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Punjab sure have thrown up some impressive debutants in their Ranjipre-quarterfinal against Assam played at the Punjab CricketAssociation Stadium, Mohali. If it was Ishan Malhatra who impressed onthe first two days, Friday found his new-ball partner Harish Puriwarming the cockles of the discerning. The fast bowler claimed 5 for66 in the Assam second innings as the tourists slumped to a ten-wicketdefeat in under three days. Punjab now move into the quarter-finals ofthe premier domestic tournament in the country.In the morning, Assam, resuming at 53 for two, lost opener Parag Dasalmost immediately. A 47-run fifth wicket stand between wicketkeeperSyed Zuffri (40) and Sumit Ranjan Das (31), and a 32 from GautamDatta, were the only bright spots in an otherwise pathetic Assamreply. These cameos ensured that the visitors at least avoided theembarassment of an innings defeat. This though was replaced by thenone-too-pleasurable feeling associated with a ten-wicket thumping asthe Punjab openers duly notched up the 14 runs required to seal theirteam’s quarterfinal berth.

The last day of the Group C Ranji Trophy Super League match betweenTamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh at Kanpur on Thursday assumed farcicalproportions. The match ended in a tame draw. Tamil Nadu picked upfive points to finish with 26 while Uttar Pradesh got three to endwith 22.After scoring close to 700 runs in their first innings, Tamil Nadumade a meal of their second stint at the crease. The match was all butover before they came out to bat. With nothing to play for, Tamil Naduwere all out for 264 in the second innings. Hemang Badani who made 62in the first innings helped himself to a hundred while wickets fellaround him. Trailing by 733 with just 14 overs to play, Uttar Pradeshrightly saw no point in sending their openers out to bat. Instead,tailenders Mrithyunjay Tripathi and Musi Raza came out and made 28runs without being troubled.Sridharan Sriram, who was not out on zero at the end of the third day,was called away on national duty and could not take the crease on thefinal day. Sriram has been drafted into the Indian one-daysquad. Sadagoppan Ramesh batted at No 8, instead of opening theinnings.Reuben Paul, the Tamil Nadu wicketkeeper bowling an over just aboutsummed up the farcical nature of the last day’s play.

Crystal Palace impressed against Manchester City for the second time this season by holding Pep Guardiola’s side to a 0-0 draw at Selhurst Park on Monday evening.

The Eagles, who beat City in the reverse fixture back in October, defended superbly throughout and were good value for their point.

There were some impressive displays on show from the home side, but here at The Transfer Tavern, we’ve used statistical experts SofaScore to analyse who the three very best performers were for Palace.

Vicente Guaita – 7.9/10

No surprise to see Guaita top the rankings list, with the goalkeeper Palace’s best performer with a 7.9/10 rating.

The Spaniard made five saves, three of which were from inside the box, and completed 19 passes, eight of which were long balls.

Tyrick Mitchell – 7.2/10

Next up is Mitchell, who impressed up against Riyad Mahrez. The left-back won all of his four duels and completed 13 passes.

More importantly, Mitchell also wasn’t dribbled past all evening and made five clearances and four tackles.

Marc Guehi – 7.1/10

Captain Guehi is the third and final inclusion, ending with a 7.1/10 rating. The centre-back made nine clearances, one tackle and won all three of his duels.

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Guehi also wasn’t dribbled past all night and even made a key pass, losing possession on just nine occasions.

In other news: Palace want to beat Leeds to ‘instrumental’ 12-goal midfielder; same agent as Andersen & Edouard.

Shoaib managed just ten overs halfway through day one © AFP/font>

Shoaib Akhtar, the Pakistan fast bowler, was taken to hospital for an MRI scan after suffering back pain during the first day of the final Test against India in Bangalore. The scan revealed no injury but he has been experiencing muscle spasms and will not take further part in play on the first day. He will be assessed on Sunday morning.Shoaib bowled four overs in his first spell before going off the field at the end of the seventh over, during which he showed discomfort while bowling. He came back on after Gautam Gambhir was dismissed in the eighth over but once again left the field after bowling the ninth. He bowled eight overs in the first session and managed two more after the break before once again leaving the field at the end of the 32nd over.Akhtar, 32, took six wickets in Delhi and two in Kolkata, where he played with a chest infection. In this match, he can only bowl after spending as much time on the field as he did off it due to the injury.

