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The Royal Challengers received a boost when Zaheer Khan announced that he had regained his fitness and that he would feature in the inaugural match of the Indian Premier League, when the Bangalore-based outfit take on the Kolkata Knight Riders on April 18.”Twenty20 should not be a problem. I have been bowling every day in the last three days and yes I will be playing the first game,” Zaheer said.His return to fitness is set to give a fillip to the Challengers, who will be without services of Dale Steyn for the initial stages of the event. Steyn will take part in the Standard Bank Pro20 tournament in South Africa, before returning to the team. The franchise may also miss Nathan Bracken for the entire tournament, after he was advised four to ten weeks rest for a knee injury.Zaheer, who was recently named as one of Wisden’s five Cricketers of the Year, said he expected the stands to be filled during the Challengers’ matches. “The cream of the International players will be playing and there should be crowds. This is the first year, lets see how it goes.”He has been on the road back to recovery since returning mid-way through the tour of Australia, when injury forced him out of the Sydney Test. He subsequently underwent rehabilitation in the Centre for Sports Medicine in Johannesburg, and missed the mandatory fitness Tests ahead of the South Africa series.Meanwhile, Cameron White, the attacking Australian batsmen, said he was looking at the IPL as an opportunity to work on his game. “I am lucky that I played well for my state [Victoria] in Twenty20 and now I get to play for Bangalore,” said White. “I am in the one-day squad for the tour of West Indies after the IPL, so I will try to improve in this tournament.”

Scorecard
A seven-hour 165 from Simon Katich was not enough to earn New South Wales the lead against Western Australia after Brad Hogg wrapped up the Blues’ innings with 38 runs still required. Katich and Matthew Nicholson put on 84 for the eighth wicket to give their side hope but the Blues lost their last three wickets for 13 to hand the Warriors first-innings points. At stumps Chris Rogers and Clint Heron had helped Western Australia extend their lead to 188.Katich and Beau Casson started the day with plenty of work ahead of them at 6 for 196, needing 352. Things looked even more grim for the Blues when Casson was caught behind off Hogg for 12 but Nicholson dug in with Katich for nearly two hours, advancing the score to 301 before he was bowled by Ben Edmondson for 38.Thirteen runs later Hogg effectively ended the New South Wales resistance when he lured Katich, who had struck 20 fours and one six, into giving Adam Voges a lofted catch at deep mid-off. In his next over, Hogg picked up the final wicket when Stuart MacGill (0) skied a catch to Shaun Marsh at cover.With just under a day-and-a-half to play, Rogers quickly set about establishing a target, racing to a half-century from 58 balls. It was the fifth time he had passed fifty in seven Pura Cup innings this season and reminded the Australia selectors that Phil Jaques was not the only opener knocking on the door for a place in the Test team. He was eventually out to Casson for 73, which included seven fours and one six.Marsh was run out for 2 but Heron and North continued to frustrate the New South Wales bowlers and took the score to 2 for 151 at stumps. North was on 29 not out and Heron was unbeaten on 45.

According to Haroon Lorgat, South Africa’s convenor of selectors, Herschelle Gibbs will move to No. 4 in the batting order and Thandi Tshabalala is unlikely to play the first Test in Sri Lanka.The website SuperCricket reported that Lorgat confirmed this decision after he announced the 14-man squad for the two Tests, saying: “I always make sensible decisions.” Gibbs has replaced Jacques Kallis, out for rehabilitation from elbow surgery, and has been slotted down the order to continue the Graeme Smith-Boeta Dippenaar opening combination.On Tshabalala’s selection, Lorgat said: “The principle reason for Thandi’s selection is for him to gain exposure and experience and it is very unlikely that he will play in the first test.” He added that the team management would keep a close eye on the 21-year-old in an attempt to ascertain when he would be ready to make the next step. “Judging by how he goes in practice and once he has been in those conditions for a week or two, we will not hesitate to choose him when he is ready,” Lorgat said. “We will play it by ‘eye’, if you like, but we would be bold enough to use him.”Lorgat also said that Johan Botha, the offspinner whose action was deemed illegal by the ICC, was on the mend. “Johan has done lots of remedial work with Vincent Barnes at the Sports Science Institute in Cape Town and Shafiek Abrahams at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria, and also with Russell Domingo, his coach back home,” he said. “The corrections to his action have been done and now it’s all about him bowling as much as possible so the changes become habit. Before the start of next season he will have a test in South Africa just so we can be confident he will meet the ICC’s regulations. After that he will go for the formal, independent testing in Perth.”South Africa play the first of two Tests in Colombo from July 27.

