Hyderabad battling to save follow-on against Delhi

Middle order rally keeps Railways in the hunt for first innings points over table toppers Karnataka; Assam eye consolation win

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Nov-2017Kulwant Khejroliya and Vikas Mishra picked up three wickets apiece to put Delhi in a position from which they could possibly enforce the follow-on against Hyderabad in Uppal. Hyderabad endured a full-blown collapse that saw them slip from 107 for 2 yto 170 for 8. They finally finished on 194 for 8 at stumps in response to Delhi’s 415, with only Tanmay Agarwal offering any sort of resistance in top scoring with 63.Earlier in the day, Delhi added 79 for the loss of their last five wickets, with Vikas Tokas’s unbeaten 28 helping them cross the 400-mark. New ball bowler Ravi Kiran and left-arm spinner Mehedi Hasan picked up three wickets each for Hyderabad.A middle-order rally from Arindam Ghosh (70 not out) and Mahesh Rawat (86 not out) brought Railways to within 193 runs of Karnataka’s 434 in New Delhi. Shreyas Gopal (44 not out) and No. 11 Abhimanyu Mithun added 46 to take the visitors past 400.In reply, Railways wobbled at 83 for 4, with Mithun and K Gowtham, the offspinner, picking up two wickets each. Shivakant Shukla (28) and Pratham Singh (35) were guilty of frittering away strong starts to hand the advantage to the visitors on a platter. But that was only until the fifth-wicket association of Ghosh and Rawat, the captain, kept the bowlers at bay for a better part of Sunday afternoon. Their stand was worth 158 when stumps were drawn.A four-wicket haul from left-arm spinner Rahul Singh raised Assam’s hopes of finishing the season with a win. After pocketing a first-innings lead of 26 after skittling Maharashtra for 253, their top order carried them to 101 for 3, their overall lead at 127 when stumps were drawn on the second day in Pune. Their hopes of stretching that past 250 will hinge on Gokul Sharma, the captain, and Sibsankar Roy – two of their most accomplished batsmen – who made half-centuries in the first innings.Maharashtra’s middle order has been riddled with inconsistency all season. The story was no different on Sunday. Resuming on 64 for 3, they quickly slipped to 160 for 6 before lunch. It needed two lower order contributions – Shrikant Mundhe (27) and Pragyan Bhati (31) – to lift bring Maharashtra to within 30 runs of Assam.

TN eye full points after Abhinav ton

Group A: Abhinav’s ton and Punjab’s strong reply to UP highlights on day two of the fifth round of matches

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Nov-2016Abhinav Mukund’s 25th first-class century, and half-centuries from B Indrajith and Dinesh Karthik gave Tamil Nadu a 244-run first-innings lead over Baroda on the second day of their 2016-17 Ranji Trophy fixture in Raipur. Tamil Nadu’s bowlers had backed Abhinav’s decision to put Baroda in by knocking them over for 93 on the opening day. They ended the day on 79 for 1, with Abhinav on 40 and Indrajith not out on 18.Abhinav scored an even 100 off 165 balls, while Indrajith struck a more sedate 68, off 166 balls. The duo, who came together at 32 for 1, extended their partnership to 147. Karthik then struck a brisk 65, before new-ball bowler Munaf Patel wiped out the lower order in quick time to finish with 4 for 91 and wrap up Tamil Nadu’s innings for 337. Baroda made a more assured start to their second essay, ending the day on 44 for no loss, trailing by 200 runs.In Hyderabad, Punjab responded strongly after dismissing Uttar Pradesh for 335, finishing on 243 for 3. UP had ended the opening day on 300 for 6 with Kuldeep Yadav on 62 and Saurabh Kumar batting on 39. UP added 35 more for their last four wickets. Kuldeep was dismissed for 71 and Saurabh made 52. Sandeep Sharma took 5 for 85 for Punjab, while Shubek Gill, the right-arm medium pacer, took 3 for 57.Punjab were buoyed by their opening batsmen, Manan Vohra and Jiwanjot Singh, who both struck half-centuries and shared a 117-run partnership. Uday Kaul struck 33 and played second fiddle in a 96-run third-wicket stand with captain Yuvraj Singh, who was unbeaten on 72. Punjab are behind by 92 runs.It was a slow day at the SDNR Wadeyar Stadium in Mysore where only 177 runs were scored in 88.2 overs on the second day. Mumbai, who resumed on 244 for 5, put up 345 in their first innings, before reducing Railways to 76 for 3.Suryakumar Yadav, who began the day on 60, compiled 110 – his 11th first-class century. Legspinner Karn Sharma added two lower-order wickets to his tally to finish with 5 for 81. Railways’ top-three took their time and got off to starts, but none could stay on. Left-arm spinner Vijay Gohil took two wickets and Tushar Deshpande, the right-arm medium pacer, took one as Railways went into stumps trailing Mumbai by 269 runs.The Bengal-Gujarat match in Delhi, meanwhile, was called off due to smoggy conditions.

