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ScorecardAlarm bells are ringing amid the rubble for Lancashire after a disastrous start to theior championship title defence•Getty Images

Three defeats for Lancashire in the opening four matches of their title defence will have alarm bells sounding at Old Trafford, at least those that are wired up on this construction site of a ground.Five down overnight after only 15.2 overs, Lancashire at least managed to delay the inevitable by a session before succumbing to defeat against Nottinghamshire.Glen Chapple, the captain, much in the manner of a coalition politician, insists there is no need to panic, and that the collection of largely unsung talents that ended the county’s 77-year Championship drought is only a couple of out-of-form batsmen away from coming good again.”We have some players who are searching for form but it is the same lads who won so many games last season and we are still very competitive in the field,” Chapple said. “We need a couple more batters in form, and a bit more of a contribution from the tail, myself included. We have to remain level-headed; there is never any point in panicking. All you can do is believe in your players and I’m not disappointed in any of them, just the results.”Lancashire were not helped in this match by the hamstring injury that restricted Tom Smith’s contribution to three overs with the ball and two one-legged innings with the bat, nor by the injury and illness that disrupted James Anderson’s bowling schedule, but it was difficult to avoid musing on the question of how exactly they did come out best last year.Then again, Nottinghamshire asked similar questions of themselves at times last season as they failed to defend the 2010 Championship and are scratching their heads a little over how they have come to win three of their first five matches, particularly while managing to bank only one batting bonus point from a succession of poor first-innings scores.”We go away after the first day thinking we’re rubbish and by the end of the game are thinking we’re not too bad,” their director of cricket, Mick Newell, said on Friday evening. Chris Read, the captain, more or less echoed those thoughts.”I wish it wasn’t like that, or that they’d give us some points for second innings batting,” Read said. “That’s something we have to address. The wickets have not been particularly batsman-friendly but we have always got to grips with conditions as the game has gone on. We just need to adjust a little bit earlier and start posting some decent first-innings scores.”We have shown in all the games we have played that the addition of Michael Lumb and James Taylor has given us the capacity not only to score at a good rate but to graft when the situation arises.”Those qualities were key to Nottinghamshire’s improvement in the second innings, which contrasted typically with the first, when only Samit Patel managed to sustain the necessary application on a pitch on the realigned Old Trafford square that was both slow and prone to unpredictable variations in pace and bounce.Lumb, showing he is more than a short-game dasher, spent almost four-and-a-half hours making 69, Taylor two-and-a-quarter over his 46, showing particular resilience against the second new ball.The other factor was Andre Adams, who took 10 wickets in a match for the sixth time in his career, conceding only 50 runs in 30 overs overall. At nearly 37, he has honed his bowling technique to such a level of consistency that there are few bowlers on the circuit a batsman would be more keen to avoid.”He does it for us week-in, week-out,” Read said. “He puts the ball in areas that make the batsman uncomfortable, whether right-handed or left-handed. He is not a huge swinger of the ball but he moves it both ways and with the majority of his balls he will be looking to hit off stump. He is always modifying it and he seems to get better with age.”Adams took the first of the five wickets needed for Nottinghamshire to complete their win, trapping Gareth Cross leg before on the front foot. Stuart Broad, still looking a little rusty after his injury lay-off, had the stricken Smith, batting with a runner, caught off what was judged to be glove; Graeme Swann bowled Chapple when the Lancashire captain gave him the charge; and then Patel, his left-arm spin belatedly pressed into service, had James Anderson caught at slip and Simon Kerrigan at mid-on.Chapple’s surrender rather let down Luke Procter, the 23-year-old all-rounder, whose application was the main reason the result was not reached more quickly. He had offered good support to Chapple with the ball during the period in which Anderson could not bowl and his unbeaten 41 was a gutsy and disciplined effort.Of the England bowlers put through their paces, Swann looked in good order, accounting twice in the match for Ashwell Prince, Broad less so. Anderson, despite a bout of tonsilitis, still demonstrated what a class act he has become, bowling brilliantly without reward in the first innings, perversely picking up five when less consistent in the second.”It was a great effort by Jimmy,” Chapple said. “Even when he was really crook and had nothing in his legs he wanted to have a go. When his fever subsided he bowled superbly.”Read agreed that Broad, in his first match since a calf injury caused him to be sent home early from England’s tour of Sri Lanka, has room for improvement. “He is coming back from injury and it took him a little bit of time to get into the game but once he did he managed to swing the ball and come through at a reasonable pace,” Read said. “He showed that he is fit, that there is no reaction to the injury and I don’t think he is far off his best.”

