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Shoaib Malik’s unbeaten 88 off 49 balls gave Sialkot a commanding victory over Lahore at the National Stadium in Karachi, and with it a place in the final of the Faysal Bank Twenty20 Cup.A couple of early wickets meant Sialkot got off to a slow start in their chase of Lahore’s 167, but Malik held his nerve and controlled the innings. He and Shahid Yousuf, who scored 49, dragged Sialkot out of the hole they were in after the lost both openers inside the first three overs. Malik was the aggressor in the 127-run partnership and he timed the ball sweetly while hitting nine fours and three sixes. He had to up the run-rate as the innings progressed but did so enough to reach the target in 18.5 overs.The day had started with Lahore getting everything right. They won the toss on a flat pitch and looked set to get to an imposing target after a flying start. Imran Farhat set the tone, smashing two off the first three balls of the match for four. He and Taufeeq Umar both played classy innings and Lahore’s fifty was up in just four overs.Sialkot looked frazzled in the field as Lahore looked like they were building a huge total. The fightback began in the ninth over when Malik trapped Taufeeq lbw for 33 off 20 balls. Malik then got rid of Farhat for 73 off 44 balls with an arm ball that went through the gate between bat and pad. Lahore’s innings crumbled with four run-outs hurting their chances of reaching a winning score. There was some resistance from Ali Azmat, who got 18 off 13, but Lahore could not even bat the whole 20 overs, and their middling total was not enough.Rawalpindi Rams crushed Peshawar Panthers by 77 runs in the second semi-final at the National Stadium to set up a summit clash against Sialkot Stallions.Rawalpindi’s bowlers ripped through Peshawar’s batting order, dismissing them for only 91 in 16 overs. Umar Amin bowled a terrific spell, taking 3 for 14 in four overs, while Hammad Azam picked up 3 for 21. Mohammad Rameez, who took 2 for 41, was the only Rawalpindi bowler to concede more than six runs an over.Peshawar never got going in the chase. Rafatullah Mohamand’s 33 off 26 balls at the top was their best individual score and the five batsmen after him failed to reach double figures, ending the game as a contest.Rawalpindi also did not have a powerful individual performance from their batsmen but there were several useful contributions, which helped them make 168 before they were dismissed with one ball to go. The top three gave the innings a quick start – Rawalpindi were 65 for 3 in 6.5 overs when Tahir Mughal fell – and 91 at the half-way stage. Amin then contributed 30, the best score, and Sohail Tanvir made 26 off 17 balls to ensure a competitive total.Zohaib Khan was the best of Peshawar’s bowlers, taking 3 for 36, while Nauman Habib and Noor-ul-Amin took two each.

Alan Butcher, Zimbabwe’s coach, singled out dropped catches as the reason for his team squandering their chance of being competitive in the latter stages of the Test against Pakistan. Zimbabwe dropped six catches in Pakistan’s first innings and conceded a lead of 54 runs, after they had scored an impressive 412 themselves.”Catching probably cost us a chance of winning,” Butcher said. “We had every reason to believe that we would get a first-innings lead.” Mohammad Hafeez, who was Pakistan’s only centurion, was dropped twice, while Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan and Umar Akmal were also put down. The bulk of the missed chances were relatively simple and Brendan Taylor said the team felt a general “frustration” at not taking their opportunities.They were less hard on themselves for the batting collapse in the second innings, which resulted in Pakistan being given a small target to chase. “On this wicket there was always potential for a collapse,” Butcher said. “[Saeed] Ajmal will cause better teams than ours some problems but we were disappointed to lose so many wickets to Hafeez in the second innings, because we thought he didn’t spin it that much.”Hafeez took four middle- and lower-order wickets after Ajmal had bagged three, with Aizaz Cheema chipping in with one. After slumping 69 for 8 on the fourth day, defeat appeared certain for Zimbabwe, but Tatenda Taibu’s stubborn half-century gave them slim hope of posting a defendable total. “We wanted to try and bat a session, bat some time out of the game and then chip away and build a lead,” Taylor said. “We knew anything could happen given their [Pakistan’s] history.”For a change, “anything” did not happen and Pakistan went on to record a routine victory. Zimbabwe lost by a smaller margin than the last time they played Pakistan – a 10-wicket defeat in Bulawayo in 2002 – and instead of dwell on the defeat they are opting to zone in on other aspects of their game as they look to rebuild a reputation in Test cricket.”There are a lot of positives to take out of this,” Taylor said “I wouldn’t say more than the Bangladesh game, but there are definitely positives. It was good to see us bat for 150 overs.” Butcher also lauded the first innings effort, in particular Tino Mawoyo’s maiden Test century. “Having an opening batsman bat through an innings was good.”Ajmal proved the major threat of the match, and tested Zimbabwe right through the first innings, even when the pitch had yet to show cracks. Butcher was pleased with the way Zimbabwe tried to withstand his assault. “We said if he is going to get a lot of wickets, then we will make him bowl a lot of overs for it and we made Ajmal bowl 50 overs to get his four wickets.”The Zimbabwe bowlers had a tough time on an unresponsive strip and Taylor thought, “The spinners worked hard together and showed good character,” while Butcher was impressed that, “having conceded so quickly at the start to have pulled it back was also good.”Zimbabwe’s inexperienced seam attack of Brian Vitori, Kyle Jarvis and Chris Mpofu took a pasting, managing only four wickets between them. Vitori, the nation’s wonderkid after his performances against Bangladesh, did not snag a single victim. “There were high hopes for him after Harare, he is hungry to learn,” Taylor said. “He has a great attitude and he will be back.”Butcher said the unhelpful surface will only aid Vitori’s development. “It took him a lot longer to find his length,” he said. “He has probably been brought back down to earth after his spectacular start but it was always going to happen.” While Vitori was expensive, Jarvis and Mpofu leaked a little less and Taylor said the pair could “hold their heads up high” for a brave showing.