ScorecardA whirlwind hundred from Peter Ingram and a five-wicket haul from Brendon Diamanti helped Central Districts wrap up a comfortable 46-run win over Northern Districts at Hamilton. Choosing to bat, CD were given a good platform by Ingram and the opener Geoff Barnett (45) – he has represented Canada in four ODIs – before Mathew Sinclair added some extra push.Ingram was the aggressor in a Seddon Park-record third-wicket stand of 143 with Sinclair, hitting ten fours and a pair of sixes in his 96-ball innings. His dismissal for 104 sparked a middle-order collapse at the hands of Mark Orchard, who was included in a 30-man preliminary squad for the World Cup, but Sinclair rallied to move to an unbeaten 79, and Diamanti slogged a 13-ball 21 to help CD to a very competitive 291 for 7.In response, ND began slowly but steadily, the openers Alun Evans (33) and Anton Devcich (35) adding 66, but the response from the rest of the batsmen was below par. Diamanti, a right-arm medium pacer, removed the openers quickly, and Campbell Furlong, the offspinner, claimed 3 for 44 to make it 147 for 5.Only Peter McGlashan, the wicketkeeper who produced a fighting 56 from 78 balls, and Orchard’s 35-ball 39 lower down the order delayed the result. Diamanti returned for three more wickets as ND folded for 245 in the 48th over. Both sides sit in the bottom half of the State Shield table with nine points each.

Inzamam-ul-Haq: ‘I plan to sit out Test and one-day matches where nothing much is at stake’ © AFP

Inzamam-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s captain, who missed the series-clinching win at Karachi, has said that he will pick and choose his matches from now on to protect his back.Inzamam, 35, stood down from the Test and also missed much of the previous match at Faisalabad with back trouble.”It is not a career threatening problem but it does become a nuisance if not taken proper care of,” Inzamam said. “In future, I will try to sit out on matches where possible.”I plan to sit out Test and one-day matches where nothing much is at stake. Then I can take a rest in order to preserve myself for the more important games. If we have won a series, I can rest in the final games and it gives us a chance to blood young players.”Doctors have already advised him not to take long flights.

Scorecard

Sunil Gavaskar: a valiant 96 in his final Test© Getty Images

A dour series characterised by safety-first tactics and lack of initiative exploded into life on a Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch that might have been prepared by Pol Pot’s henchmen rather than a curator. But all these years later, despite the eyebrows raised over the diabolical playing surface, memories of that Test centre around one of the great pyrrhic efforts in the history of the game.Sunil Gavaskar’s 320-minute vigil spanned 264 balls, on a pitch where only one other batsman – Imran Khan – lasted more than two hours. More importantly, it held the fabric of the final-innings chase together despite periodic incisions from Wasim Akram, Iqbal Qasim and Tauseef Ahmed. But once Gavaskar fell for 96, adjudged caught after the ball brushed his arm-guard, India folded to leave Pakistan victorious by the wafer-thin margin of 16 runs.Pakistan had made their luck after being skittled out for 116 at the first time of asking. On one of those blink-and-you’ll-miss-it opening days, Maninder Singh picked up seven of 12 wickets to fall as India appeared to take an iron-fisted grip. After Kapil Dev had made the early breakthroughs, Maninder’s beguiling loop and guile flummoxed the batsmen on a surface where the ball was already starting to turn at alarming angles.But Qasim and Tauseef, slow left-arm complemented by sharp offspin, then triggered a stunning collapse that saw India lose their last six wickets for just 19. And with the destiny of the series in the balance, Pakistan dug deep in the second innings, even promoting Javed Miandad to open in a bid to thwart Maninder and friends. Rameez Raja, Imran, Saleem Malik and even Qasim chipped in with gritty contributions, but Indian shoulders really sagged after Salim Yousuf, the wicketkeeper, ground out a priceless 41, adding 51 for the ninth wicket with the stonewalling Tauseef.Needing 221 for the win, India went into the rest day on 99 for 4, with Gavaskar having compiled a masterly 51. More than the shots he played, or the precision of his footwork, what took the breath away was his judgement of which balls to leave and which to smother with that straightest of defensive bats.The following evening, he threw a party at the team hotel, mere hours before he would once more step onto the burning deck, as he had done countless times during his halcyon years. Facing him would be Qasim, who had been given invaluable tips on the line and length to bowl by that prince among left-arm spinners, Bishan Singh Bedi.Qasim teased both Azharuddin and Shastri into lofting back return catches, and when he then bowled a restless Kapil, the momentum had swung irrevocably away from India. Gavaskar followed soon after, and as he trudged off, many teary eyes knew that he would never again step into the breach for an Indian side. But the exit of one living legend prompted another, Imran, to cajole his courageous side towards an epochal victory, and a first series triumph on Indian soil.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has taken a serious line on the behaviour of the team management for their in-house squabbling, as well as Shoaib Akhtar for his remarks about the board in a recent interview. The PCB did not impose any sanctions on the guilty party, which consisted of Inzamam-ul-Haq, Javed Miandad, Aamir Sohail, and Shoaib, but warned them to play by the rules or “pack your bags and go home”.Ever since Inzamam, the captain, and Miandad, the coach, revealed that they hadn’t been consulted about the choices made by Aamir Sohail for the squad for the forthcoming New Zealand series, there has been an uproar. Inzamam and Miandad were reported to be livid about their snub from Sohail, who publicly criticised the performance of the coach on TV commentary.However, in an attempt to bring the feud to an end, Lt Tauqir Zia, the PCB chairman, today said in a statement: “I am utterly disappointed with a series of statements issued by the team officials and the chief selector. I am sad that such big names of cricket representing a responsible organization have indulged in mud-slinging.”He continued: “I have met all the four officials and have conveyed my disappointment to them. I have warned them that the PCB will not tolerate any further statements from them against each other. They have also been informed that the PCB will be forced to ask them to pack their bags and go home if any further statements are attributed to them. They have been advised to sort out their problems in the PCB offices rather than going to the press and making a mockery of their status and stature.”A PCB spokesman added that as far as they’re concerned, the case is closed and they will not make any further statements on this issue.Meanwhile, Shoaib was reprimanded for criticising the ICC and the PCB in an interview in a local Urdu newspaper. On that matter, the same spokesman said: “He has been told in no uncertain terms to refrain from statements that are against the ICC and PCB policies.” The board did, however, did later receive an apology from Shoaib.Other matters discussed in the two-day meeting included a review of the Bangladesh and South African series and the management of the forthcoming one-day international series against New Zealand – which is now under threat due to security reasons. They also discussed the tour of New Zealand, the junior teams to go to India and Bangladesh, the hosting of the Asia Cup, India’s tour to Pakistan, and the domestic competitions.Ramiz Raja, the chief executive, said a proposed itinerary had been sent to the Indian board consisting of three Tests and seven ODIs, with the venues yet to be decided. It was also revealed that Pakistan would bid to host next year’s Asia Cup, even though Bangladesh have currently got the rights to hold the competition.Ramiz said: “We will bid for the tournament to be organized in April and May. We have decided to bid for the tournament after New Delhi allowed BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) to resume cricket activities with and in Pakistan.It was also decided that the probables for next year’s Under-19 World Cup and the Pakistan A team’s tour to India in December will be announced on Monday.