Ambati Rayudu, the Mumbai Indians batsman, has been fined 100% of his match fee while Harshal Patel, the Royal Challengers Bangalore fast bowler, was docked 25% of his match earnings following a spat between the two after Mumbai Indians’ tense win at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Monday.Rayudu was punished for using obscene and abusive language towards Harshal immediately after Mumbai Indians hit the winning runs in the final over. Harshal reacted and both players had to be restrained. Harshal was fined for a Level 1 offence, for bringing the game into disrepute.Mumbai Indians captain Harbhajan Singh was also fined for maintaining a slow over-rate. They were found to be one over behind the required rate after allowances were taken into consideration. Harbhajan was fined $20,000 for his offence.Mumbai Indians in particular have been guilty of a few transgressions this IPL, aside from the latest events. In their match against Deccan Chargers in Visakhapatnam, Munaf Patel and Harbhajan were guilty of showing dissent towards the umpire, after the umpire had initially chosen not to refer an appeal to the third umpire. Munaf was fined 25% of his match fee while Harbhajan was warned.Munaf was guilty again in the game against Kings XI Punjab in Mumbai. He lost 50% of his match fee after making inappropriate gestures towards the batsman Nitin Saini, who had hit him for two fours.Rohit Sharma was reprimanded for kicking the stumps after his team’s nine-wicket loss to Royal Challengers last week at the Wankhede Stadium.

An unbeaten 75-run partnership between David Miller and Daryn Smit helped Dolphins beat Cape Cobras at Kingsmead. Chasing 121, Dolphins had a blip just after the Powerplay as they tumbled from a comfortable 44 for 1 to 49 for 3 within the space of 13 balls. However, Smit and Miller saw through a period of seven boundary-less overs before cutting loose to complete the chase with seven balls to spare. In their innings, Cape Cobras lost wickets at regular intervals and struggled to build any momentum. It was only in the last over of the innings, when Alistair Gray hit two sixes and a boundary in a 21-run over off Kyle Abbot, to set-up a run-a-ball target.Titans claimed a bonus-point win to jump to the second spot in the points-table with their eight-wicket win (D/L method) over Warriors at SuperSport Park. In a rain-affected game, Warriors had a quick start to their innings. Wayne Parnell, who hit four boundaries and a six in his 23, was the first batsman to be out after 35 runs had been scored off 3.5 overs. A brace of wickets in Alfonso Thomas’ next over and a further two in Albie Morkel’s second over derailed Warriors charge as they were reduced to 64 for 6 after 13.1 overs when the rains intervened. Chasing a readjusted target of 60 in 11 overs, Titans achieved their target in the eighth over.Impi‘s search for their first victory in the competition ended in disappointment as their game against table-toppers Lions was washed out at Willowmoore Park, Benoni. Luke Wright scored a 28-ball 45 as Impi raised 80 for the loss of four wickets in 11 overs but persistent rain led to a washout.Titans now host third-placed Knights for the qualifier on Sunday. The winner of the game will face Lions in the final on April 1.

A day after Australia lost their second ODI in a row – an “unacceptable” performance – Mickey Arthur, their coach, has said that fighting fatigue will be one of the bigger factors in the rest of the triangular series. Arthur said Ricky Ponting, standing in as captain in Michael Clarke’s injury-induced absence, was a bit jaded, too, after a long summer. Ponting has followed his double-century in Adelaide with ODI scores of 2, 1, 6 and 2, but Australia haven’t even been able to think about resting him because of Clarke’s injury.”It [fatigue] is going to be a factor, there’s no doubt about it,” Arthur said. “We’ve pushed the guys incredibly hard in terms of our intensity, and our expectation around them. Some guys are feeling the effects of that, but we know what the schedule is, we have to make sure we manage the boys correctly, and that we’ve got the guys up and firing come tomorrow.”Australia play the second part of their double-header on Sunday in Brisbane, with a portion of the middle day spent travelling from Sydney to Brisbane. The heat is on Ponting now, and Arthur admitted he faced a challenge. “If I have to be totally honest Ricky is a little bit jaded, like a couple of our Test players that have played all summer,” Arthur said, “but that is the treadmill of international cricket, and they have to find a way to make their performances count and have an impact on the team.”Why not, then, ask the vice-captain, David Warner, to lead the side? “We saw some huge potential in Dave, we want to grow him as a leader, he definitely has that potential,” Arthur said. “He’s not ready yet, and he knows that, and we’ve communicated that to him.”We brought Dave into the vice-captaincy position to be part of our leadership group, and to learn from Michael and I when we strategise our position. In terms of taking guys on the field right now, he’s not ready for that yet, and he understands that. I reckon he could be a great leader in a few years to come. You talk about succession planning, we need to find a leader, and he’s one of those guys on our radar.”Arthur expects Ponting to make the kind of comeback he did in Tests easlier in the summer. “Ricky is a class act, there is no way you can write off a champion like Ricky Ponting,” he said. “He faced those same issues around the first couple of Test matches, and he came through the Test series, had a great series against India, and I hope he turns it around tomorrow.”When asked if Ponting should quit, Arthur didn’t commit either way. “I’d like to see Ricky Ponting in our team all the time, but as I’ve said through the summer, every cricketer’s currency is performance, that’s what gets you into the Australian team,” he said. “A character like Ricky Ponting is someone you want around the team all the time because he’s so inspirational, he’s still our fittest player and hardest trainer, and he trains with the most intensity. He’s a fantastic example to every guy who comes into this team.”