Andy and Grant Flower are still not interested in returning to theZimbabwe cricket team as long as the present administration remains. TheEssex pair spoke to Cricinfo on Monday while turning out for the World XIagainst a West Indies All Star team as part of the reopening of theKensington Oval on Saturday.”I walked away because of the state of affairs and not much haschanged,” said Andy Flower, the former Zimbabwe captain. “Since then it hasgone further downhill. I don’t believe things will change unless thegovernment changes, so that’s the stage we are at.”The brothers left the Zimbabwe team in 2003, disenchanted withgovernment policies and how the ZC cricket body led by Peter Chingokawas rife with financial mismanagement, bias and infighting. Dozens ofnational players have quit the side since, and Zimbabwe stopped playing Tests morethan a year ago because it wasn’t competitive enough.It has a conditional return to Test status in November, but considering thecountry has had no first-class competition for two years the talk of areturn to Test cricket may be premature.Chingoka was reportedly trying to attract former players for the Zimbabwe squadfor next month’s World Cup in the Caribbean to avoid embarrassment. Grant Flower, two years younger than Andy, called for a change of administration in the country. Otherwise, he said, the game would perish.”As Andy said, a lot needs to be done to save the game of cricket inZimbabwe. We would love to help, but we can’t work under the presentbosses,” said Grant. He also predicted a tough time for the team in the WorldCup.”Zimbabwe has been forced to field a team of kids and we have all seenthe results. It’s not the players’ fault but I don’t see them doing verywell in the World Cup out here.”

Virender Sehwag admitted India’s intensity had dropped during the course of the second day, but attributed it to the hot conditions and flat pitch that the team faced in Chennai.”I think maybe because of the heat and the flat wicket,” Sehwag said after a day when India’s fielders veered from shoddy to dismal. “There was nothing for the bowlers, but still they worked hard for the wickets. So it [misfields] happens sometimes but we will work on it in the second innings.”India can never aim to be spectacular in the field – especially with five of their players on the other side of 30 – but the worrying factor was the amateurish efforts from youngsters like RP Singh and Sreesanth. Both let through regulation stops, prompting Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid to let off some steam.Sreesanth also failed to judge a skier from Dale Steyn late in the innings and received a fiery salvo from Harbhajan Singh, the bowler who also ran towards the ball. Wasim Jaffer wasn’t quick to get down to a tough chance at short leg and the rest too had a few sloppy moments on the field.”Everybody didn’t field well,” Sehwag said. “It wasn’t just them [RP Singh and Sreesanth]. We all want to do well but sometimes the intensity level drops maybe because of the heat.”The heat obviously played a big part but what chance do India’s fielders then have in the rest of the series? Ahmedabad and Kanpur are renowned for their oppressive conditions and the situation could only get bleaker as the series goes on. Not only will it affect the runs conceded but also take a toll on the players’ fitness.Sehwag, though, contradicted himself a bit by saying the players were used to these conditions. “All the players are used to playing in India,” he said when asked about the weather. “And in India wherever you play after March it is hot. Next we are going to Ahmedabad which is also a hot place and after that Kanpur, where you find dry heat in April. We are pretty used to the heat.”

