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The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) batsmen put their team in a strong position and gave them the possibility of victory, on the third day of the four-day, Group A, third-round Patron’s Trophy match against Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), here at the National Stadium on Saturday.After KRL had attained a big 120-run first innings lead over PIA, the Airliners ran up a solid score of 429 for 6 in their second innings yesterday. Faisal Iqbal, the captain, then applied closure, setting KRL a target of 310 and his own team a realistic chance of a win.Peshawar’s talented Yasir Hameed, who scored 57 runs in the final one-day international for Pakistan against England at Rawalpindi on Wednesday, had made his intentions known with an unbeaten 61 on Friday as the PIA second-wicket stand in the second innings was worth exactly 100 by the day’s close. Yasir lost his overnight partner Kamran Sajid (60) with only 16 runs added, but he continued piling up the runs with great credit. His knock of 139 was the 11th hundred of his first-class career, having come in five hours and 43 minutes’ batting off 231 deliveries with 20 fours.With Bazid Khan (20), his third-wicket stand was worth 64 runs. Another 81 runs were added for the fourth wicket with his youthful captain Faisal. The latter, who turns 24 on December 30, also reached his career’s 11th century. Faisal scored 114 runs off just 160 balls in three hours 19 minutes with 15 hits to the ropes and three above them. After Yasir’s departure, he was helped by all-rounder Jannisar Khan (26) in an invaluable partnership of 73 runs for the fifth wicket.With Asif Mujtaba, the veteran left-hander and the top-scorer of the first innings with 44 not out, unable to bat due to a fractured finger while fielding, Faisal decided to declare the PIA innings closed. KRL had made no runs in the only over bowled till the close of play.PIA, who shared the Patron’s Trophy title last season with Habib Bank as the final was rained off, drew their previous match in the ongoing competition against the same opponents, which turned out to be a tall-scoring affair. PIA have never won the Patron’s Trophy outright since it was introduced back in 1972-73. Habib Bank have been the winners a record seven times. KRL are currently lying at rock bottom in the five-team Group A points table. They started the tournament by being beaten in both their matches in the first two rounds. If they go on to win on Sunday, PIA will collect only six points though.
Set to chase a target of 325 runs to win the match, Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited(SNGPL) had lost three second innings wickets in reaching 118, by the close of play on the third day of their four-day, Group A, third-round Patron’s Trophy match against Habib Bank, here at the United Bank Limited (UBL) Sports Complex Ground No.1 on Saturday.Habib Bank, after having gained a big first innings lead of 125 runs, crashed to a second innings total of 199 all out yesterday. SNGPL though are still 207 runs short of a victory with seven wickets in hand. Imran Khalid, a 21-year-old slow left-arm bowler from Kasur who also plays for Faisalabad, again got among the wickets as he captured 4 for 63 for SNGPL to follow his first innings 5 for 72. He was ably assisted by another young man, Asad Ali, who took three wickets for 56 runs in 12 overs.Mahmood Malik, the fast bowler, also bowled well with figures of 2-19 in nine overs. Most Habib Bank batsmen just threw away their wickets but Younis Khan, the Pakistan vice-captain, and Humayun Farhat, the wicketkeeper, both got half-centuries. Their sixth-wicket stand was worth 79 runs after five wickets had fallen with just 89 on the board. Younis, after making 44 in the first innings, followed it up with a knock of 54 runs, off 108 balls with seven boundaries. Humayun’s 52 were made in his characteristic, bludgeoning manner. He faced only 48 deliveries and sent the ball to the ropes seven times.After the early loss of Mohammad