BCCI forms ad-hoc committees to oversee Bihar, Uttarakhand

The BCCI has formed ad-hoc committees to look after cricket administration in Bihar and Uttarakhand

Sidharth Monga07-Aug-2015The BCCI has formed ad-hoc committees to look after cricket administration in Bihar and Uttarakhand. This move will ensure the states participation in BCCI’s Associate and Affiliate tournaments.The two states were without proper representation in the BCCI ever since the Indian government split some of the country’s bigger states into two in the year 2000. Bihar gave up Jharkhand, which went on to earn member status in the BCCI. Uttar Pradesh yielded Uttarakhand, but the new state didn’t exist for the purpose of cricket administration in the BCCI, not even as an Associate or Affiliate member.Niranjan Shah, the former BCCI secretary and Saurashtra Cricket Association patriarch, will head the ad-hoc committee for Bihar, and MP Pandove of Punjab Cricket Association, a former BCCI treasurer, will lead the panel for Uttarakhand. The committees have five members each, with a BCCI game development officer each to act as coordinators. Ratnakar Shetty, GM – game development of the BCCI, will coordinate the Bihar committee, and KVP Rao Uttarakhand.Since the bifurcation of the states, many different associations have claimed the right to represent Bihar and Uttarakhand, resulting in clashes but no representation. The cricketers of the states have struggled the most, looking to Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, and other neighbouring states, for chances.”Due to infighting among different associations present in these states, aspiring cricketers of these states have to suffer for no fault of theirs,” BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said. “To ensure cricket grows in these states, the BCCI has decided to form ad-hoc committees for these states, which will function till the affiliation issues of these states are resolved. During my recent visit to Bihar, I got representations of at least 17 organisations to start cricket once again in Bihar, and similarly I’ve got representations of various organisations in Uttarakhand.”Bihar remains the more curious case. Not only because the new state came in and took the full-time status in the BCCI, but also because a scorned Cricket Association of Bihar (CAB) began the legal proceedings against the BCCI, which have resulted in full exposure of rampant conflict of interest in the national board. All of BCCI’s legal troubles date back to a public-interest litigation filed by Aditya Verma, secretary of CAB, one of the many organisations that claim to represent cricket in Bihar. In April 2014, Verma told ESPNcricinfo there is no saying if his association would have also overlooked the issues – like most of the others – in the board if it had been given BCCI membership and the rewards that come with it.Bihar didn’t lose its membership as soon as the state was divided in 2000. It continued to represent both the states until 2003-04. MS Dhoni made his first-class debut for Bihar, and played in the last first-class season the state played, in 2003-04. When Jagmohan Dalmiya was the BCCI president, the BCCI changed the name of the Bihar Cricket Association (BCA), led at that time by controversial chief minister Laloo Prasad Yadav, to Jharkhand State Cricket Association. Soon Association of Bihar Cricket (ABC), led by former India player Kirti Azad, came up with claims that it represented the cricket of Bihar, and in 2005 settled for Associate status, as former election commissioner TS Krishnamurthy recorded when conducting the controversial BCCI elections of that year.Two years later, the BCA suffered a bigger blow. This was when the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) came around. Yadav was the union Railways Minister by then. The ICL was struggling for venues to play its tournament in. Yadav promised them grounds owned and maintained by the Indian Railways. The ICL tasted the BCCI’s vengefulness soon, as has Bihar since. Another two years on, a third representative of the cricket of Bihar emerged, the CAB. Its secretary, Verma, has led the crusade in the courts, which has resulted in the Supreme Court intervention to suspend two IPL franchise owners with more administrative reforms awaited from the Justice Lodha panel.Verma said it was finally a step in the right direction, but was not ready to settle for just Associate and Affiliate tournaments for his state’s cricketers. “If we don’t get our first-class status back in due time,” he told ESPNcricinfo, “this will just be lip-service. We don’t want to play just five-six Associate and Affiliate teams, we want to play against all states, starting with junior tournaments.”