New Zealand are “just ahead” of Zimbabwe at the end of the first day in Napier and will target a total of around 450, according to their captain Ross Taylor. On a pitch expected to offer assistance to the seamers, New Zealand lost only five wickets, building slowly at the start and then accumulating well to finish the day on 331.”It’s a pretty fast-scoring outfield and they [Zimbabwe] set some defensive fields. We’ll need to see through the new ball tomorrow morning, and if we are still batting after lunch, we’ll be around that 400-450 mark,” Ross Taylor, the New Zealand captain, said. “A score of 450 will probably not be enough [to bat once]. We’ll have to bowl them out for under 250 then.”Partnerships were crucial to New Zealand’s progress in the first two sessions. Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum put on 124 for the first wicket, New Zealand’s first century opening stand since November 2010. They set the tone for careful batting on a pitch McCullum said had a “bit of stickiness” early on. “We were pretty happy to get through that first session unscathed.”Zimbabwe hit back after tea with the quick wickets of McCullum and Dean Brownlie, leaving New Zealand on 196 for 4. “I was pretty devastated to get out when I did,” McCullum said. “I had done all the hard work and I needed to start again after tea. I just got a bit lazy on one ball and got found out”Taylor, however, ensured New Zealand did not slip too far by scoring an unbeaten century. It was his maiden hundred as Test captain and the first since March 2010. “Every captain wants to lead from the front and I want to score hundreds,” he said. “I’ve scored a lot of 50s and my conversion rate hasn’t been great.” Since taking over the leadership from Daniel Vettori, Taylor scored three half-centuries, two against Zimbabwe and one against Australia, before this innings.”On New Zealand wickets and even on Australian wickets, I find that if I am driving early on, I get myself into trouble,” Taylor said. “I tried to get myself in on the first 20 or 30 balls, and play off the back foot and cut as much as possible, and leave the driving until it was really full.”With Zimbabwe’s attack lacking an element of incisiveness, Taylor was allowed time to settle and build. His innings, and that of McCullum’s, helped ease concerns over New Zealand’s shift from the 20-over HRV Cup to Test cricket. “It certainly eased a few nerves about the change of pace from the 20-over game,” McCullum said. “It certainly wasn’t all glitz and glamour in the first couple of sessions but I thought we got the rewards in that last session.”Vettori’s quick 46-ball 38 “took the game away from Zimbabwe,” according to Taylor. Still, he did not believe Zimbabwe bowled badly and said New Zealand could do worse than follow Shingi Masakadza’s strategy of bowling on the McLean Park pitch. “He was the most consistent bowler out of their line-up. He bowled the right length on that wicket. If we can follow his lead, but just bring the line in closer to off stump or fourth stump, that will be the way to go.”With Taylor saying day three will probably be the best for batting, Zimbabwe need not despair yet. Taylor, however, said the balance could shift New Zealand’s way early on day two. “If we can string a good hour or two tomorrow, the game will be in our favour.”

