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Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Chris Gayle hit some meaty boundaries before trying one too many against Graeme Swann•Getty Images

England made easy work of a shambolic West Indies side as they coasted to a six-wicket victory at Bristol. A change of format and having the sun on their backs did nothing to improve the visitors’ performance as they were shot out for 160. Stuart Broad did the damage at either end of the innings, but Paul Collingwood was the middle-order destroyer with 3 for 16 and Collingwood completed the victory with a sprightly, unbeaten 47.The only stages that West Indies threatened to make a match where as Chris Gayle briefly flourished before being outdone by a smart piece of captaincy from Andrew Strauss, then when Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Dwayne Bravo added 63 for the fourth wicket. However, when Tim Bresnan removed Chanderpaul the order unravelled rapidly against tight bowling and a sharp fielding. England were impressive, but some of the shot selection and general thinking from West Indies left plenty to be desired as the last seven wickets tumbled for a paltry 53.Broad was on target straight away after Andrew Strauss won a useful toss and trapped Lendl Simmons – who has suspect technique against the moving ball – leg before as the batsman played across a straight ball. In Broad’s next over, as he pushed 90mph, he found the perfect length to bring Ramnaresh Sarwan into a loose push outside off.Gayle, though, responded to the difficulty of 7 for 2 with typical bravado in his 200th ODI. He began by slashing Broad square then drilled him straight for four having almost picked out mid-off attempting a similar stroke. They were followed by a mighty swing over long-on for six and a slice through backward point and suddenly the momentum was shifting.Strauss countered with a brave piece of captaincy as he introduced Graeme Swann inside the first Powerplay. The first ball to Gayle disappeared high over long-on for another maximum, but Swann is a confident bowler and didn’t panic. He pushed the next delivery through a little quicker, Gayle eyed another boundary but the ball clipped the pad and crashed into the stumps. Strauss had gambled at bowling to Gayle’s ego and it paid off.Chanderpaul is so used to top-order wobbles that fixing them is second nature to him and alongside Bravo he steadied the innings. Bravo, who is coming off a six-week spell at the IPL after being ruled out of the Test series on medical advice, looked in good touch as he profited through his favourite leg-side area and also drove Dimitri Mascarenhas for a sweet straight six.However, just as the stand with Chanderpaul was building a base for West Indies, Bresnan struck when Chanderpaul top-edged a pull to short third-man and shortly after Bravo reached a 55-ball fifty he missed a slower ball from Collingwood.Although introduced as the sixth option, Collingwood proved mighty effective as he varied his pace and bowled a wicket-to-wicket line. Denesh Ramdin was trapped on the crease and Kieron Pollard was castled as he tried something expansive during the batting Powerplay. Between those wickets, Jerome Taylor was run out in a horrible mix-up with Pollard as he attempted a non-existent single to Strauss, and Broad wrapped up the innings in ruthless fashion with a short-pitched attack at the tail.The innings folded so quickly that England started their chase before the interval and they lost Strauss when he got into a tangle against a Taylor short ball. Matt Prior, elevated to No. 3 in Kevin Pietersen’s absence, guided a catch to Gayle at slip, who took it at the second attempt, but without the surprisingly rested Fidel Edwards West Indies lack the firepower to create major problems.Ravi Bopara batted neatly, especially through the leg side, and was playing within himself when he was trapped in front of middle and leg by Bravo. It has been said many times, but West Indies would be a far better team if a few more players showed Bravo’s enthusiasm. By most of the outfit it was a hopelessly lethargic effort, typified by a number of pieces of sloppy fielding (and even Bravo wasn’t immune from that), although Pollard managed a late direct hit to send Owais Shah back for 38.Shah, who didn’t play at the IPL and has lost his Test place, took 13 balls to get off the mark but became more confident as his innings progressed although will be looking over his shoulder when Pietersen returns. Collingwood hit the ball sweetly to complete a day that couldn’t have gone much better for England. However, even they will be secretly hoping that they are tested more than this in the near future.