While he was optimistic about the team handling the weather, he didn’t seem too upbeat about the pitch cracking up. “Maybe on the fifth day,” he said with a wry smile, suggesting the game was destined towards a draw. However, he did add India’s best chance was to bat for another two days before trying to sneak a win from the back door.”We will try to bat for around two days and look to put them in on the final day,” he said. “We will look to get a lead of around 50-100 runs and put pressure on them. If we get close to their first innings total, then it will be difficult for them because batting will not be easy on the fifth day. Everyone knows that the Chennai wicket spins and bounce so it will be difficult to bat against Harbhajan and Kumble.”Despite India being put on the back foot, Sehwag credited the bowlers for sticking to their guns. “I think the bowlers had to work hard to get their wickets because it is not an easy wicket to bowl on,” he said. “We planned to be patient because whenever you play in India you always expect to bowl out the opposition as early as possible because Kumble and Harbhajan are bowling. I think Harbhajan and Kumble deserve special praise for their efforts with the ball. We tried to get them out as early as possible but they also batted well.”

Mehrab Hossain jr, one half of Bangladesh’s newest opening pair, is confident of his rapport with Shahriar Nafees. The duo added 104 in a six-wicket victory over Zimbabwe as Bangladesh took a 2-0 series lead in the second match at Bogra yesterday.”This was nothing new for me to open the innings with him [Nafees] because we have had experiences at different levels,” Mehrab told reporters after scoring his maiden ODI fifty. “We have a very good understanding, so we enjoyed the batting. My partner was in a good form and easily played the strokes and that’s why I had a different role in the match. I played a slow game but this is not my natural innings. I love to play according to the team’s demand.”Nafees, who scored a brisk 67, regretted not being able to score three consecutive ODI hundreds in a row. “I learnt about the record before the match and it would have been nice for me if I could score another hundred today,” he said. “But at the end I am happy that my team won the battle and it came quite convincingly.”It is not true that we scored runs because of weak bowling attack rather I must say we played good cricket. I really enjoyed today’s batting under lights because the ball came quite nicely on to the bat.”Nafees, who has hit three hundreds in a row against Zimbabwe, however, added: “We are only thinking about our next game and not about a series whitewash”.

Benson & Hedges World Championship of Cricket, 1984-85, Final, Melbourne
India won by eight wickets

This was the first high-profile ODI clash between the two teams. India entered the final as favourites, having bowled out every opposition team till then. Three-wicket hauls from Kapil Dev and Laxman Sivaramakrishnan helped India restrict Pakistan to a below-par 176 for 9. Kris Srikkanth and the Man-of-the-Series Ravi Shastri scored contrasting half-centuries to take India home with six overs to spare.World Cup, 1992, Sydney
India won by 43 runsThis was the first World Cup encounter between the two. In conditions that aided swing and seam movement, India overcame a very slow start to reach 216 for 7. Srikkanth played an uncharacteristic innings, batting out 40 balls for five runs, before Sachin Tendulkar hit a counter-attacking fifty and Kapil made a breezy 35 to give the bowlers a total to defend. Pakistan’s reply was built on an 88-run partnership between Javed Miandad and Aamer Sohail but Tendulkar broke the partnership, dismissing Sohail for 62. That turned the match – Pakistan crumbled as the asking run-rate spiralled up and Javagal Srinath sealed their fate with a yorker that cleaned up Miandad.World Cup quarter-final, 1996, Bangalore
India won by 39 runsThere was controversy even before the start, with Pakistan captain Wasim Akram pulling out at the last minute. Navjot Singh Sidhu laid the foundation for India with 93 before Ajay Jadeja set the stadium ablaze with a brutal 25-ball 45, including 40 from the final two overs by Waqar Younis, to catapult India to 287. Pakistan came up with a stunning riposte with Saeed Anwar and Sohail thumping 84 in the first 10 overs. Anwar fell at that score but Sohail continued to shred the opening bowlers till a verbal joust with Venkatesh Prasad did him, and Pakistan, in. After hitting a boundary to extra-cover fence, he openly lampooned Prasad, pointing to the region with the bat. But when Sohail tried to repeat the slash off the next ball he was bowled by a charged-up Prasad who gave Sohail a verbal send-off. India went on to complete a famous win. Incidentally, this was Miandad’s last international game.World Cup, fourth Super Sixes match, 1999, Manchester
India won by 47 runsIndia and Pakistan squared off during a time when the armies of both countries were engaged in a stand-off over Kashmir. Fears were raised to a great levels and security was incredibly intense. Against that backdrop, fans of both sides came together in tumult to cheer their heroes on. There was much flag-waving, whistle-blowing and drum-beating, creating a passionate atmosphere. Tendulkar dominated the start after India opted to bat, passing 8,000 one-day international runs, but the batting did not quite click thereafter. Mohammad Azharuddin was left to construct the innings, and he added 60 in nine overs with Robin Singh to get India to 227.In reply, Saeed Anwar began with with six hurried fours even as Javagal Srinath chipped away at his partners. But it was that man Prasad again, bowling accurately and with good movement, to finish with 5 for 27. Sample his victims: Salim Malik, Anwar, Moin Khan, for an explosive 34 in 37 balls, Inzamam-ul-Haq, unusually subdued for 30 overs, and Wasim Akram, the captain. It all added up to a third successive victory over Pakistan, with Azharuddin winning all of the three India – Pakistan matches he’d captained in World Cup history.

