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.”

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.”

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.

ScorecardFile photo – Karnataka’s pace quartet picked up seven wickets among them•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Gautam Gambhir (75) top-scored for Delhi in a disappointing batting effort as they were made to follow on by Karnataka in Hubballi. Delhi, who were bowled out for 301, ended the day on 22 without loss in their second dig when stumps were drawn.Delhi began cautiously and negotiated the first hour without too much trouble, before the middle order collapsed in a heap as they slipped from 136 for 3 to 166 for 6. Manan Sharma and Vaibhav Rawal then put together 93 for the seventh wicket as Delhi briefly looked like avoiding the follow-on. But that wasn’t to be as Abhimanyu Mithun and Shreyas Gopal dismantled the tail quite easily. The pace trip of HS Sharath, Mithun and S Aravind picked up two wickets apiece.
ScorecardNitin Saini’s first century this season kept Haryana afloat, but Rajasthan still had the upper hand going into the final day in Lahli. Haryana, who conceded a 167-run lead, lost the wickets of Saini (146) and Mohit Hooda (56) in the final session to leave themselves a 120 run lead with four wickets standing at stumps.Virender Sehwag, returning after missing the last two matches due to the All Stars T20 in USA, was scalped by Tanveer-Ul-Haq to make it a forgettable outing as he finished with scores of 29 and 8 for the match. When he was dismissed, Haryana were reduced to 110 for 3, needing another 57 to make Rajasthan bat again.Saini then steadied the innings courtesy two important partnerships – 72 with Priyank Tehlan (34) and 88 with Mohit Hooda (56) – to keep Haryana alive, before Pankaj Singh’s double strike halted their progress. The Rajasthan captain first had Tehlan lbw before having Hooda caught by Tanveer in the dying moments of play to break into the lower middle order.
ScorecardAssam were on course for a crucial first-innings lead in Pune after Krishna Das’ four-wicket burst left Maharashtra reeling at 160 for 6 in response to Assam’s 298 that was largely achieved on the back of a mammoth stand between Arun Karthik and Gokul Sharma. Karthik batted for 283 deliveries during his knock of 130, his third ton this season, while Gokul, the captain, made 76 during the course of a 237-run stand for the fourth-wicket.Maharashtra’s openers fell cheaply to Dhiraj Goswami, the pacer, before Krishna Das got into the act. Before long, the hosts were in tatters with the top four back in with hut with just 60 on the board. Rahul Tripathi continued his good form to make a defiant half-century, but little support from the other end meant Maharashtra’s lower order will need to pull off a coup if they are to walk away with three points.

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

Scorecard1:11

Mumbai, Saurashtra dominate Day 1

A five-wicket haul from Jaydev Unadkat gave Saurashtra the early impetus in their quarter-final in Vizianagaram, as they bowled Vidarbha out for 151. Saurashtra made a strong start to their reply as well, ending the day 70 for 1 with Cheteshwar Pujara batting on 45 off 71 balls (9×4) and sharing an unbroken 60-run stand with Sagar Jogiyani after the early loss of Avi Barot to Umesh Yadav.Saurashtra sent Vidarbha in after winning the toss and Unadkat, the left-arm seamer, made an almost instantaneous impact, dismissing Jitesh Sharma with the second ball of the match. Hardik Rathod picked up the next two wickets as Vidarbha slumped to 30 for 3, and there was little respite thereafter, with a 33-run fourth-wicket stand between S Badrinath and Wasim Jaffer finishing as the highest of the innings. Jaffer top-scored with 41, facing 86 balls and hitting seven fours. The seamers picked up all ten Vidarbha wickets, with Rathod and Chirag Jani bagging two each and Unadkat finishing with figures of 5 for 70.
ScorecardPacers Siddarth Kaul and Barinder Sran cut through Assam’s batting line-up, but Syed Mohammad unbeaten 50 pushed his side past 200 in the second quarter-final in Valsad.Coming in at No.7, Syed Mohammad rallied with the lower order, bringing up his second fifty of the season. It had come after forties from opener Pallav Kumar Das and No.4 Amit Verma, but the rest of the middle order did not have answers to Kaul and Sran who had combined figures of 47-8-148-6.Dhiraj Goswami was dismissed just before stumps, as Assam made slow progress to 223. Captain Harbhajan Singh managed only one wicket, but gave away only 11 runs in as many overs. Left-arm pacer Deepak Bansal, playing his third first-class match, took the other wicket to fall.
ScorecardAkhil Herwadkar’s century and Suryakumar Yadav’s half-century led Mumbai to 303 for 6 at stumps on the first day of their quarter-final clash against Jharkhand in Mysore.Having opted to bat, Mumbai lost opener Jay Bista early, but Herwadkar, joined by Shreyas Iyer, who scored a brisk 45, put on a 70-run partnership to lift Mumbai. Iyer fell with the score at 91, but Herwadkar found good company from Suryakumar as Mumbai pushed past 200. Suryakumar struck nine fours and two sixes during his 70-ball 75. Herwadkar’s effort, on the other hand, was built on patience. He took 217 balls for his 107, during which he hit 12 fours.Jharkhand made late incisions, reducing Mumbai from 227 for 2 to 303 for 6. Pacer Jaskaran Singh and left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem picked up two wickets each for Jharkhand.

Jhye Richardson is in the frame to be included in Australia’s squad for the Boxing Day Test following a successful recovery from shoulder surgery.Pat Cummins is expected to sit out Melbourne, and potentially the rest of the series, with the Ashes secured after victory in Adelaide, meaning there is a vacancy in the pace attack. Brendan Doggett and Michael Neser, who took a five-wicket haul in Brisbane, played earlier in the series and would also be in contention to return to the XI but ESPNcricinfo understands Richardson is very close to being in consideration.Richardson trained with the Test group ahead of Adelaide but was not officially part of the squad.Related

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Australia also need to replace Nathan Lyon who is out of the series with a hamstring injury. Todd Murphy is likely the frontrunner, although Western Australia’s Corey Rocchiccioli could earn a first call-up, while left-arm spinner Matt Kuhnemann had a successful tour of Sri Lanka earlier this year and toured the West Indies.Should Richardson’s official return to a Test squad be locked in, it would come exactly a year since he was last included, against India for the Boxing Day Test. Shortly after that, he opted to undergo shoulder surgery to fix long-standing issues and was ruled out of action for nearly 12 months. The selectors had long held hope that he would be in contention for the latter stages of the Ashes.He has made a gradual return to action in recent months, starting in grade cricket before playing for a Cricket Australia XI against England Lions. He then featured for Australia A against the Lions where he increased his workload, claiming five wickets across 26 overs.