Royal London One Day Cup

Northants 307/7 v Derbyshire 309/4 (target 308) Derbyshire won by 6 wickets 
Essex 304/7 v Hampshire 279 (target 305) Essex won by 25 runs
Glamorgan 239 v Surrey 183/2 (target 182) Surrey won by 8 wickets (D/L method)
Worcs 361/8 v Leics 319 (target 362) Worcs won by 42 runs
Middlesex 256/9 v Gloucs 257/5 (target 257) Gloucs won by 5 wickets 
Somerset 303/5 v Sussex 155/9 (target 165) Somerset won by 9 runs (D/L method)

Royal London One Day Cup

Surrey 290/8 v Somerset 291/6 (target 291) Somerset won by 4 wickets 

Lancashire 314/8 (50.0 ov)
Leicestershire 311/7 (48.2/49 ov, target 309)
Leicestershire won by 3 wickets (with 4 balls remaining) (D/L method)

Royal London One Day Cup

Nottinghamshire 185 (40.5 ov)
Yorkshire 191/3 (32.4 ov)
Yorkshire won by 7 wickets (with 104 balls remaining)

Royal London One Day Cup

Durham 194/2 (34/43 ov) v Derbyshire No result

Glamorgan 277/7 v Gloucs 232/8 (target 251) Glamorgan won by 18 runs (D/L method)

Kent 258 v Hampshire 260/4 (target 259) Hampshire won by 6 wickets 

Middlesex 341/5 v Sussex 26/1 (target 342) No result

Notts 273/6 v Worcs 169/5 (target 168) Worcs won by 5 wickets (D/L method)


Northamptonshire 151 (29.4/30 ov)
Warwickshire 162/0 (26/30 ov, target 159)
Warwickshire won by 10 wickets (with 24 balls remaining) (D/L method)

County Championship Round 3

Day 4

Division One:

Lancashire beat Somerset by 164 runs
Middlesex drew with Essex
Warwickshire drew with Surrey
Hampshire drew with Yorkshire

Division Two:

Gloucestershire drew with Durham
Leicestershire drew with Glamorgan
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Day 3

Division One:

Lancs 109 & 423-7 v Somerset 278
Yorkshire 231 & 178-3 v Hants 455
Essex 295 & 19-0 v Middlesex 507-7d & 239-3d
Warks 332 & 162-4 v Surrey 437

Division Two:

Glos 303 & 175-3 v Durham 419
Leics 420 & 200-3 v Glamorgan 426

Div 2 Result:

Kent beat Derbyshire by 169 runs
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Day 2

Division One:

Yorkshire 128-6 v Hampshire 455
Essex 120-4 v Middlesex 507-7d
Surrey 299-3 v Warwickshire 332
Lancashire 109 & 152-2 v Somerset 278

Division Two:

Kent 259 & 142-7 v Derbyshire 159
Glamorgan 281-4 v Leics 420
Durham 270-4 v Glos 303

Div 2 Results

Notts beat Sussex by an innings and 88 runs
Worcestershire beat Northants by 20 runs
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Day 1 scores

Div One:

Hampshire 281-4 v Yorkshire
Middlesex 255-1 v Essex
Somerset 153-8 v Lancashire 109
Warks 292-6 v Surrey

Div Two:

Kent 238-8 v Derbyshire
Northants 102-6 v Worcestershire 188
Leics 275-5 v Glamorgan
Gloucs 265-7 v Durham
Sussex 11-3 v Notts 447 

County Championship Round 2

Day 1

County Championship Division 1

Middlesex 290-6 v Hampshire
Lancashire 294-6 v Surrey
Warwickshire 152-8 v Yorkshire
Essex 60-2 v Somerset 209


County Championship Division 2

Notts 96-4 v Durham 162
Sussex 11-1 v Kent 304
Worcestershire 180-4 v Glamorgan 207
Gloucestershire 236-4 v Leicestershire
Derbyshire 219-6 v Northants

Day 2

Division One:

Hampshire 209-4 v Middlesex 356
Surrey 112-2 v Lancashire 470
Yorkshire 295-6 v Warwickshire 178
Essex 129 & 10-0 v Somerset 209 & 174


Division Two:

Durham 162 & 160-5 v Notts 305
Kent 304 & 82-2 v Sussex 291
Glamorgan 207 & 141-3 v Worcestershire 403
Leicestershire 165-6 v Gloucestershire 466/8d
Northants 291-9 v Derbyshire 281

Day 3

Div One:

Middlesex 356 & 111-4 v Hampshire 438
Warwickshire 178 & 85-9 v Yorkshire 381
Surrey 319 & 55-1 v Lancashire 470
ESSEX BEAT SOMERSET BY 8 WICKETS

Div Two:

Kent 304 & 431-5 v Sussex 291
Durham 162 & 201-7 v Notts 305
Derbyshire 281 & 142-0 v Northants 307
GLOUCESTERSHIRE BEAT LEICESTERSHIRE BY AN INNINGS AND 6 RUNS
WORCESTERSHIRE BEAT GLAMORGAN BY 8 WICKETS

Day 4

County Championship Division 1

Hampshire drew with Middlesex

Surrey drew with Lancashire

Yorkshire beat Warwickshire by an innings and 88 runs

County Championship Division 2

Northants beat Derbyshire by three wickets

Notts beat Durham by nine wickets

Kent beat Sussex by 226 runs

3 match ODI series PAK 2-1 WI

1st ODI 

Pakistan 308/5 

West Indies 309/6 

West Indies win by four wickets

This is one way to nail a 300-plus chase, a method no cricket manual, traditional or modern, would recommend. West Indies themselves may have not planned to finish it off this way, but they did. Jason Mohammed played the innings of his life as West Indies clawed their way back into a contest they didn't even seem to be a part of for 35 overs of the chase.

They needed 128 from 13 overs when Jason Mohammed suddenly exploded into life, treating Pakistan's vaunted fast-bowling attack with disdain, as Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz and Hasan Ali were all on the receiving end of hammerings in the slog overs.

When Pakistan realised there was life yet in the contest, Jason Mohammed was one step ahead of everything the bowlers, and an increasingly panic-stricken Sarfraz Ahmed, could throw at him. Ashley Nurse gave Jason Mohammed adequate support towards the end as Pakistan's sizeable advantage vanished before their disbelieving eyes. Before the small Guyana crowd could pinch themselves, their side had beaten Pakistan into submission and romped to their highest-successful ODI chase.