One-day cricket at its best. A last-ball four gave Canterbury victory and Gary Stead a century as earlier heroics by Adam Parore were not enough to keep the visitors at bay in the second-round State Shield match at Eden Park Outer Oval today.First Stead, arriving in the sixth over when Canterbury were 35 for two, played an equal role in a 113-run third-wicket partnership with Michael Papps (65). Then he held the innings together as wickets fell at regular intervals. Finally he controlled the last rush to victory with just the tail-enders to keep him company.His undefeated 101 was a mixture of punishing boundaries and smartly taken singles and it was all about keeping the scoreboard ticking over. The innings was a textbook lesson in adjusting to changing circumstances while maintaining a steady run rate.Auckland gave up plenty of loose balls early, allowing the Canterbury innings to progress through regular fours. But, when Andre Adams, Brooke Walker and Mark Haslam tightened the line, singles became the productive means of maintaining the run rate that was always ahead of Auckland’s at equivalent stages of the innings, coming down to just three required off the last over.The drama came in the effort to ensure Stead was at the striker’s end, Carl Anderson sacrificing himself in a run out to ensure his captain was on hand to score the winning runs and complete his century. It did not happen until the last ball, a classic off drive bringing Stead his just reward in personal and team terms.Auckland’s bowlers had been loose at times; tight at times. Kyle Mills (three for 60 off 10) and Walker in a captain’s effort (three for 41 off 10) took the wickets when it mattered to keep Auckland in the match. But they could never stem the flow of runs.Earlier, the Auckland innings had hardly looked likely to produce a challenging target. Despite useful contributions from Matt Horne (33) and Lou Vincent (47), Auckland at 177 for seven with 10 overs to go looked hardly likely to post a total that would worry a Canterbury side with the likes of Chris Cairns, Craig McMillan and Chris Harris on hand.However, an innings from Parore that was disciplined when wickets were falling around him but burst into action at the end saw Auckland through to 251 for nine. With the help of Haslam as last man in, he took the score from 205 for nine at the beginning of the 46th over to the final total, Parore himself contributing 38, including a couple of towering sixes.The Canterbury bowlers spread the wickets and runs among them, Harris with two for 35 the pick. McMillan (one for 46 off 10) and Cairns (two for 43 off 10) suffered the most when Parore went on the rampage at the end.Even given the bigger than expected task, Canterbury were never greatly troubled by the target – it was losing wickets that gave them problems. But in the end they had enough runs in hand to ensure a much-deserved century for their captain.Auckland weather, pitch (despite the occasional low ball that did not amuse McMillan), Outer Oval surroundings and crowd combined with the teams to ensure a second day of thoroughly entertaining cricket. This time Canterbury took the points, going home with nine from the northern raid, while Auckland were left to rue being on the wrong side of another ultra-close finish.