ScorecardRory Hamilton-Brown’s rapid 78 set up Surrey’s successful run chase in the CB40 final at Lord’s•Getty Images

Rory Hamilton-Brown played a captain’s innings as Surrey signed off a successful season with silverware at Lord’s by claiming the Clydesdale Bank 40. In a season so blighted by the weather it was somewhat fitting that rain played a part with Surrey’s target reduced to 186 off 30 overs and they won with 15 balls to spare to leave Somerset as bridesmaids for the fifth time in two seasons.Surrey were equal with the Duckworth-Lewis target when rain arrived after 5.5 overs despite losing Jason Roy the ball before they went off. They resumed for another seven balls before the rain returned and from there on Surrey were always ahead of the game. When play resumed Somerset removed Tom Maynard to give them some hope, but Hamilton-Brown remained calm with 78 off 62 balls. Crucially, Hamilton-Brown had been dropped off the third ball of the innings when he pulled to midwicket but Murali Kartik spilled the chance. Defending 214, as they were at that point, Somerset had to take every chance.Then, as the innings approach the 20-over cut-off, which guaranteed a result before the reserve day, Nick Compton missed a chance to run out the Surrey captain although even then Somerset would have remained behind. Chris Schofield played an important hand in a 58-run stand until he fell to Alfonso Thomas and when Hamilton-Brown run out by a direct hit from Jos Buttler there was a hint of pressure.The running became frenetic but Somerset missed three opportunities to hit the stumps and the constant head-in-hands summed up their day as Zander de Bruyn, whose experience is vital in a young Surrey team, and Matthew Spriegel, one of the key players in the one-day side, finished the job. It meant Surrey had secured their first trophy since the 2003 Twenty20 Cup and first victory in a Lord’s final since 2001. The hard work of the last couple of seasons at The Oval is starting to bring rewards.Somerset, on the other hand, will continue to wonder what they have to do to break their trophy drought, although on this occasion the answer is fairly simple as they slumped to 79 for 5 having chosen to bat first. That they got as far as 214 was down to Buttler who produced a mature 86 off 72 balls to enhance an already formidable reputation. On what was another good day for young, English talent – following last night’s performance from Jonny Bairstow in the one-day international – Jade Dernbach bagged 4 for 30. Given that he and Buttler (along with Craig Kieswetter) made a late-night dash back from Cardiff they were commendable efforts.Somerset’s innings was a story of wasted starts as five batsmen fell between 10 and 16. Having been forced to field first, not their preferred method, Surrey stuck to their plan of opening with spin as Spriegel bowled the first over. Marcus Trescothick, playing with an injured ankle, managed a couple of boundaries but then ran past a delivery and was comfortably stumped. Somerset’s talisman was gone.Kieswetter, meanwhile, never looked settled during his 23-ball stay which ended with a big top edge and the short ball worked again when Peter Trego top-edged a flick to long leg and the power-hitting top order had been dispatched. James Hildreth played all over a delivery from Schofield as the spinners continued to play a key role, then Compton’s missed reverse sweep and Craig Meschede’s leading edge left Somerset 146 for 7.Buttler, though, was outstanding as he pushed his case for a spot on the one-day tour to India. His fifty came off 48 balls and as the innings drew to a close – and the batting Powerplay was taken – he started to expand his strokeplay as he uppercut Dernbach over third man for the first six of the innings. Somerset, however, needed more than one innings of substance. On Sunday night they board a plane for Hyderabad and the Champions League, but the domestic season ends with a host of familiar questions being asked.

