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Former Bengal allrounder Kalyan Mitter has died aged 77 after a long battle with leukemia

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Aug-2013Former Bengal allrounder Kalyan Mitter has died aged 77 after a long battle with leukemia. Mitter played 51 first-class matches for Bengal and Bihar in a career that stretched from 1953 to 1969.He was an attacking right-hand batsman and an offspinner, and he scored 1698 runs and took 50 wickets. He helped Bengal reach two Ranji finals, losing both to domestic heavyweights Bombay, and also coached Bengal to the Ranji final in 1993-94, again losing to Bombay.Mitter also served as a curator for Bengal in the mid-90s, and in the first season of the IPL. He was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement award by the Cricket Association of Bengal in 2011.

Titans bounced back from being all out for 123 to beat Brisbane Heat by four runs in the most exciting finish of this year’s tournament

The Report by Mohammad Isam24-Sep-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMarchant de Lange bowled Alister McDermott to win the game for Titans•BCCI

Less-than-perfect batting and excellent bowling usually make for tight contests and today was no different, with both teams being dismissed on a fast Mohali pitch. Titans bounced back from being all out for 123, to beating Brisbane Heat by four runs, in the most exciting finish of the tournament so far. The loss, the Heat’s second, drastically reduced their chances of making the semi-finals.Heat had lost their first match in similar fashion, too, failing to chase Trinidad & Tobago’s 135. Today’s pursuit posed a similar challenge, but they disintegrated against controlled fast bowling. They needed 10 of the final over, bowled by Marchant de Lange, but they lost three wickets instead, two because of run-outs. The match ended with de Lange bowling Alister McDermott.Titans needed a strong performance to defend a low total and de Lange led the way, pulling his team out of the batting rut with pace and verve. Debutant Matthew Gale’s four wickets had put the Heat in a strong position, but their wayward batting cost them on a quick surface, the kind Australian sides are supposed to be familiar with.Titans captain, Henry Davids, once again opened the bowling with Roelof van der Merwe’s left-arm spin, but it was Rowan Richards who provided the breakthrough by dismissing Joe Burns. De Lange then hurt the chase by striking twice in his first over: Peter Forrest’s uppish clip was caught at square-leg, and Cutting top-edged an 89-mph ball he didn’t know much about.James Hopes, the Heat captain, and Daniel Christian attempted to revive the innings, and they almost did with a 44-run stand for the fourth wicket, but they fell in quick succession. Christian’s stumps was shattered by Richards, while Hopes fell to van der Merwe after having survived a missed stumping the previous ball.The rising asking-rate needed to be brought down but the Heat lower order continued to struggle against pace. Morne Morkel and David Wiese bowled well too, picking up a wicket each, but de Lange and Richards were the most impressive. De Lange finished with three wickets, including bowling a tense last over.Heat’s batting failure followed a dramatic Titans collapse after the South African side had made a strong start. Gale dismissed Jacques Rudolph in the second over, but Davids and Heino Kuhn counterattacked immediately during the fielding restrictions. They were particularly harsh on Alister McDermott, who conceded 16 in his first over, the sixth of the innings.The second wicket had added 69 in quick time when Kuhn skied Ben Cutting after making 31 off 27 balls. Davids followed soon after for 39 off 31 balls, run out while attempting a risky single.Wickets tumbled quickly thereafter, with the big one – AB de Villiers – also getting run out after a mix-up with Farhaan Behardien in the 15th over. The rest of the batsmen threw their wickets away, with the last three falling in the 19th over bowled by Gale. A total of 123 seemed below par at the time, but Titans’ quicks proved it was just enough.