World Cup 2003, Centurion
India won by six wickets
Anwar guided Pakistan to a daunting 273 with a dogged hundred but an awe-inspiring 98 from Tendulkar helped India romp home to a memorable win. Tendulkar dismantled the bowling attack with shots all around the ground and in particular, took apart Shoaib Akhtar and Waqar with some clinical hitting. He stitched together a 102-run partnership with Mohammad Kaif to help India win with more than four overs to spare.Champions Trophy 2004, Edgbaston
Pakistan won by three wickets
Pakistan broke the jinx of losing to India in what would be the last encounter between the two sides in a major tournament before the World Twenty20. English conditions in late September meant nine of the 15 matches were won by the team chasing. Inzamam-ul-Haq won the crucial toss at Edgbaston and put India in. Shoaib Akhtar and Naved-ul-Hasan shared eight wickets as India were bowled out for 200. Irfan Pathan gave India a shot at reaching the semi-final when he reduced Pakistan to 27 for 3 in 11 overs. But Inzamam and Mohammad Yousuf’s calm 75-run partnership steadied Pakistan’s nerves. Yousuf was unbeaten on 81 as Pakistan reached the target with four balls to spare.ICC World Twenty20, 2007, Durban
Match tied, India won on bowl-outViews remain divided as to the virtues of having a bowl-out in the 20-over format, but when India and Pakistan met for the first time in the inagural ICC World Twenty20 it was another classic. Ultimately India’s players held their nerve to win an extraordinary encounter, taking the game 3-0 in a bowl-out to beat Pakistan and seal their place in the Super Eights after their group match ended in a thrilling tie. India were reeling after Mohammad Asif took 4 for 18 but Robin Uthappa (50) helped set Pakistan 142 to win in Durban. Misbah-ul-Haq made a brilliant 53 from 37 balls even as Pakistan lost three wickets for three runs and Pakistan, who had already qualified, needed one to win off the last ball. However, Misbah could not manage it off Sreesanth’s last ball and was run out to set up the dramatic bowl-out to decide the winner. India’s first three all hit the stumps but Pakistan’s top three all missed. Few could have predicted this thriller, but once again it was India would had trumped Pakistan in a major world tournament.

