliver an attacking spell of fast bowling that accounted for VVS Laxman and MS Dhoni.Eventually the nerves got to the Indians as partnerships were broken at critical times. Even when 55 runs were need off the 15 mandatory overs, West Indies knew they had a chance.
“I did not foresee that to be happening to be honest,” Sammy said of the drawn result. “But you know every disappointment is a blessing in disguise. We didn’t bat well but the way the bowlers came out there and showed character, fight … Bishoo, on one leg, bowling 50-plus overs in the match; Samuels bowling 20 [25] straight overs; Ravi, Fidel, unfortunately I could not bowl in that innings.”Sammy said his team showed the same determination evident in June during the final Test of the home series against India in Dominica where Rampaul did not bowl in the first innings. “We showed fight in Dominica when we had three bowlers. Today again, a bowler down, we really showed a lot of fight. That is a positive we could take from this series; we really kept our head up when we were down.”According to Sammy, when India took just 24 runs between overs 40 to 50 and lost Dhoni, he knew that they were switched to the conservative mode after Sehwag had built early momentum. “I thought the way they [Kohli and Dhoni] were batting they might not go for the runs because Ravi was bowling a good spell.”But as the countdown began and R Ashwin took India to the doorstep of victory, Sammy conceded he was edgy and did not rule out even a tie. “All sorts of things were going through my mind coming down to the end. At one point the tied Test went through my mind.”I was speaking to Kirk [Edwards] at cover and he said ‘win or draw, win or draw, we can’t lose this, we won’t lose this.’ That was the belief in the guys. The way we batted (in the first innings), it would have been very heartbreaking for us to come back and lose the game.”Under Sammy, West Indies have become a feisty bunch, drawing series in Sri Lanka and against Pakistan at home before winning in Bangladesh.If there is one person who stands alongside Sammy in this steady revival of sorts, it is the West Indies coach Ottis Gibson. “For me on a personal note, he has a way bringing out the belief in the team. You can see how the bowling unit has progressed and improved well. We came from not being able to bowling out teams twice and then bowling out India who were No.1 back then in the Caribbean; travelled to Sri Lanka and enforced the follow-on; we drew Pakistan at home and here in India we competed really well.”The guys are slowly but surely believing that we could achieve things like we showed in the last Test – following on and scoring over 400 runs in the second innings. In the first Test we were in a position to win. Gibson keeps telling us that in order to win we must create an opportunity. So far we have been creating lots of opportunities to win. It is about getting that belief that we could move on and win.”

A hundred from Callum Ferguson and a career-best performance from rookie fast bowler Joe Mennie gave South Australia a chance to avoid defeat against Western Australia at the WACA

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Dec-2011
ScorecardA hundred from Callum Ferguson and a career-best performance from rookie fast bowler Joe Mennie gave South Australia a chance to avoid defeat against Western Australia at the WACA. Mennie took 7 for 96 to limit Warriors in their first innings, after which Ferguson’s 113 whittled the Redbacks’ deficit from 275 to 69.After the second day was washed out, the third began with the Warriors in command at 183 for 1. Wes Robinson was batting on 71 and Craig Simmons on 52. Mennie, playing his third Shield game, struck early, dismissing Simmons for 60. Robinson followed shortly after, lbw for 91 to an inswinging yorker from Peter George. The Warriors were 223 for 3.The next seven Warriors batsmen all made double figures but no one built on their start. Mitchell Marsh made a quick 38, off 30 balls, before he was bowled by Carl Tietjens. Mennie cut through the lower order, taking the last five wickets to dismiss the hosts for 368.Facing a huge deficit, the Redbacks made a poor start to their second innings, losing both openers to Nathan Rimminton to slip to 11 for 2. Recovery, however, was around the corner. Ferguson and Michael Klinger put on an unbeaten 195 runs for the third wicket, steering their team towards drawing level with the Warriors. Ferguson ended the day on 113 off 176 balls – he had got to 100 off 146 balls – while Klinger was on 80 off 189.