A ton from Kusal Perera and a half-century from Ashan Priyanjan guided Sri Lanka A to an eight-wicket win over Pakistan A in the first unofficial ODI in Matara

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Apr-2015
ScorecardFile Photo – Kusal Perera struck 18 fours and a six during his 88-ball 114•AFP

A ton from Kusal Perera and a half-century from Ashan Priyanjan guided Sri Lanka A to an eight-wicket win over Pakistan A in the first unofficial ODI in Matara.Chasing 204, Sri Lanka’s didn’t start well as they lost Shehan Jayasuriya and Dhanuskha Gunthilaka for single digits inside six overs. Perera then had an unbeaten 152-run partnership with Priyanjan for the third wicket. He struck 114 from 88 balls including 18 fours and a six, before retiring hurt in the 30th over.Priyanjan played second fiddle to Perera in the partnership, scoring an unbeaten 57 from 77 balls with four fours and one six. Milinda Siriwardana and Priyanjan saw Sri Lanka home after Perera retired hurt.Pakistan A had chosen to bat and found themselves at 66 for 3 in the 17th over. Umar Amin and Fawad Alam then put on 62 for the fourth wicket, a stand that ended with the fall of Amin’s wicket, leaving them 128 for 4 in the 32nd over.A couple of 30-plus partnerships took Pakistan past 200 but they were bowled out for 203. Their captain Alam top-scored with a 74-ball 58. Tharindu Kaushal, Lahiru Gamage and Jayasuriya picked up two wickets each while Dushmantha Chameera ended with figures of 3 for 34

Even at 12 for 3, Brendon McCullum was not thinking about purely trying to save the first Test at Lord’s – something that ultimately proved 9.3 overs out of reach in one of the finest Tests staged on the ground.

Andrew McGlashan at Lord's25-May-2015Even at 12 for 3, Brendon McCullum was not thinking about purely trying to save the first Test at Lord’s – something that ultimately proved 9.3 overs out of reach in one of the finest Tests staged on the ground.When Ross Taylor was lbw to Stuart Broad before lunch it was not McCullum who came down the pavilion steps at No. 5 but BJ Watling. But the plan was not to shut up shop but to try and form a platform for a “second launch”. For a while, as Watling and Corey Anderson added 107 in 27 overs, McCullum dared to dream that another incredible New Zealand story could unfold only for the match to end in a defeat that would have been scarcely believable 48 hours earlier.”It just organically happened that we realised it was probably a little bit beyond us,” he said. “But at least when Corey was batting, he’s such a free-scorer and with the field the way it was, who knows, if he’d been able to manufacture a partnership, how close we may have got. I thought our No. 10 and 11 did well to hang on there as long as they did and BJ Watling for me, it was another example of how important he is at soaking up the pressure which is why we promoted him to try and set up for a second launch.”To England’s credit they were too good for us in the crucial stages but I’m still really proud of our guys and the way we kept going. I thought it was a fantastic Test to be a part of, to play five days in front of full houses at Lord’s and for it come down to the final 10 overs is a testament to how good it was.”New Zealand still only have one Test victory at Lord’s, the win in 1999 that helped them secure the series victory. The best they can hope for this time, in a two-match series that deserves to be longer, is a share of the spoils from Headingley and for all McCullum’s positivity this will always be a match that got away after their dominance on the second and third days.”It hurts a lot, I won’t lie,” he said. “At the same time there’s an element of pride that we continue to play a style of cricket that gives us our greatest chance. There will be times when teams can stand up to you and withstand the pressure and come out on top. You just have to doff the cap, say well played and make sure next time you get the chance you go hard again and ask the same question. Who knows, at Headingley we may see a different result but I’m sure our guys will continue to play the same style.”McCullum said there were some “sore bodies” in the dressing room, among them Watling with his knee and neck and also Anderson with a back niggle. The three frontline quicks all bowled more than 50 overs in the match, with Trent Boult sending down 63, but McCullum insisted the team would be ready to go again”Emotionally our guys are really steady and that’s allowed us to be able to play some good cricket so that will be the message, no knee jerk reaction to a performance like this because we were pretty good for most of it.”