ScorecardWhen Ravi Bopara was overlooked for the England team ahead of the first Test of the summer, it precipitated a sharp decline in his contributions for Essex. Some said it was disappointment; others said that he lacked the stomach for the fight at this level. Either way, with younger men – the likes of Taylor and Stokes – vying for England selection, it seems quite possible that Bopara will never add to those ten Test caps.On the evidence of this performance, that would be a shame. And a waste. Garon Park may be many miles – both geographically and figuratively – from the glamour and intensity of the international arena but, with his team under pressure and on a pitch that remains helpful to bowlers of all types, Bopara responded with a deeply impressive innings.True, the Leicestershire attack – worthy though it is – could not claim to be Test class. But this isn’t a Test pitch, either, and Bopara, for the second time in the match, has demonstrated a strong temperament and technique to withstand everything that has been thrown at him on a surface where no-one has flourished. He’s also shown discipline, patience and and, most importantly, earned his side a chance to win a game that had seemed to be sliding inexorably the way of their opponents.Beginning their second innings with a deficit of 58 runs, Essex had lost two men even before achieving parity. A third-wicket stand of 104 – easily the highest of the match – has given them hope, however, and suggests that Bopara, captaining Essex for the first time in theChampionship, may be the sort of character who thrives on responsibility. It was, tellingly, his highest score in his last ten first-class innings.There were few opportunities to demonstrate that easy timing that tends to enlighten any Bopara innings. Instead, he showed the virtues of placement, watchfulness and excellent judgement of which balls to play and which to leave. It was, in short, a mature performance.It wasn’t all about Bopara, though. Billy Godleman also impressed in compiling a patient 77. Watchful initially, Godleman developed from a period of quiet accumulation and finally unveiled a couple of pleasing drives and, when Henderson dropped short, pulled him over mid wicketfor six. To put his contribution in perspective, his was the highest score on this ground in the last nine first-class innings stretching back to 2009.Not all the Essex players showed such dedication to the cause. No-one in the English game can claim to have more talent than Owais Shah. Not Bell, not Pietersen and not Bopara. But talent is just one of the ingredients required for success and Shah doesn’t always show he hasthe requisite application.Here, after unveiling an outrageously good paddle for four off Henderson, he skipped down the wicket, attempted to play against the spin and was stumped. It would, I suppose, havelooked good had he connected but, in the circumstances, it was simply reckless. Indeed, at such moments, it’s not hard to see why Middlesex and the England selectors lost patience with him.Earlier 22-year-old legspinner Tom Craddock delivered a spell of 4 for 14 to wrap-up the Leicestershire first innings. Craddock is a talented cricketer who may well have a bright future in the game but, in truth, he was a bit flattered by those figures. Nathan Buck was caught at silly point after he hit a full toss onto his boot, while Henderson dragged a long hop to mid wicket.A better test of Craddock’s will surely come in the fourth innings of this game. As Essex’s only specialist spinner, he’ll be expected to play a significant role in winning his side the game. It’s a large responsibility for a fellow playing just his fourth first-class game.Leicestershire may come to rue not making more of their opportunity to establish a first innings lead. While batting was never easy, it was as if they couldn’t decide which method would serve them best: all out attack or dogged defence. In the end, they did a bit of both and a lotof neither.Crucially, James Taylor fell early. Unable to build on his reprieves the previous night, Taylor was caught at short leg as he squeezed one into the air off bat and pad. Though Wayne White and Josh Cobb made starts, they were both undone by a bit of seam movement from Essex’sband of medium-pacers, before Tom New, playing-on and Jigar Naik, playing down the wrong line, were dismissed by good Craddock deliveries.Leicestershire are not out of this game, however. The wicket of Godleman, chipping to mid on and Jaik Mickleburgh, bowled by the last delivery of the day from the deserving Nadeem Malik, has offered them hope and, if they can dismiss Bopara early on day three, they may yetface a chase of little more than 150.