A West Indies win appeared unlikely after Kieron Powell - the only batsman who had attempted to inject any impetus into the West Indies innings in the first half - and wicketkeeper Shai Hope fell within 10 balls of each other. They were both dismissed off quality deliveries, Wahab deceiving Powell with a beautifully disguised slower ball, while Shadab extracted sharp turn and bounce to catch Hope out of his crease while Sarfraz broke the stumps.

While it appeared that the last rites were being read, Jason Mohammad harboured a secret. He thought, naively, that the West Indies could still win. Never mind that they had barely spluttered past second gear all match, or that Pakistan's bowlers had quality to burn, or that the West Indies had never chased a total above 300 in an ODI.

He began by hitting boundaries while looking like he just wanted to have a bit of fun. Pakistan appeared to be taken in for a while, going through the motions, letting the game stroll through to its inevitable conclusion. But then they suddenly looked up: 82 to win off nine overs with six wickets in hand. Nothing about that looked impossible, especially not with Jason Mohammad smelling blood.

Earlier, Pakistan had posted an apparently impregnable 308, breaking the record for the highest innings score at the Providence Stadium in Guyana. Their innings came to life in the last 10 overs - they smashed 92 - after falling away briefly in the middle overs. Their success at keeping wickets in hand, combined with the brilliant ball-striking of Shoaib Malik ensured they went past the 303 that had been the record for this ground.

The groundwork was laid by Ahmed Shehzad and Mohammad Hafeez after Pakistan were put in to bat on a newly laid surface. If Shehzad and fellow opener Kamran Akmal, returning to the ODI side after a four-year gap, were unsure of how the pitch would play, they didn't show it, attacking at every available opportunity, and not afraid of hitting the ball in the air; they added 59 in the first 10 overs.

The pace of the innings dropped off significantly after Kamran's dismisal for a 49-ball 48. Hafeez - surprisingly sent in ahead of the in-form Babar Azam - struggled for rhythm, and seemed to get worse, not better, as his innings wore on, struggling to rotate the strike or even find the middle of the bat at times. No boundary was scored between overs 25.3 and 37 as Pakistan's strike rate slipped below five an over.

Then he suddenly moved from sluggish to sensational in the last third of his innings to somewhat make up for his near lapse. At one stage, he had scored 31 off 53, but smashed 57 of his last 39 balls to finish with an innings-defining 88 off 92. His change in approach coincided with Malik's arrival at the crease, who was instrumental in providing impetus to an innings that had been threatening to stagnate. When he did hole out straight down the ground for 53 off 38 balls, Pakistan were well on course for a total beyond 300 that looked unlikely before his intervention.

But unbeknownst to everyone watching, Hafeez and co. had merely been the warm-up act to Jason Mohammad and Ashley Nurse. The so-called second-string internationals, in the absence of their IPL superstars, were about to put on a second innings show that will live not just long in the memory, but immortally in the record books.

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2nd ODI 

Pakistan 282/5 (50.0 ov)
West Indies 208/10 (44.5 ov)
Pakistan won by 74 runs


A career-best unbeaten 125 by Babar Azam, followed by a clinical bowling performance, ensured Pakistan eased to a 74-run win to level the three-match series. Set 283 to win, West Indies wilted early despite beginning the chase with attacking intent. That purposefulness came at the cost of early wickets, with both openers back in the pavilion by the fifth over.

In a bizarre departure from the approach that had been so successful for the home side in the first game, West Indies continued to press on rather than ensure they had enough wickets in hand for the closing stages. Inevitably, they kept losing wickets playing shots that weren't so much attacking as they were rash, and before you knew it, they had slipped to 56 for 5, and the game was effectively over as a contest.

After that, it was left to Pakistan's spinners to asphyxiate what remained of the West Indies' batting line-up. Jason Holder and Ashley Nurse gave the crowd - a large, expectant turnout in the wake of the first game's heroics - some light entertainment with a breezy 58-run partnership, but even as the clouds gathered in the distance, lightning was never going to strike twice, as Hasan Ali finished with 5 for 38.

Even as the game drifted off to its inevitable conclusion, captain Holder displayed his competitive spirit with a fighting half-century, his combination of sweet timing and incredible power making batting look a lot easier than it had seemed when those higher up the order had been in the middle. He gave Shadab Khan the respect he has indisputably earned with his performances over the last fortnight, but was at times disdainful of Pakistan's storied pace bowling attack, never more so than when he dispatched Mohammad Amir for 16 in an over, smashing one six and two fours.

Hasan - who bowled only five overs in the first game - was the pick of Pakistan's pace trio, extracting nippy movement off a good length that particularly ruffled the right-handers. He was the one who ripped the heart out of the West Indies top-order, dismissing Shai Hope and Kieran Powell in quick succession; the one who ended Nurse's spirited resistance, and the one who killed off the last vestige of West Indian hope when he got rid of Alzarri Joseph to end a 52-run ninth-wicket partnership. Fittingly, he was the one who accounted for Holder to seal the win, and a fully deserved five-wicket haul.

Pakistan had earlier posted 282 despite looking horribly unconvincing with the bat for much of the first innings, a late surge ensuring they reached a total they would have gladly accepted just seven overs earlier, thanks largely to Babar. Batting again at No.3 after a head-scratching demotion last game, Babar formed the spine of the innings as batsmen around him struggled to build on starts. He held the innings together when it threatened to disintegrate, and provided the late fireworks when it looked like it might stagnate. A two-paced surface made batting challenging, as did a much-improved bowling performance from the hosts.

This total had seemed well out of Pakistan's reach until the last seven overs - in which 84 runs were scored. It was telling that West Indies' worst spell of bowling came about just as Babar and Imad Wasim finally began to swing freely, to the extent that the crucial last over of the innings was left to medium pacer Jonathan Carter - no one's first choice as a death bowler, or any bowler for that matter. Five of Pakistan's six sixes came off the last three overs - two off the hapless Carter in a 50th over that cost 19.

After an uncharacteristically brisk opening Powerplay during the first ODI, Pakistan quickly reverted to type today, their approach circumspect and their progress sedate. They continued their somewhat retrograde approach in the middle overs, the run rate hovering around 4.50 and, although their failure to accelerate could partly be attributed to the bowlers, it wasn't as if Babar and Mohammad Hafeez broke their backs trying either. Hafeez, who found himself in the slightly unfortunate position of gaining more detractors than supporters after an 88-ball 92 during the first game, can certainly expect more criticism his way today after being stumped down the leg-side for a laboured 32 off 50 deliveries.