Batsman Ed Joyce and fast bowler Tim Murtagh have announced their retirement from Twenty20 cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff27-May-2015Ireland’s Ed Joyce and Tim Murtagh have announced their retirement from Twenty20 cricket. Both men’s decision took into account their country’s prospects of more 50-over cricket and a long-format debut.”With potentially more ODIs in the next few years and the possibility of Test cricket in the near future as well, I feel like I’d be able to contribute more in these formats if I stop playing T20,” the 36-year old Joyce said.He had made his T20 international debut in June 2006, in England colours. His first game for Ireland came six years later against Kenya in February 2012. He tallied 404 runs from 16 matches at an average of 36.72 for Ireland, the country’s best, and was part of two World T20s. And although its next edition is due in 2016, Joyce was confident Ireland have enough resources to pose a threat.”Added to this is the emergence of exciting young batsman Andy Balbirnie, so I know the T20 team should be in good hands going forward,” he said. Balbirnie, 24, is yet to make his 20-overs debut for Ireland but was part of their impressive World Cup campaign, with back-to-back half-centuries.Murtagh, the 33-year old fast bowler, cited the increase in the amount to cricket and hoped the decision would help him be at his best for his county Middlesex and Ireland.”I haven’t played much T20 cricket for Middlesex recently,” he said. “There’s such a busy schedule these days, and with a lot of cricket coming up for Ireland and Middlesex, I’m now maybe at an age as a bowler where some formats of the game are having to take priority.”Murtagh played seven T20 internationals and picked up as many wickets. His first appearance was in June 2012 against Australia and his last was against Netherlands in the World T20 in March 2014.Ireland’s chairman of selectors Alan Lewis expressed no surprise at this development. “Wise men make the right decisions at the right time and this is no different. I can’t speak highly enough of both,” he said, “Both players are the wrong side of 30 ,but the heartening piece for us is their total commitment to the longer formats and ultimately our desire to play Test cricket in the future.”

A seven-wicket haul from Yasir Shah helped Pakistan run through Sri Lanka’s second innings and romp to a 10-wicket win in Galle

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy21-Jun-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:15

Arnold: Sri Lanka’s approach after lunch was a shocker

A seven-wicket haul from Yasir Shah completed an emphatic turnaround from Pakistan, who took the Galle Test by 10 wickets after recovering from a precarious position at the start of the fourth morning. Pakistan had been five down and 182 behind Sri Lanka’s first-innings total at the time; few could have predicted then that their openers would waltz to a target of 90 at eight runs an over a day and a half later.The revival, sparked by Sarfraz Ahmed and Asad Shafiq’s sixth-wicket partnership and carried forward by Yasir’s fizzing legbreaks on the fifth afternoon, also vindicated Misbah-ul-Haq’s decision to bowl first. With the first day washed out, Pakistan’s best chance of winning lay in batting just once. As it happened, they almost pulled off an innings win; Mohammad Hafeez and Ahmed Shehzad only needed 11.2 overs to polish off the chase.Last year, in a Test match between the same sides at the same ground, Sri Lanka took an 82-run first innings lead. At the start of the final day, Pakistan were 4 for 1 in their second innings. A draw looked the likeliest result, but Rangana Herath spun Pakistan out for 180 before Sri Lanka galloped to their target of 99 at a run a ball, with rain lurking around the corner.Now, the circumstances were neatly reversed, and Pakistan needed someone to step up and match Herath’s performance. Yasir showed the earliest possible sign that he would be that man; his first ball of the morning was a perfectly pitched topspinner. Dilruwan Perera, the nightwatchman, didn’t pick it, and shouldered arms. It went through with the angle and pegged back his off stump.From that point until lunch, Dimuth Karunaratne and Lahiru Thirimanne dealt with Yasir’s threat comfortably enough to suggest that the turn and bounce that had been in plentiful evidence on the second and third days had slowed down considerably. But their comfort level at the crease didn’t translate into easy runs. The bowling was probing throughout, and Zulfiqar Babar and Hafeez tightened the screws by giving away only 10 runs in seven overs as lunch approached.This spell of constriction may have had something to do with the shot Thirimanne attempted as soon as Wahab Riaz came on for his second spell of the morning, an ambitious on-the-up drive that resulted in an edge to first slip. Wahab produced extra bounce with that ball, but it was still an unwise shot under the circumstances.That became a theme during the second session. There was some controversy in the manner of Angelo Mathews’ dismissal, but it was the shot selection of the younger batsmen that hurt Sri Lanka the most. Karunatne gritted it out for 173 balls before getting stumped attempting an atrocious heave against Yasir. Trying to hit himself out of the vice-like grip exerted by the spinners, Kithuruwan Vithanage holed out at deep square leg. Had they stayed in for a further 20 overs, cumulatively, and scored an extra 50 runs, Pakistan’s fourth-innings task may have been a lot more challenging.But the Mathews wicket was still pivotal, both in terms of importance and timing. Wahab had dismissed Thirimanne minutes before lunch, and had broken a 69-run fourth-wicket stand; now Mathews was facing the second ball after lunch.Mathews was done in by the limits of two-dimensional replays to determine what happened in a three-dimensional world. The ball from Yasir slid on with the angle and as Mathews pressed forward to defend, it either brushed his inside edge or slid past it, before bouncing off his front pad into short leg’s hands.Umpire Richard Illingworth gave it out, and Mathews immediately reviewed. Split-screen replays suggested Mathews might not have edged it, with the ball appearing to have passed the bat while viewed from the square-on angle when bat and ball were closest together from the front-on angle. Whether that was conclusive evidence or not is debatable; the third umpire thought not, and Illingworth’s decision stood.Sri Lanka were now 144 for 5, effectively 27 for 5. Yasir, who had looked a little flat since dismissing Dilruwan with the first ball of the day, was re-energised. The zip was back, the ball was dipping on the batsmen when they came down the track, and ripping past their edge when they pressed forward to defend.Dinesh Chandimal was finding ways to score runs at one end, defending solidly and using his feet well when the ball was tossed up, but the lower order gave him no support. Dhammika Prasad ran down the track to Zulfiqar Babar, slogged, and missed by a mile. Herath slogged Yasir straight to deep midwicket.Eventually, Yasir produced one that was too good for Chandimal, drawing him out with flight and defeating him with dip and sharp turn. Chandimal groped in front of his body and tried to whip against the turn, to no avail. Sarfraz completed his third stumping of the innings, Yasir had picked up his first seven-for in first-class cricket.