Batsman Vusi Sibanda and left-arm seamer Brian Vitori return to the Zimbabwe squad for the four T20Is against Bangladesh starting on January 15. Sean Williams, who was ruled out of Zimbabwe’s ongoing Twenty20 series against Afghanistan with a groin injury, is also part of the 16-man side.Tinashe Panyangara and Craig Ervine were notable exceptions, although reports suggested Ervine had caught the flu after scoring 73 in an ODI two weeks ago. Panyangara was picked for the tour of UAE, but has not played a single game so far.Sibanda had been in terrible form over the past two years. His last fifty in international cricket had come in August 2013, and since then he has averaged 16.34 in 24 matches across formats. He has not played for Zimbabwe since July 2015, but his recent domestic record shows clear signs of improvement. This past December, he struck back-to-back fifties in List A cricket and racked up three fifty-plus scores in four innings in first-class cricket including 140 and 90 in the same match.Vitori has spent the same amount of time outside the Zimbabwe team as Sibanda. He comes back as one of four frontline seamers including Neville Madziva, Luke Jongwe and Taurai Muzarabani. Donald Tiripano, who had made his T20I debut a couple of days ago, did not find a place among them. Graeme Cremer will lead the spin attack along with left-armer Tendai Chisoro and Wellington Masakadza.Zimbabwe will fly out to Dhaka on January 11, mere hours after wrapping up their limited-overs series against Afghanistan in the UAE.Zimbabwe squad: Elton Chigumbura, Malcolm Waller, Peter Moor, Sikandar Raza, Graeme Cremer, Hamilton Masakadza, Wellington Masakadza, Richmond Mutumbami, Sean Williams, Chamu Chibhabha, Neville Madziva, Luke Jongwe, Taurai Muzarabani, Tendai Chisoro, Vusi Sibanda, Brian Vitori

Inzamam-ul-Haq has not been included in a provisional squad set to undergo a rigorous two-week conditioning camp in Abbottabad. The 20-member squad, announced by the national selectors, will start the camp from June 10. There are two more similar camps in Quetta and Karachi thereafter.There has been growing speculation in Pakistan about the future of Inzamam in the Test squad. While he is expected to get a central contract, his exclusion from the preparatory camp suggests that he may not figure in the immediate future plans of Pakistan. The presence of Misbah-ul-Haq, Asim Kamal and Faisal Iqbal in the camp suggests that other middle-order options are being explored by the Pakistani setup.Inzamam retired from the one-day game in the aftermath of a disastrous World Cup but said that he was keen on continuing in the longer version of the game. However, a severe indictment from an inquiry commission on the World Cup seemed to indicate that the road ahead would be tough.Younis Khan and Danish Kaneria have also not been included in the camp as they are playing county cricket for Yorkshire and Essex respectively. The duo have been given permission by the Pakistan board to play in the county circuit till September. Shoaib Akhtar, who had been dropped from the Afro-Asia Cup squad due to injury concerns, has been called up to the camp.”We need Akhtar in the hectic schedule ahead and hopefully he will play a crucial part on the tour of Scotland,” said Salahuddin Ahmed, the chief selector to AFP, adding, “Akhtar has been bowling eight overs on the trot without any trouble and we hope he will get into top gear in the tune-up camp”.Among those included in the camp are Fawad Alam and left-arm medim-fast bowler Najaf Shah. The 21-year old Fawad Alam who plays for Karachi in domestic cricket has a career average of 47.60 in domestic List A cricket. While Alam hasn’t played a Test match, he has played his only ODI in the recently concluded Abu Dhabi series. Shah who also played his sole ODI in the same series, has also been called up after an impressive domestic seasonCamp attendees
Shoaib Malik (Captain), Salman Butt, Imran Nazir, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Yousuf, Yasir Hameed, Misbah-ul-Haq, Naved Latif, Faisal Iqbal, Asim Kamal, Fawad Alam, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzak, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Asif, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami, Umar Gul, Rao Iftikhar Anjum, Najaf Shah