ScorecardSomerset were given a helping hand in their quest to secure a face-saving draw against Durham as rain allowed just 24 overs on the third day, but the home side’s batsmen were also making a much better fist of their jobs after the embarrassing effort yesterday.Marcus Trescothick moved to within 10 of a hundred while James Hildreth provided solid support in an unbroken third-wicket stand of 129. For the Durham bowlers, who had such easy pickings in the first innings, it was more like what life is meant to be at Taunton as a gentle-paced surface continued to hold few demons.Play didn’t begin until 1.45 but under overcast skies there was still some swing and seam on offer, as there has been throughout. However, Trescothick led a determined effort and it was far from a stone-walling display, either, as he seized on anything off line to crack 15 boundaries and a six.Graham Onions suffered the come-down that was inevitably going to happen after a day of such highs on Thursday and he couldn’t produce the same threat, although still managed to beat the bat on occasions. Steve Harmison, too, caused a few uncomfortable moments but his line was sometimes poor.Hildreth, who hit an unbeaten triple century in the opening Championship match, responded to his first-innings duck (one of six for Somerset) with a watchful and determined innings. He passed fifty shortly before the players were forced off the field again.The good news for Durham, as they search for their opening victory of the season, is that the forecast for the final day is much improved. Somerset’s cause has been aided by the elements, but if the sun shines they will have to survive the final 96 overs through their own ability.

ScorecardMichael Di Venuto put Yorkshire to the sword with his 143•Getty Images

Barring unusual happenings on the final day, it will be seen that this match was ultimately won and lost in the first session on the third day. Yorkshire began it 98 runs behind with four wickets left with a chance of getting level, but by the time lunch came round Durham were firmly in control seats with a lead of 165 and only one wicket down. By the end of the day, Michael Di Venuto had run up a fine century and Yorkshire were set an unlikely target of 394.Durham were playing at virtually their best, but it also took Yorkshire to play at their worst. The traditional Yorkshire grit was rarely in evidence today. Within 40 minutes the last four wickets had fallen for the addition of a mere eight runs, and only Matthew Hoggard could not be accused of giving his wicket away. The first to go was Joe Sayers, who fell into Ian Blackwell’s trap by scooping a ball to backward short-leg, just before Durham were able to take the second new ball.Steve Harmison and Graham Onions bowled with fire and purpose, and Steve Patterson had some lucky escapes before he weakly nudged a ball to the wicketkeeper Phil Mustard, who took a good catch well to his right. Hoggard was genuinely beaten and trapped lbw by a fierce delivery from Onions, and Adil Rashid, capable of good runs down the order, then skied a catch to third man as the innings was over, a meek surrender in the end.Durham’s lead of 90 was more than most expected, but perhaps not the champions themselves. Mark Stoneman completed an unhappy match with the bat by falling lbw to Hoggard without a run on the board, but that was the solitary bright moment for Yorkshire during the morning – and there were few more to come later on. Di Venuto was the man who took control, while the Durham captain Will Smith gave him admirable support. Tim Bresnan, who had bowled superbly in the first innings this time found his nemesis in Di Venuto, who feasted off the deliveries swinging in to him – though curiously Bresnan was put on at the opposite end from that where he had done so well previously.The slaughter continued after lunch, with Di Venuto pausing for contemplation only in the nineties. He reached his century off 125 balls, scoring at almost twice the pace of the invaluable Smith. The latter fell for 67 just before tea, offering a return catch to Rashid off the leading edge after a partnership of 204. The legspinner, like most of the Yorkshire bowlers, was inaccurate at the start of his spell, and Andrew Gale at short leg must have felt in danger as one long hop followed another and he did receive one powerful hit on the body, but bravely picked himself up and carried on.Di Venuto eventually fell for 143 to a rather tired-looking shot to mid-off. The promotion of Blackwell suggested Durham were considering a declaration before the close, but he had made only six when Jacques Rudolph took a fine diving catch at slip off Rashid. Gordon Muchall played steadily for a fifty off 101 balls, and Durham, having taken a little longer than they would have liked, declared when he reached the landmark instead of waiting for a lead of 400. Rashid, who improved in the final session, took three wickets, while Patterson did as much as anybody to keep the run rate in check.Yorkshire had four overs of Harmison and Onions to face before the close. To their credit, Rudolph and Sayers survived the final testing act. They can still save this match, but unless rain comes to the rescue, they will have to show much more determination than they did for most of this day.