Pakistan's innings never seemed to move out of the third gear it had begun in, and just when an almost run-a-ball partnership between Babar and Sarfraz looked like getting them ready for the final push, the captain's leading edge found mid-on. It was after that that Imad and Babar combined, and even they took a while before the innings took off, just as it felt the collective patience of Pakistan's fans worldwide was beginning to creak. The momentum from those late overs continued into the second innings, and Sarfraz certainly wouldn't mind it continuing for two more come the decisive game on Tuesday.
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3rd ODI: Apr 11, 2017 (14:30 BST)


West Indies 233/9 (50.0 ov)
Pakistan 236/4 (43.1 ov)
Pakistan won by 6 wickets (with 41 balls remaining)


A commanding performance to secure a vice-like grip on eighth place doesn't sound like an especially formidable achievement, but it was a much-needed boost off the back of a troubling few months for Pakistan cricket. A 113-run partnership between veterans Shoaib Malik - who reached his ninth ODI century with the six to seal victory - and Mohammad Hafeez enabled Pakistan to canter to a six-wicket win and clinch the three-match series 2-1.

Pakistan's chase of 234 got off to an eventful start, with a first-ball wicket, a nasty collision between Ahmed Shehzad and Babar Azam, a dropped catch at mid-on and a brilliant grab by wicketkeeper Shai Hope all crammed into a lively first six overs. Babar edged Shannon Gabriel into his stumps less than three overs later, and the upshot from a frenetic opening Powerplay was Pakistan had lost three wickets for 45 and, for the umpteenth time, were looking wobbly.

The one positive Pakistan could glean from the situation was that Hafeez and Malik were at the crease together, and with 430 ODIs between them, they represented vast experience, if nothing else. It showed, too, with the pair ensuring they made survival their main priority for the next hour or so amid some testing spin bowling by Devendra Bishoo and Ashley Nurse, and they slowly began to turn the game in Pakistan's favour.

By the time Hafeez holed out to deep square leg, the visitors needed less than 100 to win. Skipper Sarfraz Ahmed then joined Malik at the crease, the pair picking off the poor deliveries with consummate ease in a stroll towards their target. Towards the end, Malik was playing with such ease that he gave himself the chance of a century, which he completed in style with a straight six off Jason Holder. It might not always have been smooth sailing, but in the end, it was unquestionably clinical.

West Indies will rue a failure to take proper advantage of the review system for the second game running. When Hafeez was on 39, Nurse, arguably the most consistent performer for his side all series, spun one sharply back into him, the ball striking the top of his front pad. Hawk-Eye showed it would have been given out on review, but Holder decided against going to the third umpire. It was one among a series of errors West Indies committed in the field - dropped catches playing a starring role once again - and by the time Hafeez was finally dismissed, the telling blows had long since been struck.

West Indies had managed to scrap to 233 despite being squeezed for runs during much of the first half of their innings. Having slipped to 68 for 3 with a run rate well under four, Hope and Jason Mohammed combined for a 101-run partnership - the first three-figure partnership for West Indies this year - to set their team on course for what was at least a competitive total.

The heart of West Indies' innings was stifled by a sustained spell of pressure from Pakistan's spinners, a spell that, in hindsight proved decisive. Imad Wasim was the pick of the bowlers, bolstering his credentials as a genuine ODI allrounder following on from his impressive batting performance in the previous match. He was the major reason for West Indies' sluggishness during the middle overs, consistently bowling on a good line and getting the ball to spin away from the right-handers. Hafeez provided him able support, and their combined bowling figures of 17-1-45-1 aptly told the story of the middle overs.

But even when their run rate slipped to as low as 3.34 runs per over, West Indies had one metric in their favour: seven wickets in hand. Inch by inch, Mohammed and Hope began to climb their way back into the contest, Mohammed launching Hasan Ali for sixes in consecutive overs and setting his team up for the final push.

However, just as the hosts looked like they were eyeing 250, Mohammad Amir and Junaid Khan took over from Shadab Khan, who had an indifferent day with the ball - despite picking up the wickets of Hope and Jonathan Carter - conceding 57 runs in his eight overs. The quality of Pakistan's quicks shone through with a splendid bowling performance during the death overs, the two left-armers regularly landing yorkers with surgical precision that the batsmen struggled to get underneath. Only 29 runs came off the last five overs as the momentum West Indies had threatened to build up was punctured severely. Runs in short supply was a familiar theme for the hosts all evening, culminating in a result they - and their fans - have become all too familiar with of late.

County Championship 2017 Opening Round

Day 1

Division 1

Yorkshire 273 v Hampshire 58-5 - Hampshire trail by 215 runs

Gary Ballance scored a century in his first game as captain and Ben Coad took five wickets to help Yorkshire take control on day one against Hampshire.

Ballance struck a vital 120 from 190 balls, including 17 fours, to anchor his side's first-innings score of 273.

Yorkshire had slipped to 152-7, but his 106-run partnership with Steven Patterson (37 not out) steadied things.

Coad (5-18) then produced career-best figures to leave Hampshire reeling on 58-5 at close.

At an uncontested toss, Hampshire captain James Vince elected to bowl first, but may have been worried as Yorkshire's opening pair of Adam Lyth (30) and Alex Lees (20) put on 41 for the first wicket at a rate of five runs per over.

However, Edwards bowled Lees and Gareth Berg (2-50) had Lyth caught behind by Lewis McManus to slow the scoring.

Australia batsman Peter Handscomb made 25 on debut before Edwards got through his defences and exposed the middle order, with Jack Leaning and Tim Bresnan falling in quick succession.

England left-hander Ballance, who played the last of his 21 Test matches against Bangladesh in October, battled on throughout in an innings that spanned nearly four hours.

He found a willing partner in Patterson in a crucial stand before 23-year-old seamer Coad - in just his fourth first-class game - turned the match on its head with a remarkable eight-over burst.


He pinned Jimmy Adams lbw in his first over, had Vince caught at mid-wicket, Michael Carberry taken at slip and Sean Ervine caught at mid-off, before debutant Rilee Rossouw (23) fell lbw to leave the visitors in real trouble at stumps.


Surrey 327-3 v Warwickshire   

Opening batsman Mark Stoneman made 165 on his debut for Surrey as the hosts piled on the runs on the first day of the County Championship season.

After being invited to bat by Warwickshire at The Oval, Surrey reached 327-3 at the end of day one.