Shane Warne believes India’s chances in the upcoming Test series in Australia will hinge on the fitness of fast bowlers Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan

Brydon Coverdale22-Dec-2011Shane Warne believes India’s chances in the upcoming Test series in Australia will hinge on the fitness of fast bowlers Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan. Both men have had ankle problems in recent times and Warne believes a lack of depth in India’s attack could be exposed if Ishant and Zaheer are not at full fitness for the series, which begins at the MCG on December 26.Ishant was bothered by a dodgy ankle during the first of the two tour games in Canberra last week, and he bowled only four overs in the second match, on the final day. Zaheer is coming back from surgery on his ankle; he did not play in the first match and then sent down 15 overs in the second game. Neither man has yet taken a wicket on the tour.”India has a quality team, as they’ve been showing in recent times,” Warne said. “In Test cricket we’ve seen them, against West Indies, do well. But before that they played England in England and got beaten 4-0 with a swinging ball and a good English seam attack. Their batsmen will do pretty well.”Their bowlers will have to stay fit. If Zaheer Khan or Ishant Sharma get injured, then I think their bowling attack could be quite weak. The Australian batsmen could perform pretty well. I think it’s going to come down to how India are going to take 20 wickets with their bowling.”I think their batters, especially Rahul Dravid, will make big runs. He’s a quality person, he’s a quality act, he’s a quality player. Hopefully Sachin [Tendulkar] will get his hundredth hundred here. It would be a great time to do it here at the MCG in front of 70 or 80,000.”Warne was speaking outside the MCG at the unveiling of a bronze statue of him in his legspinning stride, the first in a series to be known as the Avenue of Legends. His former captain Mark Taylor was also at the ceremony but, unlike Warne, he was less certain that India’s outstanding batting line-up would thrive this summer against an attack led by James Pattinson and Peter Siddle.”They’ve been great players,” Taylor said. “I’ll be interested to see, though, how they’ll go against this young Australian bowling line-up, because I don’t feel that Sachin, Rahul and VVS [Laxman] are getting tested as often as say Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey have in recent times.”They have been tested on wickets that have been more bowler-friendly, whereas Sachin and Rahul and VVS play a lot of their cricket in India, where the wickets are generally flatter and don’t bounce as much, don’t move off the seam. This will be a really good test for them, and a good test for our fast bowlers. I reckon they [Australia’s bowlers] are up to it. I think that’s going to be one of the highlights of the summer, to see how those ageing batsmen from India go against the young quicks.”Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman are all older than Ponting, who has struggled for form over the past two years and has not made a Test century since January 2010. Taylor endured a similar slump in the later years of his career, but even his longest stretch without a Test hundred was only 24 innings; Ponting’s has now ballooned to 31.”He’s probably in a similar boat to where I was, and I think Steve Waugh had the same problem getting towards the end of your career,” Taylor said. “It’s not that you can’t do it anymore. You just need a moment where a lucky break goes your way or you just play a shot where you think, there it is, and Ricky is probably that close. Boxing Day has generally been pretty good to him … hopefully, over the five days here, we’ll see the real Ricky Ponting.”

Sri Lanka have one important target in their minds ahead of what could be a series-decider in Bloemfontein: to put at least 250 runs on the board

Firdose Moonda in Bloemfontein16-Jan-2012Sri Lanka have one important target in their minds ahead of what could be a series-decider in Bloemfontein: to put at least 250 runs on the board. After being shot out for 43 in the first ODI, they recovered admirably to post 236 in the second, but still fell short and face defeat in the five-match series sooner than they would have expected.Vice-captain Angelo Mathews said if they can just get over the five-runs-per-over mark, they could be in with a chance. “With two new balls, 250 plus is a very good score,” he said. “We need to try and put up a 250-plus score to give the bowlers a chance.”Sri Lanka lost two early wickets in the last match and scored at a run-rate that hovered around three for the first half of their innings. Still, Mathews believes they did well to avoid a collapse and reach a respectable score. “After the setback from the first one-dayer we were trying to build partnerships, so that’s why we were a bit slow at the start,” Mathews explained. “We tried to catch up but we were about 20 or 30 runs short.”The defeat has left Sri Lanka staring a fourth consecutive series loss. The fact that nine months ago this team played in the World Cup final shows how far they have fallen. Despite their troubles, Mathews said they have worked hard to remain upbeat, something that was evident at the East London airport on Sunday. The players appeared jovial, several of them cooed at Lasith Malinga’s baby and others chatted casually in small groups. Mathews said the mood in the camp has not fallen, but admitted that defeat in Bloemfontein could change that.”We’ve had a very tough past few months, but we always talk positive. We want to flush the negatives out off the team,” he said. “It is still there, in all of the players, that we want to do well all the time. We need to try and avoid the situation where we lose the series [on Tuesday].”Like many of his team-mates, Mathews cannot pin-point the exact reason for Sri Lanka’s free-fall. “We haven’t had a good series since the World Cup,” he said. “And we haven’t played good cricket since [the second Test in] Durban. We need to play positive cricket. We know it is going to be tough, the conditions will be tough and playing South Africa in South Africa will be very hard. But we also know we are a good team and we can beat any team at any given opportunity.”Some have argued that a leadership vacuum has been one of the causes for Sri Lanka’s poor showing, with none of their senior players standing out in the current series. The same also applies to the two men in charge, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Mathews.Mathews has not had the best tour, scoring a solitary half-century, which came in the third Test, and bowling to a minimum. His recovery process – from a back and quadricep injury – has been lengthy and Mathews said he has not had the time he needs to get bowling fit.”I’ve just started bowling again and it’s going to take a while for me to bowl 10 overs in a match,” he said. “I’m going to bowl in short spells, because in between games we haven’t got enough time to allow me to train myself to bowl more overs. I will bowl six or seven overs per match, maximum, to give my body a chance to cope with the pressure and the workload.”