James Taylor, the Leicestershire batsman, will captain England Lions in their four-day and one-day matches against Sri Lanka A next month. The squads include Scott Borthwick, the Durham legspinner, Nottinghamshire batsman Alex Hales while Ben Stokes, the Durham allrounder, is included for the one-day matches.Taylor takes over the Lions captaincy from James Hildreth who led them on the tour of West Indies and against Sri Lanka, at Derby, earlier this season. Taylor has already faced Sri Lanka A for Leicestershire and scored an unbeaten 168 in the recent four-day match with began their tour. When he faced the full Sri Lanka team in May he scored an excellent 76 in tough conditions.However, the really interesting selections are those players who haven’t appeared for the Lions before. Borthwick has moved ahead of Adil Rashid as a legspinning allrounder after taking 19 wickets at 30.57 in the County Championship along with scoring 348 runs at 38.66.Hales has impressed at the top of the order for Nottinghamshire and has made 592 runs in the Championship, including a career-best 184 along with 214 runs in the CB40 and 409 in the Friends Life t20 at a strike-rate of 149.81. The other new faces in the squads are Joe Root, the 20-year-old Yorkshire batsman, an interesting choice as he has yet to score a first-class hundred, and pace bowlers Jack Brooks and Stuart Meaker from Northamptonshire and Surrey respectively.Stokes, meanwhile, may already have played for England this season if it hadn’t been for an untimely broken finger after he began the summer in fine form. Overall he has 609 Championship runs included three hundreds – one a career-best 185 – and has chipped in with 17 wickets.It isn’t just fresh faces who make up the squads, however, with Ravi Bopara included in both parties and Steven Finn for the three one-day matches along with Warwickshire allrounder Chris Woakes who has played ODI and Twenty20 cricket for England.The four-day match takes place at Scarborough from August 2-5 with the three one-day games on August 12, 14, and 16 at New Road and Wantage Road.Four-day squad James Taylor (capt), Jonny Bairstow, Ravi Bopara, Scott Borthwick, Jack Brooks, Jade Dernbach, Alex Hales, James Harris, Craig Kieswetter, Stuart Meaker, Samit Patel, Joe Root.One-day squad James Taylor (capt), Jonny Bairstow, Ravi Bopara, Scott Borthwick, Danny Briggs, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, James Harris, Stuart Meaker, Chris Nash, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsChris Tremlett made the most of helpful conditions to claim a career-best•Getty Images

Chris Tremlett continued an impressive performance at his former home ground to claim a career-best 6 for 42 on a rain-hit second day to leave Sri Lanka 177 for 9 when the weather closed in again. That the visitors didn’t collapse completely was down to Prasanna Jayawardene’s fighting 43 and an unbeaten 33 from Dilhara Fernando at No. 9.As had been predicted from a few days out, heavy rain greeted players and fans on the second morning meaning no play until after lunch was possible. A brief window then allowed 23.2 overs before the rain returned to leave the ground resembling a lake by late afternoon. Tremlett made the most of the drier period to become the first player on the Rose Bowl honours board, but his success wasn’t shared by James Anderson and Stuart Broad who both endured a frustrating afternoon. There was a feeling that, despite Sri Lanka’s difficult position, England could have done better.Tremlett’s first wicket of the day was Thilan Samaraweera, who had already taken a blow on the thumb before edging a drive to gully where Kevin Pietersen, another former Hampshire player, took a regulation catch. That broke a determined 50-run stand for the fifth wicket and exposed Sri Lanka’s long tail as Thisara Perera showed he was nowhere near a Test No. 7.Tremlett gave him a real working over with the short ball and Perera could have gone from his third delivery when he top-edged towards fine leg where Jonathan Trott was slow to respond from the boundary. However, it only took Tremlett three more balls to strike when Perera edged a cross-batted swipe to Matt Prior who had to react quickly. Rangana Herath wasn’t in the mood for blocking, either, and played his shots before he fell to another top edge and this time Anderson settled under the catch at fine leg to give Tremlett his fifth.However, amid some poor application from the tourists, Prasanna fought hard for his team. He is as technically correct as any of Sri Lanka’s top order, which enabled him to survive the moving and bouncing ball by playing straight. His driving was especially impressive and he was denied a greater tally than five boundaries by a slow outfield.The game turned into one of those frustrating periods when the main batsman starts declining singles with tailenders for company and England resorted to trying to bounce out Prasanna. Broad couldn’t open his wicket tally, remaining the least effective of the pacemen, and was looking increasingly frustrated although some of the short-ball tactics employed were odd with the ball still swinging around.Given how hard he had worked against the quicks it was disappointing when Prasanna picked out deep midwicket in Graeme Swann’s first over but at least he went down in positive fashion. Fernando had provided Prasanna with solid support in their 41-run stand and showed far more determination than the two batsmen above him in the order. He kept the slips interested but also showed a deft touch when he late cut Anderson to third man, while the sight of Swann’s slower offerings brought a few more shots.Tremlett returned and claimed his sixth wicket, when Suranga Lakmal gloved a pull first ball, but despite a couple of huge swipes from Chanaka Welegedara he couldn’t quite finish off the innings before the looming rain started to fall. However, the forecast for the weekend is more promising and Sri Lanka’s low-scoring first innings at least means the match has progressed.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsDarren Sammy ripped through Pakistan’s top order in Providence•AFP