After sharing a first-wicket stand of 154 with Rory Burns (71), Stoneman went on to complete the first Championship century of the season.

The Bears, back under Ashley Giles' command, got through just three times.

It was some form of revenge for Surrey, who were well beaten by the Bears at Lord's when the two sides last met at the One-Day Cup final in September.

After Surrey went to lunch on 133-0, the visitors finally claimed their first wicket when left-hander Burns was caught behind off persevering left-armer Keith Barker.

Stoneman's former Durham team-mate Scott Borthwick, also making his Surrey debut, was second out after a 76-run second-wicket stand when he drove loosely to slip at the start of a new spell by Oliver Hannon-Dalby.

After adding a further 84 for the third wicket with former Warwickshire batsman Kumar Sangakkara (47 not out), Stoneman was getting close to the career-best 187 he made for Durham against Middlesex at Chester-le-Street in June 2014.


However, he was finally dismissed three overs after Warwickshire had taken the new ball, also caught behind as he tried to drive on the up at Chris Wright, having faced 267 balls.


Essex 39-2 v Lancashire 319 - Essex trail by 280 runs  

England opener Haseeb Hameed shook off a hand injury to make a confident 47 as Lancashire edged a see-saw first day of the new season against Essex.

The 20-year-old hit six fours, showing no ill-effects from the break to the same finger that caused him to leave England's winter tour of India early.

Hameed was eventually bowled by seamer Jamie Porter as the visitors reached 319, thanks largely to a counter-attacking 74 from debutant Dale Vilas.

Essex were 35-2 in reply at the close.

After Lancashire opted to bat first, Hameed, playing after being hurt on the same finger practising against the Cambridge students this week, shared a third-wicket stand of 68 with Liam Livingstone.

Steven Croft (48) then gave the visitors' innings impetus, but a flurry of wickets in the afternoon session put Essex in charge as Lancashire were reduced to 160-6.

On his Essex debut, former Lancashire paceman Neil Wagner (3-100) and Aaron Beard (3-47) did the damage, along with the run-out of Shivnarine Chanderpaul on 15 by substitute fielder Callum Taylor.

South African Kolpak signing Vilas struck 10 boundaries as his 101-ball innings to ensure there was no collapse from the visitors, but their total was still looking a little below par when he was the penultimate batsman out with the total on 268.

However, England's James Anderson (13 not out) joined Kyle Jarvis (28) to put on 51 runs in fewer than 10 overs, which frustrated the hosts, taking Lancashire past 300, giving them a third batting point.

Essex faced nine overs before stumps and began their reply solidly enough, but Jarvis and Anderson took a late wicket apiece to give their side a slight edge.

Division 2

Northants 268-6 v Glamorgan 101 - Northants lead by 167 runs

Northants controlled day one against Glamorgan after shooting the visitors out for just 101 at the County Ground.

Rory Kleinveldt smashed 71 not out, reaching 50 off just 23 balls in the evening sun as Northants reached 268 for six, 167 runs ahead.

Adam Rossington's 58 was the hosts' other main contribution of the day.

Earlier Ben Sanderson, Kleinveldt and new recruit Nathan Buck all bowled tightly as wickets tumbled, with only Aneurin Donald (34) passing 20.

Glamorgan's decision to bat first was a brave one under cloudy skies, and their batsmen never showed the necessary application against an accurate Northants seam attack, supported by smart catching.

Klienveldt and Buck both took 3-35 while Sanderson matched their three-wicket haul with figures of 3-20 to ensure Glamorgan were all out in just 31.3 overs.

Later, the visitors' newly-signed South African paceman Marchant de Lange trapped England opener Ben Duckett lbw for 12 as Northants lost three early wickets, but recovered well as batting conditions eased in the final session.


Kleinveldt then launched into the Glamorgan bowlers, striking eight fours and four sixes in a brutal display of power-hitting worthy of a T20 match.


Leicestershire 251 v Notts 52-1 - Notts trail by 199 runs

England's Stuart Broad warmed up for a busy international summer with three wickets for Nottinghamshire against his former county Leicestershire.

The paceman's haul (3-45) included the hosts' top scorer Mark Cosgrove (57), giving long-serving wicketkeeper Chris Read his 1,000th first-class catch.

Ben Raine (55 not out) and Clint McKay (33) sparked a home fightback from 169-8 to 251 all out with a stand of 81.

The visitors then reached 52-1 in reply at the close, losing Greg Smith (11).

Like Broad, Australia international James Pattinson could be pleased with his efforts on the opening day of the Championship season, finishing with 3-55 on his Nottinghamshire debut after skipper Read had decided against a toss and elected to bowl first.


The defiant ninth-wicket stand between Raine and McKay was the only partnership of the hosts' first innings to pass 50 as Leicestershire, who were deducted 16 County Championship points for disciplinary offences on Thursday, struggled with the bat.


Kent 298 v Gloucestershire 9-1 - Gloucestershire trail by 289 runs

Kent's lower order struck valuable runs to frustrate Gloucestershire's bowlers on an even opening day at Canterbury.

James Tredwell (26) and James Harris (33 not out) helped Kent recover from 154-5 to reach 298 all out.

Earlier, batsmen Joe Denly (62) and Darren Stevens (50) hit half-centuries, but both were guilty of poor shots to give away their wickets.

Liam Norwell (3-46) was the pick of Gloucestershire's bowlers, who reached 9-1 at the close.

Harris, making his debut following a loan move from Middlesex, was particularly impressive with the bat, striking five fours in his 54-ball knock.


His 10th-wicket partnership of 36 with Mitch Claydon delayed Gloucestershire's reply with the bat but in the five overs they faced before stumps, Stevens struck for the home side when he bowled Cameron Bancroft with his fifth delivery.
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Day 2

Div One

Warwickshire 91 & 29-0 v Surrey 454
Hampshire 141 & 10-0 v Yorkshire 273 & 187
Lancs 319 & 114-1 v Essex 159

Div Two:

Northants beat Glamorgan by an innings and 22 runs
Kent 298 & 118-4 v Glos 149
Leics 251 & 42-6 v Notts 329
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Day 3

Division 1

Surrey v Warwickshire
Hampshire 141 & 321-6 beat Yorkshire 273 & 187 by four wickets
Essex v Lancashire


Division 2

Kent beat Glos by 343 runs
Notts 329 & 9-0 beat Leics 251 & 81 by 10 wickets

Guardian's round up: Jonathan Trott ambled to the crease, on a pair, at the end of the third day’s second over, with Warwickshire in the mire, trailing by 334 and facing an innings defeat by Surrey. By day’s end he had a 41st first-class century and had shaved the deficit to 41; there remain few better equipped to blunt a quality attack. In doing so he saved Warwickshire’s blushes – no doubt on Monday he will set about saving the match.