Dhaka seal second straight win

Dhaka Gladiators made it two wins out of two by beating Rangpur Riders by 35 runs

The Report by Mohammad Isam19-Jan-2013
ScorecardDhaka Gladiators made it two wins out of two after another comfortable win, this time beating newcomers Rangpur Riders by 35 runs. Mohammad Ashraful played like the old, carefree approach he’s been known for with a 47-ball 73. He struck the ball sweetly to set up the win, as Riders couldn’t do enough to reach the target that had a required rate of more than 10 an over.Nasir Hossain and Niall O’Brien steadied the Riders’ innings after they lost three early wickets by the sixth over, which included the wicket of Kevin O’Brien. They added 118 runs for the fourth wicket, the first century partnership of the tournament. A confident Nasir struck half a dozen sixes and five boundaries in his 49-ball 80 which kept the small crowd entertained. He had support from Niall who didn’t contribute a boundary during the partnership, but fed him the strike regularly. He ended up with an unbeaten 40 off 35 balls with a solitary boundary.Earlier, Ashraful began his innings by playing second fiddle to Luke Wright, Dhaka’s latest arrival from the Big Bash League. Wright looked set for a big innings but mistimed left-arm spinner Amit Kumar in the fifth over. The former Bangladesh captain then dominated the second-wicket stand, worth 57 runs, with Anamul Haque as he reached a half-century off 30 balls.Shakib Al Hasan came and went after hitting a six and a four, after which Ashraful and Owais Shah added 36 runs for the fourth wicket. Ashraful, with eight fours and three sixes, dictated the Riders bowling attack that lacked the pace to unnerve him, but it was the final push from Shah and Joshua Cobb that got Gladiators to their second score of over 200 runs. The pair added 54 off just 25 balls, with excellent running and good hitting from Cobb who struck two fours and two sixes in his 17-ball 34.Riders bowled poorly, despite their local experience in the form of Tapash Baisya, Mohammad Sharif and captain Abdur Razzak, though it was Nasir Hossain’s tidy off-breaks that gave away least runs in the innings.

McDonald haul sees off Queensland

Andrew McDonald took his first five-wicket haul in one-day cricket as he helped Victoria to a 12-run win over Queensland

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Dec-2011

ScoreboardAndrew McDonald took his first five-wicket haul in one-day cricket•AFP

Andrew McDonald claimed 5 for 38, his first five-wicket haul in one-day cricket, as he helped Victoria to a 12-run win over Queensland and moved them to third place in the table.Defending 237, McDonald had Peter Forrest caught behind for 27 to reduce Queensland to 4 for 61 before James Hopes’ 39 formed a 79-run partnership with Nathan Reardon. Hopes fell to Clint McKay, whose 10 overs conceded 29, and Reardon was then run out by David Hussey for 53.Again, though, Queensland fought back as Steve Paulsen (36) and Michael Neser (22) added fifty to bring the requirement down to 37 from 33 balls when McDonald removed both batsmen in three deliveries. Cameron Gannon hit four boundaries in his 22 to keep Queensland’s chances alive, but fell to McDonald at the start of the penultimate over.Aaron Finch had led the way for Victoria with 71 from 106 balls but he received little support as Victoria slipped to 6 for 145. However, they were revived by Glenn Maxwell, who struck a 37-ball 50, and Robert Quiney (38) in a stand of 67 for the seventh wicket before Alister McDermott wrapped up the innings to finish with 4 for 30.

Southee's five help New Zealand end losing streak

The youngsters shone for New Zealand as they defeated Pakistan by five wickets in the first Twenty20 at Eden Park

Andrew Fernando at Eden Park26-Dec-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsTim Southee’s hat-trick is the second by a New Zealand bowler and the third overall in T20s•Getty Images

