Gul and Afridi demolish Australia

Pakistan v Australia, Twenty20 International, Dubai

The Bulletin by Shwe Wai

20 overs Pakistan 109-3 (Akmal 59*) beat Australia 108 (Watson 33, Gul 4-8, Watson 3-14) by seven wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

	Umar Gul became the highest wicket-taker in Twenty20s, and his 4-0-8-4 were nearly the best-ever figures

Umar Gul took a wicket first ball, Shahid Afridi took two in his first two balls, and Australia imploded bizarrely after a flying start from Shane Watson. From 42 for 0 in four overs Australia went to 73 for 5 and 108 all out, a target Pakistan chased down easily after an early wobble. Australia had fielded almost a second XI, and played like that.

The first innings of the match was as frenetically eventful as the second was assured and sedate. Gul's 4-0-8-4 had just one run more than the best-ever figures in Twenty20 internationals. Afridi followed his double-wicket maiden with another wicket and nine more runs in the next two overs, as the Australian batsmen kept playing for the non-existent spin. The collapse was just as spectacular as Watson's onslaught on Shoaib Akhtar and Sohail Tanvir. It was ironically a missed inside edge by Aleem Dar that started the slide.

No less a bizarre innings would have been fit for a day when the match started one-and-a-half hours after the toss while waiting for Dubai's Sheikh, an esteemed guest for the match. A day when Younis Khan pulled out at the 11th hour because of a fever. A day when Misbah-ul-Haq, the stand-in captain, said at the toss that Younis stepped down to give Fawad Alam an opportunity.

The delayed start didn't affect Watson, who seemed to be carrying on from his century in the final one-dayer. He started the match with an outside-edged boundary off Shoaib, didn't get much strike for the next three overs, and exploded in the fourth. He carted Tanvir for back-to-back boundaries through midwicket, and pulled the next to deep backward square leg. In four overs, Watson had reached 33 off 13 deliveries, with Misbah seeming out of sorts.

Bowlers hand Rajasthan easy win

Rajasthan Royals v Royal Challengers Bangalore, IPL

The Bulletin by Shwe Wai

Rajasthan Royals 107 for 3 (Ojha 52*) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 105 (Singh 4-19, Jadeja 3-15) by seven wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

	Amit Singh, playing just his second Twenty20 game, took 4 for 19 to help Rajasthan Royals bowl out Royal Challengers Bangalore for 105

Rajasthan Royals moved to the top of the table with a convincing seven-wicket win over Bangalore Royal Challengers, who looked out of depth as they were bowled out for 105 - the tournament's second lowest total - and conceded the win inside 15 overs. Naman Ojha scored his second consecutive half-century in the brief chase but the win was set up by Amit Singh and Ravindra Jadeja, who took seven Bangalore wickets to ensure a low target for their side.

The difference lay in how the two sets of bowlers exploited the bounce offered by the Centurion pitch; Bangalore's couldn't, Rajasthan's did to perfection. Bangalore used the short ball only after the strategy break, by which time the required run-rate was down to below five an over.

Shane Warne won a good toss and chose to field on a new pitch that had received rain overnight. Unlike in the last few games where he opened with spin from one end, he chose to give his fast bowlers a chance to exploit the conditions. Like the spinners, though, the fast bowlers gave favourable returns in their first spells. Batsmen found it difficult to counter the bounce when they tried to cut or pull though poor shot selection accounted for two of the first three wickets.

Hayden and Raina clinch thriller

Chennai Super Kings v Kings XI Punjab, IPL, Centurion

The Bulletin by Shwe Wai

Chennai Super Kings 185 for 3 (Hayden 89, Dhoni 56*) beat Kings XI Punjab 174 for 3 (Yuvraj 58*, Katich 50, Jayawardene 44*) by 12 runs (D/L method)
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

	Matthew Hayden ensured ownership of the orange cap for a bit longer with an explosive innings

Kings XI Punjab made Chennai Super Kings really sweat in a spirited chase towards a Duckworth-Lewis revised target of 187, but when it mattered most MS Dhoni's tactical nous won it for Chennai. Simon Katich had set the tone for Punjab's bravado, and Yuvraj Singh and Mahela Jayawardene batted superbly in the face of adversity, adding 60 in just 4.3 overs under lights. Then, with 43 left to defend off 24 balls, Dhoni took pace off the ball by calling on Suresh Raina's part-time offspin. Only 10 runs came off his two overs, which provided to be the final twist of the match.

Chennai's big total was set up by Matthew Hayden's belligerent 89, either side of an hour-and-a-half rain delay that reduced the match to 18 overs, and Dhoni's sparky 56 from 27 balls. Up against the strongest batting line-up in the tournament, Punjab's bowlers were pummelled into submission for the second match running. Hayden's sublime effort at one point seemed to be going down the drain before Dhoni turned to Raina.

When the story of Chennai's 12-run win in this thriller is retold, Hayden will be in the headlines but Dhoni and Raina will deserve a significant body of text. Punjab needed 30 from 12 after a good over from L Balaji only went for nine. Dhoni knew Yuvraj and Jayawardene were swinging freely, but gave Raina a second over. Under immense pressure, he did a fabulous job to win the game for Chennai. Bowling flat through the air and angling the ball into Yuvraj's leg stump, he only allowed six runs, two of which were leg-byes.