Mohammad Ashraful made his first half-century of the BPL but his effort was in vain as Shivnarine Chanderpaul led Khulna Royal Bengals to an easy win over Dhaka Gladiators

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Feb-2012
ScorecardMohammad Ashraful’s fifty was in vain for Dhaka Gladiators•BPL T20

Mohammad Ashraful made his first half-century of the BPL but his effort was in vain as Shivnarine Chanderpaul led Khulna Royal Bengals to an easy win over Dhaka Gladiators in Chittagong.Ashraful took 42 balls for his 53 and batted till the 19th over but Dhaka could not build on his 55-run second-wicket stand with Azhar Mahmood. Ashraful and Mahmood gave Dhaka a solid start after Imran Nazir had departed off the second ball of the match. Mahmood was run out after making 33 off 24 with the score on 58 in the seventh over. Kieron Pollard hit a six but was caught behind off Abdur Razzak for 10. Each of the six Khulna bowlers got a wicket as Dhaka were restricted to 140 for 8.Dhaka made a bright start with the ball when Sanath Jayasuriya was trapped lbw by Mahmood in the second over. Dwayne Smith was bowled by Mashrafe Mortaza in the third over as Khulna slipped to 15 for 2.But Chanderpaul and captain Shakib Al Hasan shut Dhaka out of the game with a 94-run partnership in 65 balls. Chanderpaul dominated the stand and smashed 12 boundaries in making an unbeaten 87 off 49. Though Shakib fell for 39, there was no stopping Chanderpaul as the win came in the 17th over.

Legspinner Seekkuge Prasanna and fast bowler Suranga Lakmal have been included in Sri Lanka’s 14-man squad for the Asia Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Mar-2012

Sri Lanka squad

Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Angelo Mathews (vice-capt), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Kumar Sangakkara, Dinesh Chandimal, Lahiru Thirimanne, Thisara Perera, Farveez Maharoof, Sachithra Senanayake, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Seekkuge Prasanna, Suranga Lakmal

In: Seekkuge Prasanna, Suranga Lakmal

Out: Rangana Herath, Dhammika Prasad, Chanaka Welegedara

Left-arm-spinner Rangana Herath has been omitted from Sri Lanka’s 14-man squad for the Asia Cup, which begins on March 11 in Dhaka. Fast bowlers Dhammika Prasad and Chanaka Welegedara, who were part of the Sri Lanka squad for the Commonwealth Bank tri-series in Australia, are also not in the squad.While the selectors did not originally offer any explanation for why the players had been left out, Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka captain, said, after the first final of the Commonwealth Bank series, that a decision had been taken to rest the three bowlers for Sri Lanka’s Test series against England, which starts four days after the Asia Cup final.**”Everybody knows that after the Asia Cup, we travel, we get to Colombo, and the next day we get to Galle to play the No. 1 Test team in the world in a Test match,” Jayawardene said. “I only have four Test bowlers left so I needed to rest them obviously. We made a decision that Rangana is definitely rested, and obviously Chanaka Welegedara and Dhammika Prasad, the other two Test bowlers, are going to take a two-week break and get ready for the Test matches because I doubt they can play a Test match straight after travelling from Bangladesh.”Legspinner* Seekkuge Prasanna takes Herath’s place while fast bowler Suranga Lakmal comes back from a long injury lay-off. The three allrounders who picked up injuries during the tri-series – Farveez Maharoof, Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera – have been included in the squad.Herath played in most of Sri Lanka’s ODIs since being recalled for the tour of South Africa. He has been economical in his 10 one-dayers this year, conceding only 4.35 an over, but he hasn’t made too many breakthroughs – only five at 68.00.Lakmal is returning to international cricket following an ankle injury. He last played for Sri Lanka during the one-day series against Pakistan in the UAE last November. He made a return to competitive cricket in the ongoing first-class domestic competition, the Premier League Tier A tournament, where he claimed eight wickets in four matches. Prasanna was dropped following the same one-day series – which Sri Lanka lost 4-1 – after he had claimed only four wickets in five matches at an average of over 50. He has since show impressive form in the Premier League Tier A, claiming 41 wickets in four matches for Sri Lanka Army, with five five-wicket hauls in eight innings.Mahela Jayawardene and Mathews have been retained as captain and vice-captain respectively. Sri Lanka play their first match of the tournament on March 13 against India.*9:38 GMT, March 3: The article had referred to Seekkuge Prasanna as an offspinner. This has been corrected.**14:34GMT, March 4: This paragraph, and the following one, have been added after Mahela Jayawardene’s press conference in Brisbane on March 4. The article originally said Rangana Herath had been dropped from the teamEdited by Nikita Bastian