Trott came to the crease when William Porterfield was lbw to Sam Curran and soon Jade Dernbach had Alex Mellor caught at first slip; the sense is that Trott and Ian Bell will be fighting fires with Warwickshire two down for not many often this season. If the circumstances left Bell looking a little frantic, Trott was the picture of calm.

He got off the mark courtesy of a misfield at mid-off but then went scoreless for 31 balls. From there he purred, though, reaching his century (having taken tea on 99) from 191 balls. In the day he hit 18 fours, so many of them with deft deflections in the areas and in the fashion he has trademarked: third man – guided, midwicket – flicked, and cover – driven and cut. Barely an appeal was uttered.

Trott had two key allies. First there was Bell, whose 64 (in a stand of 103) was typically elegant but a touch flighty, and ended in such fashion, with Scott Borthwick taking a brilliant diving catch at second slip as the batsman threw the hands at a full ball from Mark Footitt. Then there was Keith Barker, who fell late in the day, lbw to Gareth Batty, for 57. Between that pair Trott lost Sam Hain, plumb lbw to Dernbach, and Tim Ambrose and Rikki Clarke, both victims of a fine spell from Tom Curran; Ambrose’s rap on the pads stayed low while Clarke was caught behind off a lifter. Life was easy for Surrey on the opening two days, so it was refreshing to see them forced to graft.

If Surrey looked the strong favourites at the start of the day, it is new-look Hampshire, the beneficiaries of Durham’s divisional demotion, who claimed the first win of the season in Division One by chasing down 320 with four wickets in hand against Yorkshire at Headingley, no less. Michael Carberry and Jimmy Adams’s opening stand of 91 provided the innings’ backbone before James Vince, Rilee Rossouw and Liam Dawson chipped in. Tim Bresnan picked up three wickets (including Dawson with a brilliant caught and bowled) to peg Hampshire back but a spirited stand of 58 from Lewis McManus and Gareth Berg (who won the game with a handsome six down the ground off Ben Coad) carried Hampshire over the line. Having had a first-innings deficit of 132, it was a remarkable win.

At Chelmsford Lancashire are in the box seat thanks to a maiden first-class century from the 22-year-old keeper-batsman Alex Davies. His knock, as well as a second half-century on debut for Dane Vilas (92), provided the central plank of Lancashire’s second-innings 317 for three declared, which set Essex a target of 478 to win. By the close they were 89 for two, with Nick Browne, slogging a half-tracker from Stephen Parry to deep-midwicket, and Varun Chopra, bowled by Ryan McLaren, the dismissed batsmen.

If the day in Division One was defined by tough, high-quality cricket, the second division simply served up a reminder of the gulf in class and professionalism of its best and worst sides. Nottinghamshire bowled out Leicestershire for 81 and took 10 balls to win by 10 wickets, while Kent dismissed Gloucestershire (who were chasing 396) for 61 (having been 37 for nine) with Darren Stevens, 41 this month, taking six wickets. Nottinghamshire and Kent will be right in the promotion mix but Leicestershire, Gloucestershire and Glamorgan (who trumped them by failing even to take their game to Sunday) can commence their battle to avoid the wooden spoon.
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Day 4

Division 1

Surrey 454 beat Warwickshire 91 & 362 by an innings and one run
Essex drew with Lancashire

2 match T20 Series SL 1-1 BAN

2nd T20 

Bangladesh 176/9 (20/20 ov)
Sri Lanka 131 (18/20 ov)

Bangladesh won by 45 runs


A thundering start with bat, and an incisive turn with the new ball ball set Bangladesh on track to a series-leveling victory, and provided a happy T20 swansong for Mashrafe Mortaza. It was in the first six overs of each innings that the game was won and lost. Bangladesh's openers were fearless inside their Powerplay, smoking 68 runs for no loss, and looking stylish while they were at it. Sri Lanka, however, slumped to 47 for 5 in their Powerplay, and their pursuit of 177 never looked likely to succeed from there. They fell 45 runs short, and the tour got its third 1-1 split, with the Tests and ODIs having had that same scoreline.

This Bangladesh victory despite a late hat-trick to Lasith Malinga, who now has four in limited-overs cricket, though this is his first in T20 internationals. That hat-trick had actually come in the midst of a Sri Lanka resurgence. Having looked like they would concede 190 or 200 for much of Bangladesh's innings, Sri Lanka claimed four wickets and conceded only 10 runs in their last two overs. As it turned out, they had already suffered enough damage during the first 18 overs, however.

That Bangladesh's openers had forged that rapid stand was all the more remarkable given it was the second-choice opener - Imrul Kayes - who took guard at the top of the order, in place of the injured Tamim Iqbal.

It was Soumya Sarkar, however who truly shone among the pair. There was a timeless serenity to Soumya's hitting. He leant back and smote Lasith Malinga behind point first ball, and was soon lifting Vikum Sanjaya over long off and cracking him over cover, in the fourth over. He also hit Malinga for successive fours in the sixth over, and though he was dismissed soon after the Powerplay had ended, had produced perhaps the highest-impact innings of the match - 34 runs having come from the 17 balls he faced. Kayes, meanwhile, himself motored to 36 before he was run out in the eighth over.

Shakib Al Hasan then ensured the innings did not lose momentum, surviving two early dropped chances in the space of three balls, but continuing to attack despite this. Bangladesh were well-placed to attempt a score of over 180. The late blur of wickets scuppered those ambitions however - though 176 for 9 seemed like a good score nonetheless.

Shakib then opened the bowling and dismissed Kusal Perera - Sri Lanka's hero of the first match - and the opposition did not recover from there. Dilshan Munaweera holed out in Shakib's next over, before Upul Tharanga sent a catch to mid on after making 21. When Mustafizur Rahman's introduction brought the wickets of Asela Gunaratne and Milinda Siriwardana off successive deliveries, Sri Lanka were reeling.


Chamara Kapugedara attempted a recovery, hitting 50 off 35 balls, but once Thisara Perera and Seekkuge Prasanna played their small hands and departed as well, there was too much left for him to do. Kapugedara eventually fell to the best bowler of the evening - Mustafizur - in the 17th over. With his departure Sri Lanka's hopes were extinguished, and Bangladesh completed the final formalities, taking the last two wickets by the end of the 18th over. Mustafizur wound up with 4 for 21 from three overs.