An innings by Warwickshire’s Sam Hain which cannot have failed to impress watching selector James Whitaker was ended before the close on a rain-shortened day but Hain top-scored with 57 as the visitors replied to Durham’s 314 with 167 for 7

Jon Culley13-Jul-2015
ScorecardChris Rushworth reduced Warwickshire to 12 for 3•Getty Images

Sam Hain cannot have failed to impress watching England selector James Whitaker as he top-scored with 57 on a ground where he struck a century last season. He was the only batsman not out lbw, four of the victims going to Chris Rushworth, who moved one ahead of Middlesex’s James Harris as the leading wicket taker in Division One of the Championship.In difficult conditions that required them to counter a typical Riverside pitch after a delayed start and stoppages for rain that resulted in the 43.3 overs possible being played over five sessions, it is perhaps no surprise that Warwickshire are in a bit of a spot.They lost six of their seven wickets lbw, four of them to the admirable Rushworth as the ball jagged around and sometimes kept low. Rushworth broke the half-century mark for the third successive season. Of those, 23 have been leg before, remarkably, although before anyone suggests his success is all down to the pitches here it should be pointed out that he has taken more wickets (27) away from the Riverside this year than on his home turf.In the circumstances, then, the half century scored by Hain in a 98-run partnership with Tim Ambrose that towered above the wreckage of the rest of the Warwickshire innings is all the more outstanding.Hain is in only his second season as part of the senior squad at Edgbaston but has made such an impact that Warwickshire already feel his absences keenly, particularly now, with several top-order batsmen finding runs hard to come by. A shoulder injury suffered in the field against Worcestershire in May ruled him out for two months and he was badly missed.Still a teenager – at least until this Thursday – Hain is the former Australia Under-19 batsman who pledged his future to England in 2013 and raised exciting possibilities last season by becoming his county’s youngest first-class centurion – taking the record held by Ian Bell — and later the youngest double centurion among four hundreds scored during his debut season.There were two more half-centuries in the first three matches of this season before his injury. On his comeback against Yorkshire last week, when Warwickshire suffered a crushing defeat, his second-innings hundred set him apart as the only batsman able to counter a Yorkshire attack led by a rampant Ryan Sidebottom.Again here, with batting conditions such a challenge, he seemed to have the composure and technical qualities that deserted others. He had the chief England selector, James Whitaker, among those looking on, although Hain’s name remains one solely for the notebook for now. Although he avoided the new requirement for someone of his status to undergo a seven-year qualification term, he does not become eligible still until the winter of 2016-17.As it is, Warwickshire will do well to finish anywhere close to Durham’s 314 and much will depend on Chris Woakes, who reports that both ankle and knee stood up well to his comeback with the ball on Sunday, being able to reproduce the form with the bat that enabled him to make 93 on his guest appearance for Nottinghamshire’s Second XI last week.If day three begins in any way resembling day two he might not add many to his overnight 12. After a delayed noon start, Rushworth struck with his second ball, adding another disappointment to a string of low scores troubling Varun Chopra, the Warwickshire captain, who has been out for 16 or fewer in 13 of his 16 Championship innings. He seemed unimpressed with decision by David Millns, as Paul Collingwood had the day before, although he might have felt less unhappy had it come off the back of a run of fifties and hundreds.It was not long, in any case, before he had Jonathan Webb and Laurie Evans back in the dressing room with him, the two falling to Rushworth in consecutive, similar balls before Hain survived the hat-trick attempt, only just as it happens, his bat coming down