Mickey Arthur, the South African coach, has called for more rigorous preparation for future home Test series, following the 2-1 defeat against the Australians last week. Arthur said the rustiness that grips the team in the first Test match of a series has led to early defeats in each of the last three seasons. He felt a practice game would be necessary to get the team in shape.”I am frustrated with the situation. That is why we got together five days before the first Test rather than the usual three days,” Arthur told . “A two-day game will be ideal. The batsmen can bat for a day and the bowlers bowl on the other. It’s one thing training, but you can’t underestimate the effect of game time.”Australia lost the opening Tests against India in Johannesburg and against West Indies in Port Elizabeth, but fought back to win the next two Tests and the series on both occasions. They lost the opening Test against Australia in Johannesburg this season but failed to mount a similar fightback and lost the series after the defeat in Durban.The team has experienced similar first-Test blues on recent away tours but showed a lot of character to bounce back. They hit back after being asked to follow on at Lord’s and in Perth, chased a mammoth 414 to set up their historic series win in Australia.South Africa face England at home this summer and Arthur has suggested the team practice in smaller centres to avoid distractions.”There are just too many commitments and things in Johannesburg that deflects attention,” Arthur said. “Players are asked to do things for team sponsors and even their own sponsors. I believe the team will prepare a lot better in a small city or town.”

Northerns held on to the top spot with a 47-run victory against Centrals at the Takashinga Sports Club. Graeme Cremer’s all-round show saw Northerns nose just ahead of Easterns on the points table. Put in by Centrals, the Northerns batsmen failed to convert their starts as they went for quick runs with the match reduced to 30 overs per side. They looked in trouble with half the side gone by the 12th over and the run-rate on the dip, but Cremer’s unbeaten 45 off 43 balls got them back in the match. Cremer put on 63 for the eighth wicket with Trevor Garwe to take Northerns to 171 for 8. Centrals’ reply was disappointing as they capitulated to spin. Ray Price was the most successful Northerns bowler, picking up 3 for 22 while Cremer bagged 2 for 14. Captain Chamu Chibhabha led from the front with a quick 56, but failed to inspire the other batsmen as Centrals were shot out for 124 in the 29th over.A quick half-century from Stuart Matsikenyeri and a four-wicket haul by Timycen Maruma ensured Easterns stayed unbeaten in the tournament with a 13-run win against Westerns at the Harare Sports Club. With the match reduced to 26 overs a side, Westerns chose to field first and struck immediately with Chris Mpofu getting Bernard Mlambo caught by Keith Dabengwa in the third over. But Matsikneyeri continued undeterred and together with captain Hamilton Masakadza, put on 87 for the second wicket. He departed on 62 in the 18th over, hitting six boundaries in his 59-ball innings that laid the foundation for a late charge. Maskadza scored 40 off 49 balls as the Easterns finished on 160. Mpofu was the most successful bowler for Westerns with 3 for 32. The six-plus asking-rate was always going to be tough and the Westerns batsmen struggled. Wicketkeeper Charles Coventry was their top scorer with a 52-ball 45, which included a four and two sixes. His 55-run partnership with Freedom Takarusenga for the third wicket raised hopes but Maruma managed to dismiss Coventry with the scorecard reading 120. His offspin proved too tough for the opposition as he ended with match figures of 3-0-11-4 and restricted Westerns to 147 for 7.