The youngsters shone for New Zealand as they defeated Pakistan by five wickets in the first Twenty20 at Eden Park. Tim Southee ripped the heart out of the Pakistan line-up with a brutal spell of five for 18 in four overs, and Martin Guptill’s fearless half-century ensured the chase went smoothly for the hosts. The visitors had rocketed to 58 for 1 in 5.5 overs before Southee struck five times in nine deliveries to derail the middle order, using his height and pace to torment the batsmen on the quick, hard surface, and throwing in the odd slower ball to keep them guessing. Guptill then attacked the Pakistan bowling with style and chutzpah, to get his team off to a rapid start, and continued to attack throughout his innings, despite the fall of wickets at the other end.Guptill began with gusto as he flayed Abdul Razzaq for 15 in his first over with two commanding strikes and a tickle down to fine leg, before hoisting Shoaib Akhtar for a giant six over square-leg. The pace of the Auckland pitch showed up three balls later as Jesse Ryder’s thick edge off Shoaib flew at shoulder height to slip, almost at the edge of the circle. Guptill continued to make merry despite the loss, hitting Shoaib for another six on the leg-side before the bowler struck again, this time to remove debutant Dean Brownlie for five.Scott Styris uppercut his second ball for six, but was undone soon after by Shoaib, attempting an ugly slog across the line to an indipper that pegged back leg stump. Shoiab had another, and the aeroplane was on show for the third time in three overs, but although there were breakthroughs, Guptill’s fireworks at the other end boosted the score to 55 in five overs.The Pakistan spinners provided some respite, but Guptill motored to his maiden Twenty20 fifty in 23 deliveries, hitting Wahab Riaz for consecutive boundaries and lofting Mohammad Hafeez over long-on. The dazzling knock came to an end when he was run out attempting an ill-advised single on 53, after having pushed the Pakistan fielders to the limit with swift singles during his stay.Ross Taylor was content to cruise alongside James Franklin while the spinners operated, with his side well ahead of the required rate. Hafeez picked up his second wicket when he hurried one onto Franklin, but with 29 runs to get in more than five overs, the victory was all but secured. A couple of trademark slog sweeps later, New Zealand were within striking distance, and Peter McGlashan finished the job for the hosts with 2.5 overs to spare.The Pakistan innings too was off to a rollicking start, thanks to some aggressive intent from the Pakistan openers. Shahid Afridi, having promoted himself to the top, wasted little time unfurling his signature slogs, while Hafeez also swung away with abandon to propel Pakistan to 36 in 3.5 overs, before the wickets began to tumble.Afridi was caught at mid-on by a backpedalling Ross Taylor, after New Zealand’s other debutant, Adam Milne, had shelled a chance off the previous delivery. Pakistan kept the foot on the pedal as they raced to 50 in five overs. Southee then came on to cripple the innings with pace, movement and bounce to leave Pakistan reeling at 68 for 6. Southee’s barrage included a hat-trick – New Zealand’s second in Twenty20 internationals, and third overall – which accounted for Younis Khan, Hafeez and Umar Akmal, who was wrongly given out lbw.Umar Gul and Riaz were on hand for Pakistan, scoring invaluable thirties as the tail pushed Pakistan towards respectability with some sensible batting and a flurry of late boundaries. Southee’s spell, however, had done the damage, and 143 proved too few to defend on a ground with a hard surface and short straight boundaries.

Botha returns to South Africa squad for India Tests

Offspinner Johan Botha has been named in South Africa’s squad for the two Tests against India next month, marking his return after the 2008 tour of Bangladesh

Cricinfo staff18-Jan-2010Offspinner Johan Botha has been named in South Africa’s squad for the two Tests against India next month, marking his return after the 2008 tour of Bangladesh. Another notable inclusion in the 15-man team was left-arm fast bowler Lonwabo Tsotsobe, who was part of the touring party to Australia last year.There was no place for fast bowlers Makhaya Ntini and Friedel de Wet, both of whom had been part of the recently concluded home Test series against England.”It is important to have a second specialist spin bowling option for a Test series on the subcontinent,” Mike Procter, Cricket South Africa’s (CSA’s) selection convener, said. “We feel this squad covers all our tactical options and will give a good account of itself.”For the three ODIs that follow, the selectors have picked opener Loots Bosman after his impressive performances during the two Twenty20 internationals against England, where he hit 58 and 94. It was during his second knock, at Centurion, that he also shared a world-record opening partnership of 170 with captain Graeme Smith.Having returned to full fitness this summer after a succession of injuries, Bosman would provide “an explosive hitting option up front”, according to Procter. “This will be the ideal opportunity for him to show his worth on the subcontinent where next year’s World Cup will be played,” Procter said.Herschelle Gibbs was also included in the 15-man ODI squad, returning to the national team since the 2009 World Twenty20 in England.However, Hashim Amla, Ryan McLaren and Charl Langeveldt failed to make the cut for the one-day squad, from the one that took on England. Procter indicated, though, that the trio were still “in the running for the World Cup next year.”While Nagpur will host the first Test from February 6-10, the second will be played in Kolkata from February 14-18. The three ODIs will be hosted by Jaipur, Kanpur and Ahmedabad on February 21, 24 and 27 respectively.Test squad Graeme Smith (capt), Hashim Amla, Johan Botha, Mark Boucher (wk), AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Paul Harris, Jacques Kallis, Ryan McLaren, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Alviro Petersen, Ashwell Prince, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe.
ODI squad Graeme Smith (capt), Loots Bosman, Johan Botha, Mark Boucher (wk), AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Alviro Petersen, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Roelof van der Merwe.