just soon enough to flick the ball off his pads and divert it to the long-leg boundary.Ian Westwood became Rushworth’s fourth victim, at which point Warwickshire were 40 for 4. The Sunderland-born seamer’s propensity for lbws is the direct consequence, he said afterwards, of trying to bowl straight, at the stumps, rather than looking for swing.Thereafter, though, he was made to wait for more gains as Hain batted with the precocious maturity that has been the feature of performances since he announced himself last season. With Ambrose encouraging him, as well as keeping the scoreboard moving, he settled to his work and his confidence grew, to the extent that his dismissal on 57 was slightly unexpected. It was not Rushworth this time but John Hastings who found the way, posting Keaton Jennings as a short leg positioned deeper than is conventional, and reaping the reward as Hain turned a ball off his hip cleanly but could not get it past Jennings, who moved sharply to his right to take a fine catch.From Warwickshire’s point of view, the benefits of that partnership were undermined somewhat by the loss of three more wickets for 21. Ambrose departed four balls after Hain, lbw this time to Collingwood, before Rushworth returned to bag another one in Rikki Clarke. Then came the fourth and last stoppage of the day.

Hampshire climbed off the foot of the Division One table and now face a crucial match at Taunton starting on Wednesday

ECB/PA03-Sep-2015
ScorecardJames Vince helped Hampshire rattle of the required runs for victory (file photo)•Getty Images

Hampshire climbed off the foot of the Division One table and now face a crucial match at Taunton starting on Wednesday. A seven-wicket win against Durham at Chester-le-Street left them only five points behind Somerset in the battle to avoid the second relegation spot.Captain James Vince knuckled down to survive a testing start and waited for the right ball to put away in guiding Hampshire to their target of 163 with an unbeaten 76. He was helped by Liam Dawson, who contributed 34 to the unbroken stand of 82 as the last 64 runs came off 6.3 overs.Hampshire might have to seek their third successive win without Fidel Edwards, however, after he retired with a hamstring injury after taking 4 for 43.Rain prevented play before lunch and Durham didn’t hang around when they resumed their second innings on 126 for 6, 88 ahead, adding 74 in 15.3 overs before they were all out for 200.Gareth Berg took two wickets in two balls in the fourth over, having Ryan Pringle caught behind for 13 and John Hastings lbw. Umpire Jeremy Lloyds took several seconds to give the second decision.Left-hander James Weighell hit two fours off Ryan McLaren in reaching 20 before Edwards came on and yorked him with his first ball. The West Indian retired after bowling eight balls, although his exit did allow Ryan Stevenson to claim his maiden first-class wicket. He had Graham Onions caught at point by Jimmy Adams, ending a last-wicket stand of 36 in 28 balls.Chris Rushworth made an unbeaten 33 off 34 balls, hooking and driving Berg for two sixes prior to trying to add to his 85 first-class wickets this season.He had to wait until the 12th over, when Michael Carberry was on 21 and there had been 11 extras, before Adams shouldered arms and was bowled for 3.Rushworth also troubled Vince but the total advanced to 75 before Carberry fell for 39 when he skied a pull off Onions and Michael Richardson ran 25 yards to hold a tumbling catch at square leg. The wicketkeeper then held a regulation catch off Onions to send back Will Smith for 1, but the new-ball pair had bowled 11 overs each by that stage.Onions kept going for two more overs but was clearly flagging in his 13th, and the double change took the pressure off. After conceding only one run in his first two overs, Hastings’ next two cost 19. Weighell opened up with a maiden and was hit for three fours in his second over, one off a thick edge, as Vince passed 50 off 54 balls with 11 boundaries.Weighell wasn’t helped by four overthrows in his next over, which cost nine, and when Rushworth returned Dawson pulled him for six as Durham slumped meekly to their fourth successive home defeat.