Hafeez, the opener, SNGPL prospered through an innings of 34 off 52 balls with four fours by his partner Sohail Idrees. Youngster Sufyan Munir is still at the crease with an unbeaten 58, made off 90 deliveries with seven fours. As long as he and Misbah-ul-Haq, the captain, are at the crease, their team are in with a chance. Otherwise, Habib Bank should be able to win today (Sunday). Abdul Rehman, their left-arm spinner, with figures of 8-53 on Friday, has already completed 10 wickets in the match with two more yesterday.Habib Bank have been a record seven-time winners of the Patron’s Trophy Championship title, in addition to sharing the trophy with Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) last season after the final was rained off. SNGPL started this season’s tournament with a creditable draw against Pakistan Customs in the second round.
Riaz Afridi, Peshawar’s 20-year-old right-arm fast-medium bowler, returned first-class career-best figures of 7 for 78, as National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) were bowled out for a poor total of 161 runs, on the third day of their four-day, Group B, third-round Patron’s Trophy Cricket Championship match against Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), at the Sheikhupura Stadium on Saturday.After the opening day’s play on Thursday was cancelled due to foggy conditions and poor light, NBP reached a modest score of 123 for six in the 34 overs possible on the second day. Four of their six wickets had already fallen to the young, talented Riaz Afridi. His partner Tahir Mughal picked up the three wickets at a personal cost of 67 runs in 22 overs. Riaz bowled 24.2 overs for his seven-wicket haul. The only player to bat with some conviction yesterday was Mansoor Amjad, the the teenaged allrounder,whose 44 runs at number seven came with five boundaries off 96 balls.In the 12 overs bowled by the NBP bowlers by the day’s close, PTCL had lost one wicket in making 26 runs. Their main intention on the final day today (Sunday) would surely be to take first innings lead and the three points on offer.PTCL are currently perched on top of the points table with a tally of 15 in Group B. National Bank, five-time winners of the competition, are at the second spot.
Adil Nisar, the captain, hit the highest score of his first-class career as the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) compileda total of 446 for 5 declared, on the third day of their four-day, Group B, third-round Patron’s Trophy match against Service Industries, at the Iqbal Stadium on Saturday.Adil, the 27-year-old, left-hand batsman from Lahore, who began yesterday at his overnight 145 not out in WAPDA’s first innings 268 for 2, took his tally to an eventual 232, off 343 balls in eight minutes short of eight hours while hitting as many as 33 fours in addition to a six. By the close of play, Kashif Raza, the fast bowler from Sheikhupura, had captured all four Service Industries wickets to fall, at a personal cost of 45 runs in 14 overs.At 137 for four, with only one more day to go in the match, Service are still 160 runs short of averting the follow-on. In case they manage to hold on for a draw, WAPDA are sure to gain the three first innings lead points from this encounter. Adil, who now has three double-hundreds in his nine career centuries in 92 first-class matches, took his third-wicket stand with Aamer Sajjad from 142 to 194. Aamer hit seven fours and a six in his 81 runs, that came off 146 balls in a little over three hours. Bilal Khilji then hit a quick 39 runs off 38 deliveries with six boundaries, with Mohammad Irshad, Service’s opening bowler, finishing with three wickets for 127 runs.In the Service reply, Shahjahan Mirza, the opener and a newcomer on the scene, was still holding the fort with an unbeaten 42 with four fours at the draw of stumps. Faisal Khan meanwhile hit a worthy 61 with three fours and two sixes in two hours’ batting.WAPDA were the runners-up of the 2003-04 competition while Service Industries are currently placed at the bottom of the five-team Group B table.