4 match T20 Series WI 1-3 PAK

4th T20 

WI 124/8PAK 127/3Pakistan win by 7 wickets 

In a nutshell

A no-contest between Pakistan's bowling attack and the West Indies battling line-up. There were 66 dot balls in the innings - that's 11 overs out of 20 - and eight of those dots were wickets. Hasan Ali bowled back-to-back maidens and finished with match-winning figures of 4-2-12-2.

Chadwick Walton, with 40, and Carlos Brathwaite, who made 37 and surpassed his previous highest that he made at the World T20 final, made up the lion's share of West Indies' 124 for 8. But it was nowhere near enough. Although the pitch at Queens Park Oval was being used for its third straight match, there weren't the enough signs of the ball slowing up. And Pakistan's top order capitalised. Ahmed Shehzad struck 53 off 45 balls to ensure a seven-wicket victory.

Where the game was won

The middle overs. Yes they exist in T20. For further proof, Hasan did most of his damage through inswingers, which he can only manage with an old ball. Three our of his four overs came after the first 10 when West Indies fell from a respectable 59 for 2 to a silly 87 for 6. A slide like that might have been justified if there had been a spree of magic deliveries or an invasion of pitch demons. But all Hasan did was bowl full and straight. He understood that was enough by watching the West Indian batsmen set up on leg stump, and wait on the back foot, preferring to have room to free the arms and flat bat sixes.

The men who who won it

Hasan had been hit for a six off the third delivery he bowled. The punishment was dealt to a good length ball - the same kind with which he profited later in the innings. Then he still stuck to his strengths against a team known for its big hitting was a sign of the 23-year old's self-belief. It helped, though, that when he came on for his second spell - 2-2-0-2 - West Indies were stuck in a rut. They were falling behind in the innings and tried to hit their way out of trouble. Not a sensible thing to do against a bowler harnessing reverse swing.

The instigator of the choke, though, was Shadab Khan, the legspinner. So a lot of credit should go to him too. He also dismissed the opposition's best batsman on the day - Walton - by teasing him into big shot that only went as far as long-on. The reason for that was the dip the 18-year old generated. In much the same way, he deceived Jason Holder in the 16th over. And though he didn't get Kieron Pollard, he was beating his outside edge repeatedly.

Moment of the match

Marlon Samuels had just struck back-to-back sixes. He has turned low totals into match-winning ones before and has had phenomenal success in finals both actual and virtual. There were no such heroics on Sunday because, on the heels of being involved in a bizarre run-out, his middle stump took a beating. Hasan's wicket-to-wicket line was poorly negotiated by Samuels, who stayed leg side of the ball and attempted a lame glide to third man. His knees buckled and as he sank to the floor, there was almost a look of begrudging approval of a delivery that had been too good for him.

Where they stand

Pakistan clinched the four-match T20I series 3-1. The two teams resume their limited-overs battle in the three-match ODI series starting in Guyana on April 7.
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3rd T20 

PAK 137/8
WI 138/3
West Indies win by 7 wickets

In a nutshell

This was the batting performance everyone was waiting for from the world champions. West Indies had only 138 to chase down, but it was still five runs more than the target they couldn't get to two days ago. But, making sure those bad memories didn't well up, and more importantly that the series stayed alive, was opener Evin Lewis. The 25-year-old smashed his first T20I fifty - he already has a hundred - countering everything that was thrown at him. Perhaps the only thing he wasn't tested against was scoreboard pressure, because Pakistan didn't have any to apply. Their batting underwhelmed so much that they lost two wickets in the first over and suffered five single-digit scores.

Where the game was won

In the chase, because West Indies' batting seems like a chocolate eclair right now: solid on the outside, but gets all gooey in the middle. And when Chadwick Walton fell in the second over, Pakistan were starting to lick their fingers. Then came two successive fifty partnerships. Lewis led both of them, putting on 56 runs in 40 balls with Marlon Samuels and 76 off 40 with debutant Jason Mohammed.

The men who won it

Man, actually. Lewis, standing tall and smashing sixes like the legends of old. There were nine in all - one of them brought up his half-century - and each of them was an event. The flourish of the bat, the arch of the back, the sheer power and the disdainful look. He finished with 91 off 51, the highest score by any batsman against Pakistan in T20Is and his lasting 14.4 overs in the chase completely nullified Shadab Khan's impact. Until this match, the 18-year old legspinner had taken seven wickets at an average of 3 and strike-rate of 6.8. On Saturday, he went for 38 runs in 3.5 overs, 25 of which came off Lewis' bat.

Moment of the Match

It was the start of the 13th over of the Pakistan innings. Facing it was Kamran Akmal. He had helped steady the team after a dramatic wobble and was on 48 off 36 balls. The full toss that Marlon Samuels bowled should have been reward for all the good work he had done until then. But it ended up dismissing him, as he pulled straight to Lendl Simmons at deep midwicket. West Indies took control from that point on, picking up six wickets and conceding only 45 runs in the last eight overs. Kesrick Williams' slower offcutters - rather similar to Mustafizur Rahman's - were vital towards the end, having been set up by Samuel Badree's 2 for 22 earlier.

Where they stand

West Indies' seven-wicket victory, with 5.1 overs to spare, meant the fourth and final T20I on Sunday becomes a decider. If the hosts win it, they level the series. Otherwise, Pakistan get to take home the trophy.
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2nd T20

PAK 132
WI 129/8
PAK win by 3 runs

In a nutshell

It's becoming a bit of a jinx, this match-up. Whatever the situation, however favourable the circumstances, West Indies just cannot seem to get over the line against Pakistan. It was no different today as a thrilling final over from Hasan Ali that swung one way and then the other saw Pakistan cling on to a three-run win at the Queen's Park Oval. It was a game they had no business laying claim to for much of a contest that was worlds removed from the cakewalk the visitors enjoyed in Barbados.

West Indies' chase of 133 began with a somewhat clumsy run-out after a collision between Evin Lewis and Shadab Khan, but Marlon Samuels looked in no mood to hang around as he took the attack to Pakistan's bowlers. Imad Wasim came in for particularly severe treatment as one over went for 19. Only a magical spell from legspinner Shadab Khan dragged Pakistan back into the game, crucially dismissing Samuels with the last ball. From thereon, it was always going to be close, and even though two boundaries in the final over looked to have put the West Indies on course, Hasan held his nerve to maintain Pakistan's grip over their hosts.