Shane Warne has said he is excited to “create history” by bringing his Cricket All-Stars to the USA next month, while also hitting out at criticisms regarding the pricing of tickets and age of players involved in the event

Peter Della Penna08-Oct-20151:53

‘Chappell should see the bigger picture’ – Warne

Bowlers to have five-over quotas

Warne said the Cricket All-Stars matches will follow all normal ICC regulations, with one tweak: “Sachin and I got together and we thought, ‘What could we change to make it better in Twenty20?’ The only thing we thought of is that sometimes that fifth or sixth bowler just gets smashed. If the best bowlers can bowl an extra over… so we came up with four bowlers can bowl five overs.”

Former Australia legspinner Shane Warne has said he is excited to “create history” by bringing his Cricket All-Stars joint venture with Sachin Tendulkar to the USA next month, while also hitting out at criticisms regarding the pricing of tickets and age of players involved in the event.Earlier this week former Australia captain Ian Chappell had been critical of the plans for the event on , a video series on ESPNcricinfo. The tournament will feature two teams of retired players, some as old as 52, playing three exhibition Twenty20s in New York, Los Angeles and Houston. “I’ve always thought that the reason for retiring is that you wanted to stop playing,” Chappell had said. “The other thing I don’t understand is why people want to watch older cricketers.”At the end of his time with the Melbourne Stars, Shane Warne was struggling in the field as you would expect with someone in their 40s. Your back gives you trouble, you can’t bend over as easily, catches that you used to take very easily you can’t get down very far to take them. You start to look like what you are, an old cricketer.”Warne said he was disappointed with Chappell’s comments. “I think it’s a bit harsh for Chaps to say that,” he said. “I would have thought he would have seen the bigger picture about spreading the game of cricket globally, and that actually we’re doing a good thing if we make sure these games are fun and entertaining.””There are a lot of people in America that have never seen some of their idols play. They’ve got their chance for the first time to come to the stadiums and actually see some of their heroes play. I think that’s a very exciting thing. We’re going to be putting on free coaching clinics for schools, all sorts of stuff. I think it’s disappointing that Ian has that view.”When asked about the pricing of tickets – $50-$175 in New York and Houston, with the majority of tickets at $175, and $325 in Los Angeles – Warne said: “They’re [Major League Baseball Divisional Series playoff tickets] $30-$150, we’re $50-$175, so that’s pretty similar there. There’s lots of entertainment at the grounds too. We’ve got some pretty big name DJs coming, got cheerleaders and all sorts of action-packed stuff. I think the ticket prices are reasonable.”Ticketmaster’s online booking system in Houston, though, reveals that less than 1,500 tickets were sold at the 41,574 capacity Minute Maid Stadium in the 36 hours since tickets first went on sale. The majority of those tickets sold were in the $50 and $75 price brackets. Also, there were concerns about fans attending a mid-week event in the daytime in Houston, resulting in the start time changing from 2 pm to 7 pm.The other major concern for organisers in New York City is the weather. Warne acknowledged that is an issue. “The last two years in New York, November the seventh, it was 20C two years ago and there was some snow last year,” he said. “So we’re hoping and keeping our fingers crossed that the long-range forecast looks pretty good.”When asked why the Central Broward Regional Park in Florida, USA’s only ICC-certified cricket-specific stadium, was bypassed, Warne said: “We’ve got iconic players, we’ve got iconic baseball stadiums, we thought it was a fantastic fit. We thought a drop-in pitch in a baseball stadium is a pretty unique thing to do and that’s why we’re sort of making history.”Warne said Simon Taufel and Marais Erasmus will be the standing umpires at the event, and the match referee will be Ranjan Madugalle.