Delhi Daredevils showed they are the team to beat this season by thumping pre-tournament favourites Mumbai Indians

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Apr-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKevin Pietersen slammed 50 off 26 to provide Delhi Daredevils the flourish at the finish•AFP

Just in case there had been any doubts about it, Delhi Daredevils showed they are the team to beat this season by thumping pre-tournament favourites Mumbai Indians. Two of their high-profile new recruits, Mahela Jayawardene and Kevin Pietersen, contributed half-centuries while Virender Sehwag made his third successive fifty to power Daredevils past 200. Even the return of the world’s best Twenty20 bowler, Lasith Malinga, couldn’t prevent Daredevils from reaching the second highest total of the season.Mumbai’s batting has been their biggest frailty this season, and their top order failed again. The game seemed virtually over in the fourth over of the chase with Mumbai at 19 for 3 before Ambati Rayudu and Dinesh Karthik resurrected Mumbai hopes with a fast-paced 96-run stand. Their chances were finally finished off by unheralded left-arm spinner, Shahbaz Nadeem, who continued his golden run this season by removing Rayudu and the dangerous Kieron Pollard off successive deliveries in the 16th over.Daredevils dominated right from the beginning with Jayawardene and Sehwag putting on a 135-run opening stand. Jayawardene ripped into his Sri Lanka colleague, Malinga, in the third over, taking 15 off it with three boundaries. The Daredevils openers feasted on some wayward Mumbai bowling, flicking full tosses off the pads and slashing the wide ones. Jayawardene was the early aggressor, outscoring Sehwag before the captain opened up against RP Singh, slashing over point and flat-batting a six over long-off.Mumbai should have had Sehwag on 40, when he skipped down the track to Robin Peterson, only for Karthik to fluff the stumping. Sehwag made Mumbai pay by ransacking Pollard for two fours and two sixes in an over which cost 23. There were more worries for Mumbai as Pollard later walked off with an injured shoulder after attempting an almost impossible catch at point, though he returned later to bat.There was no let-up even after the openers departed as Pietersen and Ross Taylor added 41 in just 2.4 overs. Pietersen brought out his signature switch hit, off his namesake who pulled off the same shot in Mumbai’s last game. A boundary to extra cover in the final over brought up the 200 and dented Mumbai’s hopes of revenge for the humiliating defeat at home last week.Mumbai tried their sixth new opening partnership in eight matches, and this one flopped as well. Aiden Blizzard went for a duck in his first game of the season and bigger blows quickly followed. Morne Morkel got Sachin Tendulkar to chip a catch to mid-off and Irfan Pathan sent back Rohit Sharma, who holed out to mid-on for 12. With a blaze of boundaries Rayudu and Karthik managed to keep pace even though the asking rate was above 12. Karthik was undone by a low full toss from Ajit Agarkar that homed into the base of the stumps, while Nadeem’s crucial intervention three overs later finished off the contest.Daredevils are now three points ahead of the chasing pack, the largest lead a team has held this season. Mumbai, on the other hand, still have only four victories, two of which needed extraordinary performances at the end of the match. They were expected to steamroll oppositions this year, but it has proved a hard grind so far, with the thinktank still struggling to decide on their best line-up. They need to get their act together fast.