Marvan Atapattu will miss the tsunami relief fundraising game in Melbourne on Monday because his two children have fallen ill. Atapattu had hoped to catch Sunday’s flight to Australia but abandoned those plans on Saturday night. "Marvan will miss the game because his children were hospitalised on Saturday," confirmed Ray Illangakoon, Sri Lanka Cricket’s media manager.Muttiah Muralitharan, making his return to international cricket after a five-month layoff, Sanath Jayasuriya, Kumar Sangakkara and Chaminda Vaas will now represent Sri Lanka in the Asian XI, which will also be missing Sachin Tendulkar (elbow) and Shoaib Akhtar (hamstring) because of injury.

Grant Bradburn has returned to the Northern Districts fold, but not as a player. Bradburn has been appointed as the Community Cricket co-ordinator for the Waikato Valley region.Bradburn has been one of the great stalwarts of Northern Districts cricket with a playing career spanning 17 years. In all he appeared in 115 first-class and 121 one-day matches for Northern Districts, both of them records. He is the third highest runscorer, and the second highest wicket taker, and has the most catches by a non-wicketkeeper. He played seven tests and 11 one-day internationals for New Zealand.Bradburn will be working in the newly-constituted Waikato Valley region. A boundary review has seen the trial amalgamation of the Thames Valley and Midlands senior District Associations for the 2003-2004 season (with the exception of the Taupo sub association which has returned to the Bay of Plenty).His responsibilities will involve working closely with the senior District Association and the Midlands and Thames Valley Junior Cricket Board’s to promote the game at all levels (primary school, secondary school and clubs) and to elevate the profile of cricket in the greater Waikato region. He will also be responsible for the national development programme in the region.He will be attached to Sport Waikato, as well as Northern Districts, as a member of the Sportsforce team. Dave Richardson, previously Sportsforce cricket development manager for the whole Waikato region will now focus on Hamilton and becomes Hamilton Cricket development manager. Bradburn will continue his ownership of Grant Bradburn Sports which operates as a shop at Westpac Park. Grant will be based at the Northern Districts office at Westpac Park.

West Indian captain Carl Hooper admitted that his side had been beaten fairand square by Sri Lanka in Galle but promised that the team will come outfighting in the second Test starting on Wednesday.The tourists lost to Sri Lanka by 10 wickets on Saturday despite havingscored 448 in their first innings.”We didn’t play as we could have done, but I don’t think we were disgracedin any way,” he said. “We are disappointed we lost but we’ll come outfighting again in the second Test.””We knew it was going to be tough. They have a world-class spinner inMuttiah Muralitharan and he is going to put you under pressure.”I was very hopeful when I saw the way Sarwan and Ganga played in the firsthour. They were fairly comfortable it was unfortunate to lose Ganga and thenSarwan immediately afterwards.”West Indies were cruising at one stage on 423 for four, but following thedismissal of Brian Lara, they capitulated, losing their remaining fivewickets for just 23 runs. Sri Lanka then rattled up 590 to set themselves upfor victory on the final day.”When we were 423 for four we should have made 550,” said Hooper. “Weallowed them back into the game and then bowled too short and wide on thefirst day. As a result they got away.”We made a big effort in trying to pull them back on the third and fourthday, but we were obviously up against it.”Hooper defended the decision to play two spinners: “It was a dry wicket fromday one we knew it was going to turn. Ramnarine bowled well, whilstMcGarrell didn’t bowl as well as he should have, but if we had to do it allagain we would picked two spinners.”Muttiah Muralitharan picked up 11-169 in the match, the third time he hastaken ten wickets in consecutive Tests.”When you play against a world class bowler like Muralitharan, it’sdifficult to have a plan,” he said. “It’s not as if he has one particularstrength. He bowls virtually everything: he’s got a straighter ball, aflighted ball and a flat ball, so, basically, you’ve got to play what yousee.”We will now have a day off, before coming and working in the nets again. Wewill discuss where we went wrong and how we can tackle them in the secondtest.”

PepsiCo India, the title sponsor of the IPL, is set to terminate its five-year contract with the league two years ahead of schedule. The decision, understood to be linked to the negative publicity enveloping the tournament following the 2013 corruption scandal, will be the first major setback in terms of perception for Shashank Manohar, the new BCCI president, who was elected largely because of his clean image.It was reported that PepsiCo was considering such an exit soon after the Lodha panel announced a two-year suspension for Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals in July. While it is understood that PepsiCo has sent the termination notice to BCCI and IPL authorities, it’s statement to ESPNcricinfo was carefully worded. “BCCI and PepsiCo have had a longstanding cordial relationship and have been in discussions to work out a solution which addresses PepsiCo’s concerns. Both parties will share it when ready,” the statement said.The BCCI, for its part, issued a similar statement as well on Friday. “BCCI and Pepsico have had a long-standing cordial relationship. Pepsico has raised certain concerns with the BCCI,” the statement said. “BCCI has assured that steps will be taken to address the concerns and will work necessary solutions in the interests of the league as well as Pepsico. As part of the process BCCI and Pepsico have been in amicable discussions and further update will be shared in due course.”IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla confirmed that the BCCI would not enter into any legal dispute with PepsiCo, which had signed a deal worth Rs 396 crore in 2012. “They have been a very good partner all this while and we do not want to disturb our relationship with them. Whatever is going to happen is going to happen in a very smooth manner,” Shukla told .A settlement with Pepsi is likely to be rubber stamped in the BCCI working committee meeting in Mumbai on October 18.Shukla tried to downplay the issue by stating the BCCI has already started the hunt for PepsiCo’s replacement. “We are in talks with other sponsors as well, so the title deal with Pepsi is not that big an issue. They have certain points and we are going to settle them amicably in the next meeting,” he said.It remains to be seen if the IPL, in its most tumultuous phase, attracts a new sponsor that could match the price that was being paid by PepsiCo. For now, even the number of teams that will participate in IPL 2016 is uncertain, with Super Kings having challenged their suspension in the court, and the BCCI still having the power to exercise its right to terminate the franchise agreement of both Super Kings and Royals.PepsiCo will be the second corporate house to end its association with IPL as a title sponsors. DLF India did not renew its association after the expiry of its five-season deal following the first five editions of the league.