Umar Akmal made 38 to give Pakistan a late boost after a regular fall of wickets, and the target was made to look bigger with the bowlers dismantling the Zimbabwe top order inside five overs

The Report by Deivarayan Muthu29-Sep-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:12

By The Numbers – Six on the trot for Pakistan

The second T20I between Pakistan and Zimbabwe more or less followed the same script as the first. Having chosen to bat, Pakistan scraped to 136 again, and the Zimbabwe batsmen were never on course during the chase. Umar Akmal struck a busy 38 to lend the visitors late boost after a regular fall of wickets, and the target was made to look bigger with the Pakistan bowlers dismantling the Zimbabwe top order inside five overs. The asking rate continued to rise and the hosts eventually fell short by 15 runs.Chamu Chibhabha was given out lbw in the third over of the chase despite the ball pitching outside leg stump, Hamilton Masakadza made room and carved Mohammad Irfan to third man, while some sharp fielding from the tag team of Shahid Afridi and Sohaib Maqsood ran out Craig Ervine. Imad Wasim then struck in his second over when Richmond Mutumbami, scoreless for seven balls, was bowled through the gate. The Pakistan fielders cranked up the intensity, cut down runs and ably backed their bowlers up.Sean Williams and Sikandar Raza offered some resistance with a 60-run partnership, using nudges and bunts while occasionally attempting reverse-sweeps and slogs. Just as Zimbabwe looked to find a higher gear, Raza was dismissed by a canny slower ball from Imran Khan for his maiden international wicket. At that point, the equation read 53 runs from 23 balls.Elton Chigumbura, though, gave Zimbabwe an outside chance when he hit two sixes off Imran over long-off in the 17th over. The first one was palmed over the fence by Ahmed Shehzad, and the second cleared him comfortably. The returning Irfan, coming in for Wahab Riaz, snuffed out Zimbabwe’s slender chance by having Chigumbura caught at long-on for 17 off 8 balls. Williams and Luke Jongwe fought it out but could only reduce the margin of defeat.While Irfan generated typical extra bounce even on a slow pitch, Imran was impressive with his assortment of slower cutters. They finished with combined figures of 8-0-60-4 as Pakistan claimed their third straight T20 series win.The match-winning target was set up by Akmal, who came in at 72 for 4, and boosted Pakistan’s innings. He began with a brace of fours before he launched the first six of the game off the penultimate ball of the innings. Akmal was also adept in finding gaps and Wasim managed a couple of fours as Pakistan took 14 runs off the last over.The start too had been bright before the middle order botched it up. Mohammad Hafeez, the other change in Pakistan’s XI, did not take much time to find his bearings, playing a handsome drive and two pulls.However, Tinashe Panyangara dismissed Shehzad for seven in the fourth over, and two overs later Hafeez was undone by the slowness of the pitch when he tamely chipped Jongwe to short midwicket.The Shoaibs – Malik and Maqsood – threatened to mount a recovery but were foiled by the spinners. Their 30-run stand ended when Malik dragged Graeme Cremer to long-on. Instead of going back to rebuilding mode, Maqsood advanced down the track the following over and played an injudicious shot: skewing one into the lap of backward point. Rizwan and Afridi also failed but Akmal lifted Pakistan, despite good variations from Panyangara and Jongwe at the death.