Splish, splash
That wasn’t what the England players wanted to see when they opened their curtains, rain hammering down in St John’s. It was heavy stuff for a while and large puddles greeted the teams at the ground with the full covering across the pitch. But the groundstaff, who did so much to get the place ready in a hurry, were soon into action and despite a few more scudding showers soon had the surface fit for play.The pain barrier
Andrew Flintoff put an almost super-human effort to help England in their victory quest as he put his body through the mill. The pain from his injured hip was clear for all to see as he grimaced during his run-up and bent over in his follow through. The six-over spell he produced after tea was a magnificent effort and he so nearly claimed Denesh Ramdin’s wicket. Then, in a final throw of the dice, he came back on for a final over. This may have been the last of Flintoff on the tour, but he left no one in any doubt as to how much he is willing to give for his country.Nice airmiles
Not strictly to do with the action on the field, but the ECB announced Amjad Khan and Ravi Bopara will join the tour as cover for Andrew Flintoff. They now have a nice journey ahead of them having arrived in New Zealand with the Lions squad only a few days ago. New Zealand to West Indies is not a simple journey and it will take them the best part of a day and a half. At least they can clock up the airmiles, and they fly in nice wide seats these days, but it will be a challenge for their body clocks when they arrive in Barbados. And that says nothing of the carbon footprint.The horse has bolted
It was like trying to get past a stone wall as Shivnarine Chanderpaul blocked his way through another valuable innings. There was barely a sniff of getting him until he fell for 55, but one small chance came when the ball found the inside edge, cannoned into the thigh pad and ballooned to a vacant short-leg area. Steve Harmison stood with hands on hips and Andrew Strauss rued his fielding positions. Next ball the man went in under the helmet, but by now the horse was in a neighbouring paddock.Coming alive
The afternoon was drifting and England’s supporters were becoming restless at the lack of wickets when Stuart Broad made his impression with the new ball. Shortly after Sarwan passed his century he had his off stump uprooted, then Broad stuck again six overs later with the key wicket of Shivnarine Chanderpaul. It was a fabulous spell from Broad, who is maturing rapidly on this tour, and he had the bit between his teeth. In the end it wasn’t enough for England, but Broad was again outstanding.Century up
There were two centuries on the final day – Ramnaresh Sarwan and that other consistent performer Extras. He rarely fails to come to the party and his match hundred was raised when four byes scooted past Matt Prior after tea. Most of his runs have been made up of byes, understandable on a surface with uneven bounce, and the wicketkeepers probably won’t mind seeing the back of the ARG.How many around the bat?
As England pushed for that desperate final wicket, all the fielders were in catching positions. There was barely enough room for them, and it’s not often Steve Harmison is standing at slip. In what turned out to be the final over Kevin Pietersen was whacked on the finger and had to go off. Ian Bell rushed on, having already taken a catch as a substitute, but only had time to throw on a helmet. Every second counted, but in the end the clock beat England.

It was Rajasthan Royals’ second game in the IPL, against Kings XI Punjab. Under pressure, having lost their opening encounter in Delhi, they were 99 for 4 chasing 167 when Ravindra Jadeja walked in. Shane Watson had gained the upper hand over the bowlers, but needed someone to stay at the other end. With Shane Warne to follow, Rajasthan couldn’t afford to lose wickets. Jadeja was up to the task, dealing with Brett Lee and Co in a mature manner.That game, according to Jadeja, allowed him to set his sights high. Having to tackle the likes of Lee, Sreesanth, Irfan Pathan and James Hopes, the young allrounder from Saurashtra walked in with only one aim: not to return before he could finish off the game. His unbeaten 36 came in a valuable 69-run partnership with Watson, and marked the start of Rajasthan’s march to the championship.”That was my first big game, facing an all-out international attack but I enjoyed it every bit. Hitting two boundaries off a Lee over was an enjoyable experience,” Jadeja said, over the phone from his native Jamnagar, after hearing the news of his selection in India’s squad to Sri Lanka for five ODIs and one Twenty20 international.”After such a good Ranji season I hoped my name would be in the reckoning,” Jadeja said. He was easily the best allrounder in the tournament: Jadeja’s 42 wickets made him the joint leading wicket-taker alongside Mumbai’s Dhawal Kulkarni and he finished sixth on the run-charts, with 739 at 67.18.A month before the IPL, Jadeja had played his hand in another triumph, taking two wickets in the Under-19 World Cup final against South Africa. Things have changed a lot for Jadeja, who had struggled in the previous Ranji Trophy season, with only 195 runs and nine wickets in his six games.Speaking to the likes of Dav Whatmore and Pravin Amre helped him immensely. “The big change was in my batting, where I focused on playing along the ground rather than going for the big hits, which I used to do last year. Whatmore, who was the coach for India Under-19 and then for India A, pointed out that my back-swing was coming from the outside so if I could straighten it I could add more power to my strokes.”Amre, who was the coach at the NCA as well as the India A team that played in the Emerging Players Tournament in Australia, told him that his back foot needed to go across and not side-on if he needed to be in the right position while hitting his shots. “That has played a big role in my success this year as I got a high amount of my runs from the back-foot shots,” Jadeja said.Cheteshwar Pujara, Saurashtra’s top-run getter and third overall in the Ranji Trophy this season, feels Jadeja has grown more patient and that has allowed him to prosper. Pujara said Jadeja’s strong point was his cheerful attitude in any situation. “He is always enthusiastic. He brings in a lot of energy,” Pujara said of his team-mate, with whom he had added an unbroken stand of 520, the highest in a first-class match in India.When Jadeja enters the ground, he needs to dominate. “I like to keep my attitude positive always. If there is a situation where the team needs me I like to dominate and finish things off and leave nothing for the next man. I tell myself it is me who needs to perform and not someone else.”That positive attitude played a huge role in Saurashtra making it to their second straight Ranji Trophy semi-final this season. Saurashtra had been in a close battle with Delhi to enter the knockout stage. In the game against Delhi at home, the visitors were hunting for a win and had the upper hand when Saurashtra were reduced to 83 for 4, with two key batsmen, Shitanshu Kotak and Pujara, dismissed. But that didn’t deter Jadeja, who pieced together a stubborn 143 and was the last man out, robbing Delhi of the time needed to force a win.In the final league game against Hyderabad, Saurashtra needed a victory to nose ahead of Delhi, but were bundled out for 133 in the first innings and struggled in the second too, finishing with 183 and setting Hyderabad 177 for victory. However, Jadeja finished off the match with seven wickets in the second innings.With such efforts behind him, Jadeja is confident he can play the role of an allrounder in the Indian team if given an opportunity. “I look at myself as an allrounder and I am confident I can score those 50-60 runs in the middle order and play my hand with the ball and take a few quick wickets in the middle overs.”