Jurgen Klopp is building one of the best attacks in the world at Liverpool – but not just the three players he would choose to start most games, but also including his squad depth in that area too.

The signing of Luis Diaz from Porto in the January transfer window showed that the Reds aren’t afraid to splash out the cash on players who aren’t guaranteed to start every game, as Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane still firmly remain number-one choices on the wings.

However, Salah’s contract has little over one-year remaining, and both parties still haven’t made any more progress in reaching a new deal, with the Egyptian’s demands reportedly far too extortionate.

What’s the news?

It is expected that if the Merseyside club can’t agree a new deal before the end of the summer, they will begin lining up transfer targets to replace their superstar.

Real Madrid star Marco Asensio is one man that has been linked with a move in recent weeks, but it is also possible that he may be signed to play in a deeper role should Liverpool press ahead with a deal.

But forward Darwin Nunez is one player that is expected to leave his club in the summer, and Liverpool are believed to be keen on a deal for the Benfica forward, who has scored an incredible 20 goals in 20 Liga NOS games this season, with two of them coming from the bench.

It’s thought he may cost in the region of a whopping £55m.

Tactical reshuffle should Salah leave

The 22-year-old forward, tipped to be “world-class” by manager Jorge Jesus, has been sensational this season in Portugal, and has also made an impact in the Champions League too, where he has scored three goals in seven games.

Though, the all-important question is, how could the Uruguayan replace Salah and would his entrance finally signal the end of their Egyptian hero’s stay in England?

Interestingly, he is more of a centre-forward than a winger, but he can play on the left should he be required to. Though, should the 29-year-old Liverpool star depart, there is only really one player already capable of performing on the right side of the pitch in his spot, which is Diogo Jota.

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The Portuguese forward has more often than not played as a striker this season, but in three appearances where he was deployed on the right-hand side, he has scored three goals, which could suggest that if Nunez was to make the move should their Egyptian star leave, he would play down the middle and Jota would take Salah’s spot.

It sounds like a very menacing duo in attack, one that could finally allow Jurgen Klopp and co to part ways with their star man.

In other news: Forget Ox: Klopp must now unleash “classy” £1.8m-rated LFC maestro one last time 

Defending Carib Beer Challenge Trophy champions Trinidad and Tobago will take on Guyana in the opening game of the 2008 Carib Beer Series, set to begin on January 4 at Guaracara Park, Pointe-a-Pierre.T&T bowl off their campaign with the luxury of a home fixture, unlike in the previous season, and would look to utilise that advantage to the fullest before their away games against Leeward Islands, Windwards Islands and University of West Indies (UWI).Last season, T&T, who were the team to beat, fell short in their first game, losing away to Barbados by three wickets and immediately starting the tournament on the back foot.This season, T&T will travel to Carib Lumber Park, St Maarten to take on the Leeward Islands, before returning home to face newly-crowned KFC Cup champions Jamaica at the Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain from February 29 to March 3.Jamaica and T&T will get enough time to prepare for their clash as all the teams take a break for the 2008 Stanford 20/20 tournament, scheduled to take place between January 25 and February 25. T&T will have their last home game from April 25-28 against Barbados, also at the Queens Park Oval, while the Challenge final will take place from May 2-6 at a venue to be announced.