West Indies will rue a particularly wretched fielding performance, with several balls going through fielders' legs and plenty more fumbled. It detracted from an organised bowling display that had Pakistan on the back foot from the start, with Samuel Badree dismissing Kamran Akmal for a duck in the first over. No batsman could build on a start, and at one point it looked like the visitors might even fail to reach three figures as they slid to 95 for 8. Late blows from Shadab and Wahab Riaz then ensured they would have just enough to bowl at.

Where the game was won

West Indies were their own worst enemy at times, with sloppy fielding gifting Pakistan at least 15 runs. But what they might really rue is giving Pakistan the opportunity to bowl at a competitive total after reducing them to 95 for 8. Shadab and Wahab each played vital cameos in a 36-run stand off just 19 balls. It took Pakistan to 132, a total that had looked ambitious for much of the innings as their batsmen struggled to get any sort of momentum.

The men who won it

Shadab appears to outdo himself every time he steps onto the field, each game replacing the preceding one as the highlight of his career. Tonight, his effort was a legspin masterclass, with the teenager at times the only person standing between West Indies and victory. No batsman could pick his variations, with a pair falling to the legbreak, and two more dismissed after failing to read the googly.

His final over to Marlon Samuels was T20 cricket at its nuanced best. Samuels recognised all he needed to do was see out the over, while nothing less than his wicket would do for Pakistan. It appeared the West Indian had succeeded, before Shadab deceived him off the last ball of his spell with a devilish wrong'un. Samuels could merely edge it to the wicketkeeper, and from that point on, the match began to slip away from the hosts.

Moment of the match

The first four overs of the West Indies innings were ungainly, with batsmen and fielders unable to help themselves colliding into each other; no less than three times did players come together. The first, between Lewis and Shadab, resulted in the batsman being run-out, but the final one was altogether nastier. Samuels defended to point and scampered off for a quick single. Ahmed Shehzad ran in to effect a run out, and found himself in the path of Chadwick Walton. This resulted in a horrible collision, with Walton's knee thumping into Shehzad's upper back and neck, requiring an ambulance to come out on the field and stretcher Shehzad off. It looked worse, but the Pakistan opener was back on the field a few overs later.

Where they stand

Pakistan now cannot lose the four-match series, having taken a 2-0 lead. The third T20I will be played on April 1, at the same venue.
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1st T20

WI 111/8
PAK 115/4
Pakistan win by 6 wickets

In a nutshell

For arguably the two most volatile sides in world cricket, this was a rare predictable day as Pakistan eased to a six-wicket win over the West Indies at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown. Pakistan won the toss, bowled first and stifled the hosts with spin. Chasing 112, Pakistan, as if to stay true to their reputation, lost three top three cheaply, before Shoaib Malik and Babar Azam took control of the chase and steered them home.

The game was dominated by its youngest player: 18-year old Pakistan legspinner Shadab Khan who enjoyed a debut that bordered on the surreal. He took three wickets with his first eight balls in international cricket as West Indies slumped to 49 for 6. Carlos Brathwaite and Kieron Pollard came together, and two of the game's most fearsome hitters were forced to play a consolidating role. Brathwaite managed to inject some momentum in the closing overs, but all that ensured was his sidejust about managed to get to three figures.

Pakistan weren't authoritative in response, with Kamran Akmal and Ahmd Shehzad reminding everyone why they have spent long stints in international wilderness. However, with the asking rate never rising above six, West Indies' spirited display in the field merely delayed the inevitable.

Where the game was won

It has often seemed no total is too small for Pakistan not to slip up on. Here, they slipped to 49 for 3. But the in-form pair of Malik and Babar, quickly establishing a reputation for consistency, had the clear-headedness to steer the chase with risk-free cricket. They rotated the strike regularly and picked off the poor deliveries to eat into the target. By the time Babar sliced a catch to short third man, Pakistan needed only 18 runs off five overs. The hard work had been done.

The men that won it

Shadab Khan may have been warned by his teammates how playing for Islamabad United was far different to playing for Pakistan, that too in an away game. However, the 18-year old made a mockery of the step up, snaring Chadwick Walton and Lendl Simmons within four deliveries. Walton didn't pick the googly while Simmons dragged a legspinning delivery onto the stumps. Remarkably, Shadab's figures of 4-0-7-3 could have been even better had Kamran Akmal, fielding at backward point, not put down a regulation catch.

The streaks continue

This win means Pakistan have now triumphed in each of their last five T20Is, four of them against the West Indies - the other was a commanding nine-wicket win over England. They are unbeaten since losing to Australia at the World T20 last year, and Sarfraz boasts a 100 percent win record in his five games as Pakistan captain in the format. West Indies' losing run, on the other hand, stretches to four - all of them against Pakistan - and have only won one T20 in the six they've played since being crowned World T20 champions in India last year.

Moment of the match

If the PSL was a dream of sorts for Kamran, he was brought sharply back to reality over the course of the afternoon's events. Playing his first international in nearly three years, with captain Sarfraz having taken over the wicketkeeping role, Kamran was tasked with patrolling the backward point area as Shadab bowled. If he was hoping for an uneventful afternoon, he was to be disappointed. With Shadab's figures reading three wickets for three runs, Pollard sliced one, headed for what seemed a straightforward catch to Kamran. The 35-year old was painfully slow to move towards the ball, and though he reached it in time, put it down, burnishing his reputation for butterfingers even further.

What was more, this was only the second time Kamran was playing as a specialist batsman. The other came in a game against South Africa in 2007. He had dropped a catch then too, Loots Bosman being the batsman reprieved.

Where they stand


Pakistan take a 1-0 lead. The series now moves to Trinidad & Tobago, where the remaining three matches will be played.

3 match ODI Series Sri Lanka 1-1 Bangladesh

3rd ODI

Sri Lanka 280/9 (50.0 ov)
Bangladesh 210 (44.3 ov)

Sri Lanka won by 70 runs

Sri Lanka rode a fast start and a fast finish to a competitive score, bowled with discipline, and found some spirit in the field to defeat Bangladesh by 70 runs and snap a six-match losing streak that stretched back to January.

Perhaps encouragingly for the hosts, the architects of the victory were many. Upul Tharanga and Danushka Gunathilaka cracked 76 runs in the Powerplay, Kusal Mendis contributed a half-century, Thisara Perera produced a finishing salvo, and virtually all the frontline bowlers delivered good spells - though Nuwan Kulasekara was the best among them, claiming 4 for 37.