India captain MS Dhoni has said the chances of him being available to defend India’s World Cup title in 2015 aren’t guaranteed, and that he will take a call two years prior to the tournament in Australia-New Zealand. Dhoni, who has been around since 2005, has been captaining India in all three formats, in addition to his role as wicketkeeper-batsman.”If you see 2015, three and a half years to go, I don’t really know where I will stand. Everything needs to go off well and then close to 2013, I will have to take a call whether I can be 100% available for the 2015 World Cup,” Dhoni told the news channel .”Because at the end of the day you don’t want a wicketkeeper part of the side who has not played at least 100-odd games – at least close to 80-100 games going into the World Cup. So that’s a call that needs to be taken. But if everything goes off well, 2013 end will be the time where we will have to carefully study the body and see what can be done.” Dhoni was speaking to after receiving the news channel’s Indian of the Year – Sports award for 2011.India’s packed schedule in recent years, with the IPL thrown in, has compelled Dhoni to prioritise and take adequate rest before important tours. This year, he skipped the one-dayers in the West Indies after an exhausting World Cup and the IPL, as well as West Indies’ return series (ODIs) in India which concluded recently. Parthiv Patel took over the gloves in both.Dhoni’s trophy cabinet in limited-overs cricket includes the World Cup, the 2007 World Twenty20, plus two IPL titles and the 2010 Twenty20 Champions League. The 2011 World Cup remains his most significant achievement till date, smashing an unbeaten 91 in a tense final against Sri Lanka in Mumbai, sealing the victory with a six.The normally phlegmatic Dhoni didn’t hide his emotions, as television cameras managed to capture scenes of several of his team-mates openly crying with joy. Reliving the moment, Dhoni admitted that he too cried, though away from the camera.”Yes I did (cry) you don’t really have footage of that,” Dhoni said. “It’s very difficult to control an emotion like that. I was controlling it, quickly. I wanted to go up to the dressing room and I see two of my players crying and running onto me. Fortunately, all of a sudden, I started crying and I looked up and there was a huddle around me.”It was one of the biggest things for us as Indian cricketers. The last time we won the proper 50-over version was 28 years back. So most of the people part of the side wanted to win the World Cup and as soon as we got into a position where we saw the World Cup coming into our dressing room, that was the time when emotions started to flow. If you see before the post-match presentation, almost each and every player cried.”Dhoni’s unconventional batting style, full of improvised strokes, has won him plenty of attention over the years. One of his patented strokes is the ‘helicopter shot’, which he sometimes employs to dig out yorker length deliveries, in which he twirls the bat above his head in the follow-through.He said it originated from his tennis-ball cricket days in Jharkhand.”We played on a 16-18 yard wicket with a tennis ball and most of the times the bowler tried to push in a yorker,” Dhoni said. “That was the kind of shot that you needed to hit it for a six because in tennis ball cricket, you don’t have to middle it. Even if you are using the bottom-most part of the bat, if you hit it quite well, it always goes over the boundary.”I think I became better. I never practiced it, I used it in the games. And not to forget, I’ve quite often hit my left ankle doing that. Over the years you get better and better and I’ve seen a few other people trying to copy it.”

Hashan Tillakaratne, the former Sri Lanka captain turned politician, has written to the ICC claiming there was political interference in the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) elections held on January 3, and that the elections had also violated the SLC’s constitution.Tillakaratne alleged the Sri Lanka government allowed a change of voting delegates at the last minute in order to ensure that votes were cast for a predetermined list of candidates, and that several of those who were elected were not qualified to hold office under the constitution.However, in an email to ESPNcricinfo, the ICC said they have “no knowledge of such a letter”.Tillakaratne’s comments echo those of Mohan de Silva, one of the opposing candidates for vice-president, whose group withdrew on the eve of the election in protest of what they saw as political interference.”Most of our member clubs and associations brought to our notice that there was undue pressure put on them to change the delegates [who would vote],” de Silva said at the time.A total of 147 votes were spread among the provincial and district cricket associations and the clubs. The election was held under the auspices of the Ministry of Sports, and supervised by the Director General of Sports, Ranjani Jayakody. In his letter, Hashan claimed that “the Director General of Sports instructed all clubs eligible to vote at the said elections to submit their list of delegates who will be attending on or before 12 noon on 19th December 2012. However, just three days before the election this list of delegates was mysteriously changed and several high ranking Government Ministers were renamed as delegates.”This was done to ensure that all the clubs that came within the said Ministers electorates or Districts would tow the ‘political line’.”In addition, Tillakaratne claimed that a number of contestants did not qualify under Article 11 (v) (f) of the SLC’s constitution, which states that any candidate for office must have served on the executive committee for a period of two years within the 15-year period immediately preceding the election.”When these objections were raised, the position taken by the Director General of Sports was that the Hon Minister of Sports could waive this requirement in the SLC Constitution,” Tillakaratne said. “However, it was then pointed out to the said Director General that the only exemption that the Minister could make in terms of the Sports Law and the Regulations thereunder is to permit a candidate who has not played first class cricket to contest for a post. The Minister had no power to waive any other requirement in the Constitution of SLC.”However, no inquiry was held and no decision taken with regard to these objections and these candidates who did not qualify in terms of the constitution of SLC were allowed to contest for appointment to these posts (and subsequently take up office).”According to Tillakaratne, the elections clearly violated the ICC’s articles, which seek to prevent governments from interfering in the administration of the sport. “Due to political interference the membership of SLC have been deprived of an opportunity to have free and fair elections.”Upali Dharmadasa was elected unopposed as president of SLC on January 3 in the board’s first election in seven years. Nishantha Ranatunga was voted in uncontested as secretary and Nuski Mohamed was elected treasurer. The only election to be contested was for the post of assistant treasurer, with Ajitha Pasqual winning comfortably. All those elected will serve a one-year term.Following the election, Jayakody denied there had been any pressure and said the delegates represented the views of clubs and therefore their individual preferences were not of any consequence. “The concerned parties can take necessary legal action,” she told reporters. “I held a fair election.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsNazimuddin’s batting on debut was the only positive for Bangladesh•AFP