First Division

Darren Pattinson bowled his first over on the opening day at Trent Bridge at around 11.05 am and also bowled the final over at around 6.30 pm. During that time 20 wickets tumbled as Pattinson ripped Lancashire apart with a career-best 6 for 30 before Nottinghamshire were removed for 202. It was the second time in two matches that Lancashire had been involved in such a day, following their game against Durham last week. Pattinson took a five-wicket haul on his county debut in the opening match of the season against Kent, but had to move aside while Ryan Sidebottom and Stuart Broad were available. With those two on England duty, Pattinson had another chance and responded in destructive fashion. Lancashire’s top order – missing Mohammad Yousuf who has had some minor visa issues – slumped to 16 for 4, and later the last six wickets went for 12. In between Stuart Law (55) and Steven Croft began a recovery but Mark Ealham started the second collapse by having Croft caught by Graeme Swann. Wickets continued to fall as Nottinghamshire slipped to 43 for 3. Samit Patel produced the best innings of the day, adding 93 with Mark Wagh (55), and Patel’s 74 off 71 balls took his team into the lead before Gary Keedy – the first spiner of the match – grabbed two quick wickets. Croft then swiftly wrapped up the innings with his medium-pace, although the lead of 89 is useful on a lively surface. The pitch inspectors are on their way for the start of the second day.Chris Tremlett continued the promising form he showed for England Lions last week with five wickets as Hampshire had a productive first day against Surrey at The Rose Bowl. He removed Jon Batty for a duck and returned to have Scott Newman bowled via an inside edge when he appeared set. Mark Ramprakash, searching for his 100th hundred, was caught behind for 17 as plenty of Surrey batsmen made starts without capitalising. Mark Butcher, well caught by Sean Ervine at midwicket, and Usman Afzaal fell in the forties despite being dropped three times between them. Matthew Nicholson’s 40 gave the total some respectability and the day ended on a positive note for Surrey when Jimmy Ormond removed Michael Carberry in his first over.The Somerset top order enjoyed the conditions at Taunton and Sussex endured a tough day in the field. James Hildreth scored his first Championship century of the season as the visitors were made to toil in typically batsman-friendly conditions. Chris Adams put Somerset in, perhaps swayed by last week’s match when Somerset were 23 for 6 against Hampshire. Neil Edwards was within touching distance of his own century but, having advanced out of the crease against Ollie Rayner, was run out for 99 by some swift work from Chris Adams at slip. Marcus Trescothick hit 74 with 11 boundaries before becoming Corey Collymore’s first Championship wicket.Click here for John Ward’s report of the first day’s play between Durham and Yorkshireat Chester-le-Street where Michael Di Venuto dominated with an unbeaten 184.

Second Division

Chris Taylor and Steven Snell hit centuries to haul Gloucestershire out of a hole against Worcestershire at New Road. The pair added 222 in 53 overs for the sixth wicket after the top order had fallen against the new ball to leave them struggling on 85 for 5. Simon Jones struck twice in his first spell, but Taylor and Snell carried the game away from Worcestershire. Snell began his cricketing life on the Isle of Wright and has now been preferred ahead of Stephen Adshead in the Championship. He reached his first century off 179 balls while Taylor hit four sixes in his 137 before being caught behind off Gareth Batty. But the momentum was now with Gloucestershire, a point emphatically hammered home by Mark Hardinges’ 43-ball half-century during the final session.Jonathan Clare continued the impressive form, which has earned him a contract extension, and his unbeaten 70 boosted a mediocre batting performance by Derbyshire at Sophia Gardens. The Glamorgan attack made early inroads as James Harris helped reduce Derbyshire to 66 for 3. Chris Rogers made 69 before being caught behind off David Harrison, but Clare and Graham Wagg (32) started the fightback with a stand of 50. Robert Croft worked his way through the tail to end with four wickets, including his 900th for Glamorgan. Matthew Wood fell early to Wagg, but Gareth Rees gave Glamorgan a solid platform to their reply.2nd dayJacques du Toit hit his maiden first-class century as Leicestershire piled up 527, their highest total for nearly two years, against Northamptonshire at Grace Road. He built on the solid work from the top order on the opening day, adding 129 with Paul Nixon (79) for the seventh wicket. Even when Nicky Boje removed them both the problems didn’t stop for Northamptonshire as Jermaine Lawson clubbed 35 off 29 balls at No. 11. Niall O’Brien built a solid response after Lawson removed Stephen Peters with a leg-stump yorker, finishing the day unbeaten on 76.