Bangladesh, meanwhile, will rue the batting collapse that cost them a series victory. Sri Lanka's 280 was competitive, but achievable, on a surface that remained good enough to allow No. 8 Mehedi Hasan hit a maiden ODI fifty. However, the match had slipped from them long before Mehedi came to the crease. Three batsmen were out inside four overs, and though Soumya Sarkar and Shakib Al Hasan staged a 77-run recovery, the middle order collapsed after that partnership was broken. At 11 for 3 it seemed unlikely they could hunt down the target, but at 127 for 7, the match was effectively sealed.

The result saw the teams share the ODI series 1-1, just as they had shared the Tests. Two T20s are scheduled for next week.

Kulasekara, who was added to the squad only after the series had begun, relied more on tight lines and intelligent bowling than his characteristic inswing to make incisions. He should have had Tamim Iqbal off the fourth ball of the innings, when an edge flew at a catchable height between keeper and slip - neither of whom attempted the catch. At times over the past few months, missed chances such as this have hurt Sri Lanka, but not today: Tamim sent Kulasekara a return catch two balls later.

Sabbir Rahman's dismissal in Kulasekara's next over perhaps had more to do with the batsman's loose shot, than good bowling - Rahman nicking a very wide ball through to the keeper. Kulasekara came back later to mop up the innings - dismissing Mehedi and Taskin Ahmed. These were his best ODI figures since November 2013.

Bangladesh's middle-overs capitulation - in which they lost four wickets for 39 runs - was largely the work of Sri Lanka's spinners. Dilruwan Perera recovered from a 20-run first over to have Soumya stumped, then had Shakib caught at short cover a few overs later. Seekkuge Prasanna also bowled Mosaddek Hossain and Suranga Lakmal had Mahmudullah caught behind during this period.

Through the course of the second innings, Sri Lanka also fielded better than they have all year, with plenty of sharp work in the infield, and visible pep among the boundary riders as well. The first-over missed chance off Tamim was their only real mistake.

Bangladesh too, had squeezed Sri Lanka during the middle overs, but were not capable of preventing the final surge that propelled Sri Lanka to a good score. They had had the hosts at 230 for 7 in the 45th over, before Thisara and Dilruwan Perera bludgeoned 45 off 27 deliveries. Thisara built his innings with a little more intelligence than has recently been seen in his batting, laying low for a few balls before venturing his more ambitious shots. He hit four fours and a six in his 40-ball 52, but was constantly looking for the singles and twos as well.

Earlier, it had been Tharanga that set the innings off apace. His runs came through delectable cut shots, and effortless drives. In the fifth over he played a pull shot off Mashrafe Mortaza that seemed languid to the point of being casual, yet the ball carried all the way over the midwicket boundary. After the Powerplay, Bangladesh would impose themselves on the Sri Lanka, first through good bowling by the likes of Mehedi and Taskin, but also through sharp fielding, with which they effected two run outs.

When Mustafizur Rahman had Mendis nicking behind to leave Sri Lanka 194 for 5 in the 37th over, the hosts were in danger of squandering their good start. However, Sri Lanka's unusually long batting line up bailed them out. Mashrafe Mortaza, the captain, collected the innings' best figures of 3 for 65.
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2nd ODI

Sri Lanka 311 (49.5 ov)
Bangladesh
No result

The second ODI between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh was called off due to incessant rain in Dambulla. Play was called off at 8.45pm, an hour and 15 minutes before the cut-off time.

It was an anti-climax after the game was shaping up to be an intense contest. Kusal Mendis' maiden ODI hundred took Sri Lanka to a formidable 311, but Taskin Ahmed's hat-trick in the last over capped off a fine last 10 overs for Bangladesh.

Taskin first had Asela Gunaratne caught at mid-off off the third ball of the final over. Suranga Lakmal was the next to go when he holed out to midwicket. Nuwan Pradeep, having the unenviable task of keeping out the hat-trick, was bowled off an inswinging yorker.

That meant Taskin was the fifth Bangladeshi after Shahadat Hossain, Abdur Razzak, Rubel Hossain and Taijul Islam to reach this milestone, which he celebrated with his typical spread-eagle celebration.

A win for Bangladesh would have given them their first bilateral ODI series win over Sri Lanka, but that was always going to be tough given no side had ever chased down over 300 to win in Sri Lanka.

That Bangladesh got into the game was thanks largely to a lower-order collapse from the hosts - they lost their last six wickets for 40 to end up at least 20 short of what they looked set to get. Mendis built the platform through two vital stands: 111 for the second wicket with Upul Tharanga and 83 for the third wicket with Dinesh Chandimal before the collapse.

Tharanga, playing in his 200th ODI, steadied Sri Lanka after they lost Danushka Gunathilaka in the third over. He struck Mehedi Hasan, the offspinner, for two fours in the eighth over before leaning into a beautiful cover drive off Mustafizur Rahman in the 10th over.

Mendis was scratchy to begin with, a healthy edge flying between Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah at a wide slip position to reprieve him early on. Having scored just seven off his first 25 deliveries up until then, the boundary released the pressure. From there on, though, he was a different batsman.

The control with which he was batting resulted in Tharanga slipping into the role of an accumulator. The pair raised the century stand and looked good for more, but Bangladesh had a breakthrough in bizarre circumstances. Tharanga, trying to steal a run after Mushfiqur half-stopped a Mustafizur beamer, was run-out for 65 at the bowler's end through a direct hit from Mahmudullah at short fine leg in the 25th over.

Mendis hammered the next ball, a free-hit, for a six and then reached his fifty with a boundary off the fifth delivery. Mustafizur conceded 20 off the over, with Sri Lanka showing no signs of slowing down. He reached his century in the 36th over, thereby raising the possibility of hauling his side close to 330. But the dismissals of Chandimal and Mendis in successive overs set them back.

Mendis' dismissal - taken off the rebound by Taskin on his followthrough - left Sri Lanka at 216 for 4 in the 38th over. Milinda Siriwardana and Asela Gunaratne then patched things together with a 55-run stand for the fifth wicket.


Mehedi who dropped Siriwardana on 24 at midwicket had the last laugh when he bowled him in the next over. Gunaratne though continued to bring out his paddles and the big heaves to hit a 29-ball 39 to take Sri Lanka past 300 before Taskin took centrestage in the final over. However, rain had the final say.