Lord Marland’s campaign to become the next chairman of the ECB has been too carefully orchestrated even for an experienced treasurer of a political party mired in the art of political spin perfected by Saatchi and Saatchi and Tim Bell. He is being given professional public relations advice in an attempt to wrong-foot Giles Clarke, who believed last Friday that he did not have a challenger.Marland’s timing is apposite. The chairman is engaged in various ECB meetings this week – starting with Monday’s brainstorming session in Leicester – and, although he will have the opportunity to talk to county chairmen, will be unable to formulate a proper riposte until the weekend. After that, he will then be tied up in the ICC meeting in Perth at the end of next week, if that goes ahead.It is all rather reminiscent of Margaret Thatcher’s departure to attend a summit in Paris in 1990 at the very time when she should have stayed in London to rally her supporters against those who dared question her leadership of the Tory Party – an aspect of history of which Lord Marland, its former treasurer, will be acutely aware.The reason, it would seem, for not making his challenge public before now, was to ensure Clarke would have little time to communicate with any chairman harbouring doubt about his dogmatic style of leadership. At the end of last week, The Guardian wrote that there would be no challenge to Clarke.The intention was to make an announcement on Monday, the closing date for nominations, but two newspapers got wind of what was going on and the story duly appeared. One of these given some assistance by Neil Davidson’s camp – the Leicestershire chairman was implacably opposed to Clarke even before their row over his allegedly sexist text message when Clarke was chairman of Somerset.Marland was then, on Monday morning, given a slot on the BBC Radio Four Today programme to give his critical views on the ECB an airing. Coming from a man with no background in the game, these did not go down well with at least one chief executive whose county was supposed to be wavering.The amount of spadework already undertaken by Marland, or his PR advisers, or Rod Bransgrove, the Hampshire chairman who will also be supporting his bid, and Davidson – or conceivably all four parties – was such that they reckoned on having six counties plus MCC in the bag last weekend. This, though, could be wishful thinking, for committee members, particularly at Lord’s, may well want a significant say.At Canterbury, for example, George Kennedy, the new Kent chairman, is pro-Clarke while Paul Millman, the long-serving chief executive, has his reservations. The same goes for Charles Fry, the chairman of MCC, who has already expressed a wish to over-rule Keith Bradshaw, who had a row with Clarke last summer over the proposed Twenty20 document he had prepared with David Stewart, the chairman of Surrey.Besides, if MCC or a Test-match county was known to have backed a defeated Marland, Clarke might well not be disposed to doling out international fixtures to that particular club in the future.So who is Marland? He may have been treasurer of the Tory Party but he was, as they say in politics, a here-today-gone-tomorrow individual. He made money in insurance, is a member of MCC, helped run Boris Johnson’s campaign for London Mayor, and founded and funded the sports think tank Nexus Group, which has disappeared as quickly as it arrived in 2004.He has not chaired a county club and the suspicion remains that he will serve as a front man to the likes of Bransgrove, one of the most powerful men in the English game, who has never liked Clarke and who naturally wants more international matches staged at his Rose Bowl before retiring to live in Spain.Another concern will be whether Clarke can utilise his own ECB PR representatives, such as the head of communications, Colin Gibson, a former sports editor, or whether the governing body has to be seen to be even-handed in the event of a contest for the chairmanship. In which case Clarke himself will have to deal with myriad telephone messages. His is a completely different and more demanding role than the one carried out by a chairman of the old Test and County Cricket Board, such as Raman Subba Row.All this must make Clarke wonder whether an unpaid chairmanship is worth the trouble, hours and conflict that comes with it. Between meetings in Leicestershire and Perth he will have to move quickly on the rubber chicken circuit – something which he, as a lover of good food and wines, does not particularly care for, anyway.But he still remains favourite to triumph. Worcestershire, hitherto considered to be wavering, are expected to support the incumbent, as are Gloucestershire, which would suggest the voting, at present, is 12-7 or 11-8 in Clarke’s favour.