John Buchanan has helped Australia win the Ashes, now he’ll get a say in his replacement © Getty Images

The Ashes series has been a tale of two coaches with John Buchanan improving his record and Duncan Fletcher losing ground by the game. Both men may have been involved in their last Tests at the SCG, but Buchanan leaves with the greater reputation after being a key backroom member of Australia’s 5-0 victory and a 12th win in a row.Buchanan’s stock is currently so high that Mark Taylor, a Cricket Australia director, said he will be a main figure in the search for the country’s next coach. The World Cup in the West Indies is Buchanan’s final task in his current role, but Taylor, who is on a committee to choose the replacement, has added to his duties.”Quite a bit will depend on [Buchanan’s] thoughts,” Taylor said in the Sydney Morning Herald. “Depending on who we go for, it might be possible for them to travel to the World Cup with John, if they are not already coaching an international team. If that is possible, that would be our preference.”We have had some informal chats already as a committee. I’m not at liberty to say much more than that, but certainly the one-day series will give us an opportunity to get together in the next couple of weeks to discuss matters further.”Tom Moody, the Sri Lanka coach, and Tim Nielsen, who is in charge of Australia’s Centre of Excellence, are the front-runners while Greg Chappell and Dav Whatmore have also been spoken of as contenders. Whoever gets the job faces a huge task to match Buchanan’s record of 70 wins from 91 matches.Ricky Ponting praised Buchanan after his side sealed the Ashes whitewash and waved goodbye to a huge chunk of the side. Apart from Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Justin Langer, Australia have also lost Buchanan and Damien Martyn from the Test scene during the series. Martyn, who went into hiding in Adelaide, was a surprise guest in the Australian dressing room after play and Shane Watson, the injured allrounder, also joined in the celebrations.Buchanan made three points before the team walked out on the final morning in Sydney – Ponting could only remember two of them – and he will continue to make more until the World Cup. “He’s been very overlooked,” Ponting said. “We’ve been a talented side but talented guys don’t win you everything.”He’s been responsible for getting the best out of me, out of Langer, out of Hayden, out of Steve Waugh to a certain degree, maybe even a bit out of Warney. And McGrath. All our coaching staff right through the last 12-13 months have been terrific.”