Dead-rubber syndrome struck with a vengeance in the fifth and final ODI at Providence, as Pakistan succumbed to a crushing ten-wicket victory at the hands of Lendl Simmons and Kirk Edwards, who built on a disciplined bowling effort on a slow and low surface to chase down a moderate target of 140 with more than 26 overs remaining. Simmons was once again the star of the batting display, as he followed up his vital half-century in Barbados with an unbeaten 77 from 73 balls, while Edwards played the supporting role to perfection with 40 not out from 71.The manner of West Indies’ victory was every bit as emphatic as the margin, as they romped past a distracted Pakistan team to record their second crushing victory against Test opposition in the space of two months, having routed Bangladesh with more than 37 overs to spare during the recent World Cup. Soon after that performance, however, West Indies themselves were crushed by 10 wickets by Pakistan in their Dhaka quarter-final, and so, having already lost the series with two games to spare, there was only a limited amount of succour to be had. Still, a win is a win, and for a young and remodelled outfit, it could prove vital for forging confidence in the weeks and months to come.For Pakistan, only Mohammad Hafeez produced a performance of any note. He continued his impressive run of form with an 83-ball 55, but the rest of the line-up succumbed meekly to a combination of seam and wrist-spin, as they were bundled out for 139 in 41.2 overs. Ravi Rampaul once again returned the outstanding analysis of 4 for 45, but it was the medium-pace of Darren Sammy, with 3 for 30 in ten overs, that carved open the top-order and laid the foundations for the win.Hafeez, who made an excellent 121 from 138 balls in Pakistan’s one-run D/L defeat in Barbados earlier in the week, took advantage of the chance to bat first by easing along to his 12th ODI half-century, and his fourth in the last six weeks. Having launched the innings with a first-ball pull for four off Rampaul, Hafeez added five more boundaries in reaching his half-century from 66 balls, but his was a lone hand as his colleagues came and went.First to fall was Taufeeq Umar, back in the side after sitting out the fourth ODI. He made a laboured 3 from 12 balls before snicking a length ball from Rampaul through to Carlton Baugh behind the stumps.Ahmed Shehzad proved to be even less fluent, as he ground along to 9 from 33 balls, including a solitary glanced boundary off the legspinner Anthony Martin, who took the new ball in his second ODI appearance. Sammy, however, double-bluffed him by calling the keeper up to the stumps and immediately sending down a bouncer. Shehzad took a wild swing, but under-edged the shot onto his stumps.At 48 for 2 it was already proving to be a one-man show, and Pakistan’s scorecard got even more lop-sided when Usman Salahuddin was nailed lbw on the sweep by Bishoo for 8, albeit to a shocker of a decision as the ball pitched way outside leg. One over later, Misbah-ul-Haq failed for the second match in succession, as Sammy tailed a wicked inswinger into his back pad, and this time there was little doubt about the lbw.Umar Akmal, restored to the team after a break in Barbados, reinvigorated the scoring with a towering swipe for six over long-off, but when Hafeez under-edged a cut onto his own stumps to hand Sammy his third wicket, the innings was in freefall at 93 for 5. Umar added one more boundary in a 27-ball 24 before falling in a similar fashion, dragging on to Rampaul as he attempted a glide to third man.Shahid Afridi has found some tame ways to get out in recent times, but he could do nothing about a brutal lifter that climbed from nowhere and flew through to Baugh, and three balls later Rampaul had his fourth as Wahab Riaz prodded loosely to slip. The wicketkeeper Mohammad Salman provided some resistance with an unbeaten 19 from 30 balls, including a fine cover drive as Rampaul over-pitched, but a brace of Dwayne Bravo lbws wrapped up the innings with more than eight overs to spare.West Indies’ run-chase was over in a flash. They eased along to 34 for 0 in six overs before the mid-match interval, and though each man survived a tough chance behind the wicket – Edwards on 6 and Simmons on 31 – the only real opportunity came when Edwards was sent back for a sharp single, only for an alert Mohammad Salman to whip off the bails having noticed that his bat was over the crease but still in the air. The third umpire decided that there was too much doubt to give the decision, and that was effectively that.