Peshawar, March 6: Speed merchant Shoaib Akhtar bowled with fire,hostility and venom to place Pakistan in a position of strengthagainst Sri Lanka at stumps on the second day of the second cricketTest at the Arbab Niaz Stadium here on Monday.The 25-year-old from Rawalpindi fired on all cylinders after WaqarYounis was ruled out of action because of a back problem. He finishedwith impressive figures of five for 75 on a track which had nothingmuch for the fast bowlers.Shoaib’s superlative performance saw Sri Lanka being bowled out for268 after having taken lunch at 179 for three. Pakistan consolidatedtheir position by reaching 67 for the loss of one wicket when stumpswere drawn for the day.Pakistan captain Saeed Anwar survived a very confident caught behindappeal off Muttiah Muralitharan to remain unbeaten on 37. His inningsis spiced with seven excellent boundaries. With him was YousufYouhana who was promoted to the No 3 slot to allow Aamir Sohail revertback to his original opening spot.Aamir, who was looking good, fell victim to the part-time off-spin ofMahela Jayawardena after scoring 22 off 62 balls.ShoaibAkhtar, who took his second five-wicket haul in 14 Tests,ripped the heart out of the Sri Lanka middle-order by claiming threewickets in a fiery third spell of 6-0-23-3.Sri Lankan top scorer Marvan Atapattu was also amongst Shoaib’svictims when the 30-year-old from Kalutara failed to keep ashort-pitched delivery away from the stumps and dragged it on afterscoring a cautious 75.The express fast bowler also accounted for Romesh Kaluwitharana,brilliantly caught by debutant wicket-keeper Atiq-uz-Zaman down theleg side, Pramodya Wickremasinghe, who fell for his third successiveduck in the series, and Muttiah Muralitharan.But Muralitharan celebrated his 50th Test in style by smashing threeboundaries and a pulled six off Abdur Razzaq in his enterprising13-ball 22 as Sri Lanka garnered an invaluable 45 runs for the lasttwo wickets.Interestingly, four out of five Shoaib’s victims found their stumpscastled which speaks volumes of the fast bowler’s controlled accuracyalong with some real quick stuff.It was chiefly because of Shoaib Akhtar’s brilliant performance thatPakistan came back strongly in the Test by claiming the last seven SriLankan wickets for 82 runs after the tourists had resumed this morningat 88 for two.The Pakistan captain, anticipating moisture in the wicket and deceivedby green patches on the centre of the pitch, had decided to field onSunday evening after the match had started four hours late because ofovernight rain. However, the wicket turned out to be batsmen’sfriendly.Shoaib was also playing his first match after recovering from a groininjury which had sidelined him from the Lahore one-dayer andRawalpindi Test which Sri Lanka won by two wickets to go 1-0 up in thethree-Test rubber. But barring a foot nail problem on Monday, heappeared fully recovered and is in top physical shape.Atapattu, who had two poor innings in the Rawalpindi Test after afantastic one-day series, was a model of concentration andapplication. He occupied the crease for 348 minutes. He faced 254balls and converted seven of them into sweetly-timed boundaries.He showed excellent footwork and played the ball on its merit. Heconcentrated more in nudging and pushing the ball around but didn’tspare an opportunity to punish anything lose.Atapattu was associated in two useful partnerships.For the third wicket with Aravinda de Silva, he added 64 runs. DeSilva, who started the day at 18, was adjudged leg before byEnglishman John Hampshire off Aamir Sohail when he failed to read anarm ball.For the fourth wicket, Atapattu put on 65 runs with Mahela Jayawardenawho threw away his wicket by playing an irresponsible shot. He triedto hit Aamir Sohail’s flighted delivery over Shahid Afridi’s head whowas fielding at cover. But he failed to get the required elevation asthe crowd favourite jumped in the air to take a good catch but not adifficult one.Aamir Sohail bowled to a teasing line and length to finish with twofor 24. Abdur Razzaq, whose figures were spoiled by Muralitharan endedup with two for 39 while Arshad Khan was not truly rewarded for his 45overs in which he conceded 70 runs and picked up the wicket ofTillekeratne Dilshan by beating the newcomer in the air.