ScorecardDheeraj Jadhav, tipped by many to be a potential India opener, sparkled on the second day’s play against Tamil Nadu at Nasik with a battling hundred, but the tourists held their own to grab nine wickets before stumps with Maharashtra just 32 runs ahead. Tamil Nadu did well to trigger a manic middle-order collapse following Jadhav’s dismissal, but Sairaj Bahutule stroked his way to a vital 77. Maharashtra’s day began well thanks to a fiery three-wicket burst from Munaf Patel, the opening bowler, as Tamil Nadu, 254 for 7 overnight, were bowled out for 275. Sreedharan Sharath, Tamil Nadu’s veteran, was the highest scorer with 75.Murali Kartik, the left-arm spinner currently on domestic duty, did his chances for a national recall no harm with a five-wicket haul to dismiss Mumbai for 367 on the second day’s play at the Wankhede Stadium, but Railways faced an uphill task after losing the vital wicket of Sanjay Bangar, their captain, before stumps. Ramesh Powar, Mumbai’s allrounder, proved a thorn in Railways side with a 221-ball 74 after Amol Muzumdar fell in the morning session with his 20th first-class hundred. Greg Chappell, India’s coach, had stated yesterday that there was little point in keeping Kartik in the squad for the second Test against Sri Lanka when he was not in the final XI, and his decision to give the spinner a chance to ply his trade in the Ranji Trophy was spot-on.A solid 79-run opening partnership between Shikhar Dhawan and Aakash Chopra made way for a critical period of collapse at the hands of Siddarth Trivedi and Hitesh Majmudar, Gujarat’s pace duo, as the hosts slipped to 186 for 5 on day two at the Feroze Shah Kotla. Trivedi, Gujarat’s opening bowler, continued from where he heroically left off on the first day with the wickets of Dhawan and Mayank Tehlan, whose previous stay at the wicket yielded a debut hundred, as Delhi proceeded to lose its way. In the morning session, Amit Bhandari, Delhi’s captain, added a sixth wicket to his tally to dismiss Gujarat for 143 and break a fine 60-run last wicket stand after Asraf Makda’s explosive innings spared them a major blemish. Despite the late hiccups, it was a marked improvement from Delhi’s batsmen after their first-innings 69, and set them up for what should be an engrossing third day’s play.
ScorecardFive strikes against Haryana before stumps at Hyderabad and a solid wag from the tail in the first two sessions of play made it Hyderabad’s day at Uppal. The star of the day was Narinderpal Singh, as he became the first medium-pacer from South Zone to claim 300 wickets in the Ranji Trophy when he trapped Bagheshwar Bist lbw in the third over. Earlier, Joginder Sharma’s third five-wicket haul of the season – he now sits atop the wickets tally with 24 – had earlier helped dismiss Hyderabad for 328, but given that they were 250 for 5 overnight, that total was significantly larger than the tourists would have liked. Haryana, still 222 runs behind Hyderabad, will need to put in a good day at the shop tomorrow, and much of that rests on the shoulders of Joginder and Mahesh Rawat, whose last innings was an unbeaten 90, in good time, against Baroda.An unbeaten 98-run stand between Bharat Chipli – who raced to a maiden first-class fifty – and Barrington Rowland led Karnataka’s reply after Rohan Gavaskar’s 96 took Bengal to 331 on the second day’s play at Mysore. Shib Paul, Bengal’s opening bowler, dismissed Robin Uthappa for just 5 in the fourth over of Karnataka’s reply, but Chipli and Rowland displayed terrific application towards their task by forging an aggressive partnership. In just his third innings for Karnataka, the 22-year old Chipli has already launched two sixes. Bengal’s first-innings total could have been substantially larger if not for the fine efforts of Udit Patel, the offspinner, who picked up four wickets to run through the tail.
ScorecardUttar Pradesh’s lower order stepped up to the plate to propel their side to 433 against Punjab on the second day of the Elite Group B match at Lucknow before Ashish Zaidi, the veteran fast bowler, capped a good day for the home side by dismissing both Punjab openers in a telling spell before stumps. Piyush Chawla, P Kumar and Avinash Yadav all produced career-best scores as 185 runs were added by the last four players. Hardevinder Sandhu, the opening bowler, was the most successful for Punjab with 3 for 101.
ScorecardMSK Prasad, Andhra’s wicketkeeper-batsman, finally struck form while patiently batting himself to a half-century at stumps on day two at Palam as the tourists finished on 112 for 2, 184 runs behind. Earlier, Jasvir Singh fell eight runs short of a hundred but Sarabjit Singh, Services’ wicketkeeping captain, pushed on to a gritty fifty as they added a further 83 to their overnight 203 for 4. This was the first score of note this season for Prasad, a former India wicketkeeper, and Andhra will look to him and Venugopal Rao, the captain, to further their fortunes as play resumes tomorrow.

Scorecard

Chris Rogers edges Shaun Tait to Mark Cleary as Western Australia suffer a disastrous start© Getty Images

Brad Hogg hit a fighting century and Ben Edmondson struck with two late wickets to rescue Western Australia from a horror opening against South Australia at Adelaide Oval. Winning the toss and batting, Western Australia were in deep trouble at 6 for 92 after Shaun Tait took four wickets in the first session.Hogg replied with 109 from 118 balls, including 14 fours and two sixes, as he dominated the lower-order partnerships and saved his side. He was 83 when Edmondson, the No. 11, walked out and collected 26 of the 30-run partnership to reach his fourth first-class century.Edmondson then made life difficult for South Australia, taking the wickets of Tom Plant and Mark Cosgrove with his first two balls as the Redbacks slumped to 3 for 4. Greg Blewett and Callum Ferguson ensured there was no further damage until stumps.