Curran-Cox onslaught sees Invincibles home

Remarkable 10-ball hitting barrage turns game after Joe Root’s 76 put Trent Rockets in control

ECB Media21-Aug-2025Oval Invincibles 173 for 4 (Cox 58*, Curran 54) beat Trent Rockets 171 for 7 (Root 76) by six wicketsA remarkable 10-ball hitting barrage from Sam Curran and Jordan Cox turned the game on its head and drove Oval Invincibles towards a crucial win against table-topping rivals Trent Rockets in The Hundred.Chasing 171 to win, the Invincibles were just beginning to feel the pressure at 70 for 2 with 102 needed for victory from just 40 balls – ten legal balls, one strategic timeout and six sixes later they’d sailed to 121 for 1, with just 51 more required from the last 30.It was a scarcely believable spell of sustained hitting, from Curran in the main, that thrilled the Kia Oval crowd and more or less broke the back of a chase that leaves the home side sitting pretty at the top of the table with two games to go.Cox would end unbeaten on 58, to maintain his fantastic form, and for Curran it was 54 and the acclaim of his home crowd.Before the Curran and Cox show it was another England man who looked set to define the day, Joe Root showing all his usual brilliance to compile a 41-ball 76 in Rockets’ imposing total.Only Root made timing look easy, up to the point the game swung back to the hosts, although South African George Linde did give the fans some crowd-catching practice to preview the later entertainment with an eight-ball 25.It was a vital win for Invincibles in their pursuit of the crucial first place, a finish that would secure passage straight through to the final as they look to win their third title on the bounce.Meerkat Match Hero Sam Curran said: “When the strategic timeout happened, I was on seven off 12 or something like that, so the panic was in! I think the break came at the right time just to have a little sip of water and kind of restart again.”But it was a huge game and a huge win. We looked at the table before this game, and with two sides on 16 points we’re really pleased to get the points tonight.”I think it was 107 off 40 balls, and we knew in T20 or 100-ball cricket, you’re looking at hitting three or four sixes, and then before you know it we got six, seven, eight, and you’re like, ‘Wow, we’re nearly at 70 off 35 balls’.”It’s such a lovely place to bat and the crowd felt electric. It was almost like a game in India where every ball is cheered, it was like – how cool is this?”The schedule’s been pretty intense and that does help when you’re winning. You keep that momentum and you keep coming to the game, turning up to the stadium, full crowd, really high in confidence – but it can go the other way as well. We know we want to come top, but we’ve got two more games left, one away, one at home – and I think it is a big advantage, if you do come top.”

Western Australia surge to home Sheffield Shield final in quest for hat-trick of titles

Victoria collapsed to 130 all out in their second innings with the visiting attack sharing the success

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff13-Mar-2024Western Australia booked a third straight home Sheffield Shield final after defeating Victoria and leapfrogging Tasmania to top spot on the ladder.The dual defending champions needed everything to go right in their last regular-season game to keep alive their hopes of a Shield three-peat. They rose to the challenge, defeating Victoria by 138 runs in a virtual elimination final at the Junction Oval in Melbourne.Related

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Set 269 to win, Victoria were skittled for 130 late on a rain-affected day three of the match. The home side never looked like pulling off the unlikely run chase on a difficult pitch, stumbling to 31 for 3 with their three most experienced batters – Nic Maddinson, Marcus Harris and Peter Handscomb – already dismissed.Harris was superbly held low down at second slip by Cameron Bancroft off Joel Paris then Maddinson was cleaned up from around the wicket by Cameron Gannon who had set up WA’s strong position with five wickets in the first innings.Young left-hander Campbell Kellaway showed why he has a bright future, hitting 53 from 136 balls for his fifth first-class half-century.After coming in at No. 3, Kellaway survived the carnage around him as WA’s bowlers worked in tandem to complete the match on Wednesday.Corey Rocchiccioli was pumped as he bowled WA to the brink•Getty Images