South Africa’s chances of claiming a 3-0 victory over Australia may havefractured with Graeme Smith’s left hand. Smith became the first victim ofa cracking pitch when a Mitchell Johnson delivery surprised the captain,cutting back and striking the knuckle on his little finger.After being examined on the ground, Smith retired hurt on 30 and went forx-rays that showed the break in the fifth metacarpal. He returned to thedressing room with a plastic cast on his hand and will be out for the nextsix weeks.Normally the injury would be a serious concern for the South Africans, butSmith already planned to miss the upcoming one-day series due to his rightelbow problem. He will meet with the team’s medical specialists inPretoria next week to plan his recovery from both injuries. In the lead-upto the Test he spoke of having his own blood injected into the tear in hisarm and is confident of being ready for Australia’s Test tour in February.Smith will bat only if South Africa need a handful of runs for victory anda stand-in captain will be decided before the second innings. With AshwellPrince also out with a hand injury, wicketkeeper Mark Boucher is theleading candidate.”If we need 10 to win I’m pretty sure Graeme will go in there, but it alldepends on the situation,” the spinner Paul Harris said. “He’sdisappointed to be injured, but this is the kick he needed to take alittle bit of rest.”The big guy has been playing for a long time in a lot of pain. I don’tthink people realise how hard it is to play in the pain he is in. A lot ofother guys would have packed in a long time ago.”When Smith was hit by Johnson, the team physiotherapist Shane Jabbarreturned to the field shortly after treating the batsman’s elbow. He knewhe had to retire hurt when he was unable to put his glove back on.The sunny weather in Sydney will widen the cracks on the pitch and thevisitors will have to bat last when the surface is at its most testing.Whether South Africa are pushing for victory or attempting to hold on fora draw on the final day, their situation will become tougher withoutSmith, who has 323 runs in the series.When Smith was batting, he was able to push South Africa forward while NeilMcKenzie’s struggles for fluency continued. Smith was fortunate to survivean edge behind on 18, with the wicketkeeper Brad Haddin not going for aball which bounced short of Matthew Hayden at first slip. The nextoffering from Doug Bollinger was pulled for four and there were anotherfour boundaries during his 31 deliveries.South Africa reached 1 for 125 at stumps in reply to Australia’s 445 andHarris was sure of their ability to match the total. “We’re prettyconfident that we can post close to their score, maybe a touch more,” hesaid.Despite Smith’s injury and the team being behind by 320 with three daysremaining, Harris said they would not be sitting back to defend their 2-0lead. “We play every Test to win, it’s the South African way,” he said.”We never play a Test to draw.”Harris collected 3 for 84 for the innings while Dale Steyn captured 3 for95. Steyn has a bruised left heel and delivered only six overs on thesecond day, but will bowl in the second innings.