Match facts

Monday, May 9, Jaipur
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Shane Warne’s farewell song has begun•AFP

Big Picture

This will be the first game that Shane Warne will be playing at home after announcing his decision to retire from the IPL at the end of this season. The home crowd is likely to get behind their favourite captain. The first-leg of the home-and-away game was won by Chennai Super Kings in Chepauk. Jaipur have always enjoyed the home advantage but the dry and slow pitch at Sawai Mansingh should also suit Chennai’s spin-heavy attack.In Chennai, though Shadab Jakati starred, it was the seamers, Albie Morkel and Doug Bollinger, who did the job for the home team. It’s in the seam department that Chennai trump Rajasthan for both teams generally like to go in with a three-pronged spin attack. Jakati’s performance in the last game has added more teeth to the attack; Chennai would hope that Suraj Randiv can get more consistent. Chennai’s batting has become more potent since the arrival of Michael Hussey and Suresh Raina’s form has seen an upswing in the second half of the tournament.Rajasthan’s batting has been a hit-and-miss affair. If Shane Watson and Ross Taylor click, they can get a big score. Else, it comes down to Johan Botha and Ashok Menaria to push them to a competitive total. Rahul Dravid finally broke his habit of throwing away starts with a polished 66 against Chennai and Rajasthan would wish he can remain consistent from now on.

Form guide (most recent first)

Chennai: LWWWW (fourth in points table)
Rajasthan: LWWWL (fifth in points table)

Team talk

Will Chennai give another chance to Randiv? They like to play three spinners but Randiv has just taken six wickets in eight games at an economy rate of 7.68. While Jakati has improved in the last few games, Randiv has stagnated. The Jaipur pitch might give Randiv another chance at redemption. Chennai have another option in West Indies allrounder Dwayne Bravo, who arrived late on Sunday. Bravo made just 54 runs in the ODI series against Pakistan that West Indies lost 3-2 and picked up four wickets, but New Zealand allrounder and Chennai team-mate Scott Styris wrote on Twitter that Bravo had arrived “just in time for today’s match.”Stuart Binny hasn’t sparkled yet – he hasn’t batted or bowled much. Will Warne replace him this time?Predict the playing XIs for this match. Play ESPNcricinfo Team selector.

In the spotlight

Albie Morkel is a talent on the path of self-destruction. How else can you explain his absence from the South African national side in the ODIs? He is a free-scoring batsman who has often, in the IPL, impressed with the ball but always struggles to find consistency. With the skill-sets at his disposal, he should be a more regular feature in the national side. Will he find that elusive consistency?Rahul Dravid was one of the main batsmen for Bangalore in the previous editions. He provided stability and at times, even momentum. He has got off to starts this season but has failed to convert most of them. The previous game witnessed a turnaround. Can he carry on? This Rajasthan team needs him even more than Bangalore; they need someone who can allow Watson and Taylor to express themselves. It has to be the job of Dravid who can allow them to do it.

Prime numbers

• With an average of 54.70, Michael Hussey has the highest batting average in IPL history, ahead of Shaun Marsh’s 52.20. Johan Botha is a surprise third with 48.80, albeit he has played just 10 games
• Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma are at the top of the catches list in the IPL with 28 apiece.

The chatter

“We knew it was coming. He had to work very hard during off season to be in shape for IPL and has bowled really well. We will take his decision as positive and as a challenge.”