Spinner Corey Rocchiccioli went through the lower order to be on a hat-trick after dismissing Fergus O’Neill and Todd Murphy in consecutive balls.Left-armer Liam Haskett finished with the best figures of his first-class career, including the key scalp of Matt Short lbw from around the wicket, and ended the match after Kellaway was caught going for a slog pull shot.Victoria captain Will Sutherland almost broke down when describing the pain of the defeat.”Our batting let us dow …the boys ran out of steam a little bit with the ball,” he said. “We’re still a young group, but I think this one does hurt quite a bit …almost hurts more than making the final and losing, I don’t know why.”Sutherland (back), Test quick Scott Boland (knee) and O’Neill (illness) all struggled through the match.WA will host the five-day final against Tasmania at the WACA Ground, starting on March 21, after the Tigers blew a golden opportunity to ensure the decider was played in Hobart.Tasmania started the round in the box seat to secure a home final, only needing to defeat South Australia at Blundstone Arena to lock it in.But they suffered a shock 134-run loss – just their second defeat of the season – against the Redbacks to consign them to a trip to Perth.WA are aiming to become just the third team this century, after Queensland (2000-02) and Victoria (2015-17), to win three straight Shield titles.Tasmania won the last of their three Shield finals back in 2012-13 when Ricky Ponting was still playing.”The pleasing thing about this group is there’s no real talk about three in a row,” WA captain Sam Whiteman said. “It’s just about winning this year, and we’ve found this year that Shields are so hard to win, a lot of things need to go your way.”

Saini, Saurabh give India A opening-day honours

Jaiswal, Abhimanyu hit half-centuries as visitors drive home the advantage

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Nov-2022India A 120 for 0 (Jaiswal 63*, Easwaran 53*) lead Bangladesh A 112 (Mosaddek 63, Saurabh 4-23, Saini 3-21) by eight runs
Navdeep Saini and Mukesh Kumar helped India A take the opening-day honours in the first unofficial Test against Bangladesh A in Cox’s Bazar.Put in to bat, Bangladesh A were shot out for 112, with Saini and Mukesh picking up five of the top six. That the hosts recovered from 63 for 6 to cross three figures was mainly down to Mosaddek Hossain’s 63.It wasn’t just India A’s fast bowlers that impressed though. Saurabh Kumar, the left-arm spinner, ran through the lower order to finish with 4 for 23. The performance is significant given Saurabh could possibly stay back to be part of the Test squad should Ravindra Jadeja be ruled unfit for the two-match series in December.With the bat, India A’s openers looked in no trouble, galloping past Bangladesh A’s total and ending the day 120 without loss. Yashasvi Jaiswal’s strong first-class initiation got even better as he remained unbeaten on 63, with a possibility of bringing up a sixth first-class century in just his eighth match. At the other end Abhimanyu Easwaran, now an India A veteran, was 53 not out.It was Saini who drew first blood when he clean bowled Mahmudul Hasan Joy, one of eight Test players in the Bangladesh A side, with a delivery that swung late and beat the outside edge. Mukesh had then Zakir Hasan, the top-scorer in the just-concluded NCL first-class competition, caught behind before clean bowling Mominul Haque, who misjudged a nip-backer from around the stumps.Mominul’s dismissal could be some cause for worry in the Bangladesh camp as it was his first knock against an overseas team since being dropped from the Test side in West Indies earlier in the year.Saini wasn’t done yet. He got Najmul Hossain Shanto caught at third slip, before the captain Mohammad Mithun carelessly chased a wide one. At that point, Bangladesh A were 26 for 5.Mosaddek resuscitated the innings with a half-century that had six fours and three sixes, and after he became the eighth batter to be dismissed, the hosts managed to add just four more to their score to fold for 112.India A’s openers calmly posted half-centuries in their reply. They struck 14 boundaries in all, as the likes of Khaled Ahmed and Taijul Islam struggled for consistency. Mithun also tried four overs each of Nayeem Hasan and Mosaddek but could not find a breakthrough.

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