Bangladesh crashed to their 35th innings defeat in 73 Tests, after Pakistan’s spinners ran circles through the middle and lower order on the fourth morning in Chittagong. The result seemed inevitable right from the first day, when the hosts put on a batting horror show to fold for 135 in their first innings. They made a better fist of things in the second dig, though the pitch had turned much more difficult after baking under the sun for three days. Their late defiance, however, only served to extend the game into its 11th session, before Pakistan completed their fifth win in nine Tests this year.That the hosts even survived until lunch was down to the opener Nazimuddin, whose approach contrasted sharply with the impatience of his top-order colleagues. He made 78 off 189 balls, taking his match tally on debut to 109, giving the hosts something to salvage from another shambolic Test match. Nazimuddin’s vigil was particularly impressive given the sheer quality of spinners he was facing. With the rough patches on the leg-stump area opening up finally, Saeed Ajmal was lethal from round the stumps, while Abdur Rehman produced drift and sharp turn with an attacking line. Together, they made short work of a line-up that lacked the technique to survive against a spin attack far superior to their own.

Smart stats

• The innings-and-184-run win is the second-highest victory margin for Pakistan against Bangladesh in Tests. The highest remains the innings and 264 run win in Multan in 2001. It is also the fourth-largest victory margin for Pakistan against any team.

• The innings defeat is Bangladesh’s 35th in Tests and their fourth against Pakistan. South Africa and Sri Lanka have beaten Bangladesh the most number of times by an innings (7).

• Pakistan’s win is their fifth of the year so far. Their only loss came against West Indies at Providence in May.

• Abdur Rehman’s four-wicket haul is his fourth in Tests and his second outside home. He now has 52 wickets in 11 Tests at 31.11.

• Nazimuddin’s 78 is the fifth-highest score by a Bangladesh batsman on debut. The record is held by Aminul Islam who scored 145 in Bangladesh’s first Test, against India in Dhaka in 2000.

The signs were ominous for Bangladesh from the moment Umar Gul got a ball to scoot low, just away from the stumps, in his opening over. Nazimiuddin nearly played on to Rehman, left balls that were uncomfortably close to off stump, and almost soft-batted a fizzing Ajmal offbreak back onto the wickets. He carried on, though, unfazed by the close misses, and was prepared to look ugly if he had to, unlike his trigger-happy team-mates.Shakib Al Hasan began with an expansive cover drive off Umar Gul for four, but fell after reaching 50, outdone by his perilous tendency to play back to the spinners. That gave Rehman his 50th Test wicket in 11 Tests, joint-fastest for a Pakistan spinner, along with Ajmal. Rehman should have had Mushfiqur Rahim in the same over, but umpire Billy Doctrove adjudged the lbw appeal in the batsman’s favour.Nazimuddin reached his 50 with a nurdle through midwicket, and summoned the confidence to hoist Ajmal over mid-on for four. Adnan Akmal helped him along with two drops behind the stumps, and Nazimuddin celebrated by spooning Rehman inside-out, and planting Ajmal over midwicket for sixes. Two more pleasing fours followed, and Misbah-ul-Haq – a defensive captain at the best of times – promptly pushed men back to long-off, square leg and midwicket. That didn’t stop Nazimuddin from another loft down the ground, and he grimaced in self-admonishment as soon as he played the shot, realising he had holed out to long-off.Mushfiqur hung on gamely, reading the spin variations from the crease, but Mahmudullah was owned by an Ajmal doosra that spun across to hit off stump. Pakistan had five more overs before lunch to bring an early close to the action, but Mushfiqur and Elias Sunny survived till the break. The final rites were administered soon after, with Rehman trapping Mushfiqur in front for 49, and Aizaz Cheema getting the ninth wicket with the second new ball. Rubel Hossain was unavailable to bat after injuring himself on the third day, but he wasn’t the only Bangladeshi who failed to turn up.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Younis Khan brought up his 18th Test ton•AFP