The Associate countries are confident of contesting the ICC’s decision to block their access to the 2015 World Cup after receiving advice from prominent sports lawyers. They plan on mobilising opinion ahead of the ICC’s meeting in June and have not ruled out the legal option.The ICC was roundly criticised by the non-Test-playing countries after the decision was announced on April 4, two days after the World Cup final, but having worked closely together since, the Associates are hopeful of a rethink. They sent a letter to the ICC outlining their case and the ICC has since announced it will revisit the issue during its board meeting in June.”The lack of response in those two weeks probably meant they realised they were defending the indefensible,” Warren Deutrom, Cricket Ireland’s CEO told ESPNcricinfo. “The ICC management are a very careful and expert bunch, and they will have done their homework. I know a lot of people have been telling us over the two weeks how strong our position would be if external remedies were necessary, although we don’t want to get to that stage, we want it to be the last resort.Richard Cox, the chief executive of the Royal Netherlands Cricket Board, explained how the Associate response has developed.”A number of the countries have been speaking about the manner of which we might approach the situation though our delegated ICC reps,” he told ESPNcricinfo’s Switch Hit show.”We’ve done a great deal of research over the last week, particularly Warren Deutrom of Ireland, had a lot of letters of support, and we’ve also had some experienced sports lawyers contacting us offering us help, examples of history and precedents for cases such as this.”On that basis we felt we were at least able to contest the decision around qualification and the opportunity to qualify which is what we’ve done. We’d like to have the opportunity to discuss the matter and for our representatives Neil Speight, Keith Oliver and Imran Khwaja to sit with people from officer and board level at the ICC to resolve it amicably.”Though a challenge through the courts remains a last resort, Cox hopes the pressure generated by the public response, alongside the backroom work being done by the Associate boards can lead to a change in thinking from the ICC before the June meeting.”Our thinking is to keep this matter on the table and high on people’s agendas, high on the media’s agenda,” he said. “Although June is a month away, if we can continue to work behind the scenes in the way we have over the last 10 days then who knows when it could be resolved. In an ideal world you’d want it resolved more quickly than June but if that’s what it takes to get everybody round the table than we’ll follow the proper course of action.”Netherlands were one of the stronger Associate sides during the recent World Cup and Cox believes that only greater exposure at international level will help them develop.”What it demonstrated to us was that with more experience at this level we’d be able to cope with the standard of cricket on a regular basis. So to get the news last was a real body blow not just for us but for any number of nations who aspire to play in a World Cup.”It was really a backwards step for us when they made that decision and that’s why we’ve taken our time to look at it carefully and go through the proper processes to contest the decision and get it overturned.”

There are no match tickets available. There are no hotel rooms vacant for the thousands flocking to Chandigarh from all over the world. The premiers of both India and Pakistan will be there to watch their men contest the second semi-finals of the World Cup. Add to those certainties one other: the Mohali pitch is bound to be batsmen-friendly. If sources are to be believed, then the fast bowlers will be more effective than spinners. “It is a good batting wicket. I don’t think it will turn much,” a Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) official said.History suggests that captains prefer to bat first on calling the coin right and both MS Dhoni and Shahid Afridi will do well to follow convention. It is better to bat first because the wicket tends to lose pace as the match goes on. But if there is heavy dew things could change. “A 280-plus total would be really difficult to chase,” the source said. Over the last five years, in the nine matches played at the ground the 300-run mark has been breached only twice. Incidentally, on the first occasion, Pakistan successfully chased India’s 321 in a day-night game, with Younis Khan’s 117 overshadowing Sachin Tendulkar’s 99.In the past five years, seven out of the nine matches have been won by the side batting first. Also, there were seven day-night matches with five won by the side batting first and only two by the chasing side. Wednesday’s semi-final would be the first match to be played under lights since November 2009 in Mohali.Of the 137 wickets taken in those nine matches, fast bowlers accounted for 105, while the spinners claimed just 29. Even though the seamers have predominantly controlled affairs here, slow bowlers like Harbhajan Singh, who relies on bounce, have always got good purchase from the Mohali pitch. At the same time the hard clay in the pitch tends to make the ball skid rather than spin, so a spinner like Afridi would do well to push the ball rather than spin it.Another talking point in the build-up to the match has been the dew. Over the last few days there has been heavy dew with the outfield being really wet till 10 pm. The curator will be taking measures like not watering the ground two days before the match and cutting the outfield really low but it would be difficult to eliminate the dew entirely. An essential factor for the dew to not spoil the evening would be the presence of the wind during the first half of the day. If it is windy during the day the dew will not be heavy, otherwise it will play affect team strategies.