Uttar Pradesh 295 for 2 (Srivastava 154*, Kaif 103*) trail Karnataka 511 by 216 runs
Scorecard

Tanmay Srivastava and Mohammad Kaif played in their last league match of the season just as they did in their first. Srivastava scored a fluent century, Kaif’s effort was more circumspect, and between them they put on an unbeaten 242-run stand. Uttar Pradesh lost only Suresh Raina on the day, moving towards Karnataka’s 511 in what has essentially become a first-innings match.In the first match, against Andhra, the two had added 285 to get UP a first-innings lead. Here they batted together for 349 minutes, and ended the third day 217 short of a first-innings lead that will enhance their chances of making the quarter-finals. The pair were brought together by the dismissal of Raina who looked uncomfortable against the short stuff. He fended NC Aiyappa on a few occasions but finally got going with a trademark cover drive. The next ball, another bouncer was, however, top-edged to Sunil Raju at fine leg. UP had added nine to their overnight 44 for 1 by then.UP arrived needing an outright win to be safe, but could have been in danger of collapse. The good thing was, however, that two of their most reliable batsmen were out in the middle, on a pitch for which you could take along camping material when going in to bat. Srivastava had progressed almost unnoticed to 29 yesterday, and continued in similar fashion today. Kaif was not as comfortable to begin with, inside-edging R Vinay Kumar past Thilak Naidu early. In Vinay Kumar’s next over he took a blow on the body, before pulling out an exquisite punch-drive straight down the ground.Kaif continued in his careful way while Srivastava kept capitalising on error. The partnership began slowly, reflecting Kaif’s cautious start. In the first 17.3 overs, the two added only 27, Kaif scoring 12 off 59. After the first drinks break, though, having sized up the pitch, the batsmen started scoring more freely. Kaif cover-drove Aiyappa, Srivastava square-cut Sunil Joshi to reach his half century, and followed it up with two boundaries in the next over.Vinay Kumar, brought in for a spell just before lunch, managed to trouble Kaif again, the only period of contest between bat and ball through the day. He beat Kaif with one that held its line in the first over, got an outside edge that avoided the slips in his next, and then beat him with a straighter delivery again. From the other end, though, Srivastava took Sunil Raju for three lovely cover-driven boundaries. He hit one between mid-off and extra cover, the next to the right of cover, and another stepping down and hitting inside out. The two had added 91 by lunch, 31 of those scored by Kaif.Resuming on 92, Srivastava got a streaky outside edge to move to 99, and then took a single to just wide of mid-off to reach his third first-class century. The century gift was four overthrows. Post-lunch, Kaif looked more positive, while also blunting the bowling. Joshi bowled one over of instant replays: the ball always full, Kaif always getting his front foot down to the pitch of the ball, defending it straight back, the ball stopping just by Joshi.

Karnataka’s fields were confoundingly defensive for a team who had made 511 and a run-rate of less than three suggested as much. Srivastava played most of his innings with a deep point in place, and singles were readily available for him. Kaif would go back into his defensive mode, before suddenly stepping out and hitting the spinners over the in-field. The immediate response to such hits was sending a fielder back, and then Kaif would go back to picking up his singles.By tea, Karnataka were a tired lot, having tried seven bowlers without much success. The partnership had reached 173 in 66.3 overs. Srivastava had slowed down a bit to reach 125, and Kaif had sped up a bit to reach 70, off 214 deliveries.Post-tea Kaif gave Karnataka their last chance of the day. He stepped out to hit C Raghu, but failed to connect well enough and hit it just wide of mid-off. Ganesh Satish, substituting for Uthappa, dropped the catch. After that Kaif stepped up another gear, moving from 88 to 100 with three boundaries: a pull, a leg glance, and a perfectly-placed cover-drive.One of the UP fans in the crowd chose to make his presence in the ground felt then, fully clothed thankfully, and came and shook both batsmen’s hands and ran away peacefully. Srivastava reached the last milestone of the day, converting his second century of the season into a second 150.Although they were still short of taking three points by some way, they got some good news from elsewhere. Baroda, one of their competitors for the quarter-final spot, lost outright to Tamil Nadu and were almost knocked out of the reckoning. UP, though, have a brittle middle-order and will need more from Kaif and Srivastava to take three points from here.