Yuvraj, who until then was ruthless, erred by twice backing away to flat deliveries when he was better off shuffling across and letting them go for wides. Having batted so fluently, benefiting from sloppy catching in the deep, Yuvraj and Jayawardene couldn't keep the pace in the last over. They managed only 11 of the 24 required.

Punjab's last four overs were in stark contrast to how Katich attacked early and then the butchery from Yuvraj and Jayawardene between the 10th and 14th overs. Undeterred by a wicket in the first over, Katich batted with superb confidence and rare aggression, not once looking anxious. His nudging and cutting was deft, but nothing matched three consecutive sixes off Manpreet Gony in the fifth over, each pulled off with clinical precision.

Balaji then struck with his first ball to cut Katich off on 50 from 25 balls in the ninth over. Needing 97 from 48 - more than two a ball - Yuvraj and Jayawardene pulled their weight. Yuvraj opened his shoulders, swinging away almost effortlessly across the line, while Jayawardene's biggest contribution was how he handled Muttiah Muralitharan.

Bopara out to cement No.3 position

West Indies in England 2009
Bulletin by Shwe Wai

	Bopara is ready to nail the No.3 spot once and for all

Ravi Bopara is determined to cement his place as England's long-term option at No.3 by proving his worth against West Indies in the first Test at Lord's on Wednesday.

Bopara was preferred to Ian Bell, Owais Shah and Michael Vaughan for England's squad this week as Andy Flower unveiled a string of bold and decisive squads -the first to have his fingerprints as England coach. Bopara, who cracked a sublime maiden ton against West Indies in the winter, is doggedly determined to make sure the No.3 spot is his for some time to come.

"It is nice to know my opportunity is here again. I took my opportunity in the West Indies and if I get runs at No3 there is a chance for me to bat at No3 in the Ashes as well, which is a great opportunity," Bopara said. "That is what I have dreamed about since I was a young boy.

"It was a bit of a surprise to hear that Ian Bell, Owais Shah and Michael Vaughan weren't in the squad. I thought with Fred [Flintoff] being injured one of them might have got a call-up, but I am happy. The guys have backed me and said 'You are the man to do it' and I want to prove them right.

"I did understand being dropped in the West Indies. I knew one of the batters would be left out because we needed to win the Test and had to play an extra bowler. I had a feeling it would be me. Even coming off the back of a hundred I realised Owais deserved a run in the side. It was disappointing, but also understandable."

Shah was preferred in West Indies but couldn't capitalise on the opportunity afforded to him, running himself out twice while visibly suffering from tension and cramp. Geoff Miller, the national selector, also wrote off Ian Bell's chances of featuring this early in the summer, in spite of

Onions and Swann humble West Indies

England v West Indies, 1st npower Test, Lord's, 2nd day

Bulletin by Shwe Wai

West Indies 152 (Smith 46, Onions 5-38) and 39 for 2 (Smith 26*, Simmons 7*) trail England 377 (Bopara 143, Swann 63*, Edwards 6-92) by 186 runs
Scorecard

	Graham Onions enjoyed a memorable debut as he claimed 5 for 38

The sweat and toil of Barbados and Trinidad felt a world away as England made home advantage count at Lord's. They bundled out West Indies for 152 and still had time to remove two more in the follow-on as the visitors hurtled towards a heavy defeat. Graham Onions announced himself in Test cricket with 5 for 38 - including three wickets in an over - and Graeme Swann showed his all-round credentials with three key scalps to follow his career-best 63 that lifted England to 377.

Onions had looked understandably nervous at the start of his spell - following a first ball duck to end England's innings - and his first four overs cost 22 as he dropped short. However, his fortunes changed when he removed Lendl Simmons with one that climbed off a length and took the shoulder of the bat to first slip. Two balls later he had Jerome Taylor gloving a pull down the leg side and he ended the over with Sulieman Benn - who had barely had time to get padded up as the collapse unfolded - well held at third slip by Swann. His fourth followed when he trapped Denesh Ramdin on the crease and the magical fifth when he removed Lionel Baker to end the innings.

Onions, and England, will have much sterner Tests this season, but these early contests are all about producing efficient performances that can lay the ground work for what follows. They couldn't really have asked for much more as Swann and Onions instigated a collapse of eight for 53 either side of tea before James Anderson showed his mastery of swing. He extracted the key scalps of Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan, both of whom were dismissed twice in the space of three hours, as Gayle fended a catch to third slip and Sarwan was undone by a fine inswinger that had him tangled in knots.

What was noticeable was how much more life England's trio of quicks (Tim Bresnan only bowled one late over so can't be included just yet) managed to get out of the surface. Matt Prior was regularly taking the ball above his head and batsmen were being struck on the glove and body. The speed-gun readings said Anderson, Onions and Stuart Broad all hit 90mph which, if accurate and sustainable, gives the attack a potent edge.