Pakistan gave yet another demonstration of how far they have progressed from their collapse-prone avatar of recent years by posting a solid 282 for 6 on the third day of the final Test in Sharjah. The three middle-order batsmen instrumental in providing steel to the Pakistan line-up over the past year all made substantial contributions on a track which was truer than expected. Younis Khan made the biggest impact by going on to his 18th Test century, Azhar Ali collected his sixth 50-plus score in five Tests and Misbah-ul-Haq helped himself to another laboriously crafted half-century.With the Pakistan openers dismissed on Friday, when the pitch was providing plenty of turn and bounce, Sri Lanka would have expected their bowlers to be a handful in the morning. Instead, they had the bad news that fast bowler Dhammika Prasad wouldn’t bowl in the match due to a thigh strain. The other medium-pacers Chanaka Welegedara and Kosala Kulasekara bowled at a gentle pace, and got some movement to induce a few plays-and-misses from the batsmen but weren’t able to prise out a wicket.Every time they strayed, Pakistan’s batsmen capitalised. It was one of those loose deliveries that helped Pakistan end a series of nine successive maidens as Azhar slashed a short and wide ball from Kulasekara past cover to get Pakistan going in the morning. Most of his six boundaries came when the quicks either drifted on to the pads or provided him plenty of width.After their slow start, Azhar and Younis stepped up the pace to put together one of the most productive batting sessions of the Test. Younis consumed 30 deliveries before getting off the mark, but was full of positive intent after that. There was no better sign of his growing confidence than his big grin after muscling Rangana Herath for a one-bounce four over extra cover midway through the morning session. His innings showcased his mastery of the sweep shot – the paddle sweep, the slog-sweep and the reverse-sweep were all used effectively against the spinners.The second session began with Herath bowling well outside leg stump, trying to get some turn out of the rough. That did produce a leading edge off Younis, but there were no major alarms and the tactic only helped to stifle the runs. Kulasekara, forced off the field in the morning due to a bloodied thumb after a botched fielding effort, returned to produce the breakthrough Sri Lanka were desperately seeking, getting a ball to snake in sharply to beat Azhar’s bat and crash into off stump.

Smart stats

• Younis Khan’s century is his fifth against Sri Lanka. This brings him level with Inzamam-ul-Haq as the Pakistan batsman with the most centuries against Sri Lanka.

• The 100-run stand between Younis and Misbah-ul-Haq is the sixth century stand for the pair in their last eight partnerships. They have now aggregated 937 runs in 14 partnerships at an average of 78.08.

• Misbah’s half-century is his 13th in Tests, to go with three centuries. In his last 16 innings, he has scored 841 runs at an average of 84.10.

• The century is also Younis Khan’s third at a neutral venue. This is a record for the most centuries scored by a batsman at neutral venues.

• The 98-run stand between Younis and Azhar Ali is the third-highest third-wicket stand for Pakistan in neutral Tests. The pair has been involved in three of the top four third-wicket stands at neutral venues.

That brought in Misbah-ul-Haq, who was extremely watchful, even by his own leisurely standards, laboriously making his way to 2 off 52 deliveries. Younis, though, showed he couldn’t be restrained, sashaying down the track to launch Herath over long-on for a boundary. Even though Misbah was in his shell, Younis produced the most profitable over of the day for Pakistan, paddling Suraj Randiv from outside off for four, before clubbing him over deep square leg for a six. His only moment of concern in the session was when he was hit on the helmet by a throw from mid-off as he completed a tight single.It was a race against the clock to reach his century before tea, and he managed to get there in the final over of the session, pushing the ball to cover to zip through for a single. He continued to be aggressive against the spinners after reaching his hundred, but the second new ball accounted for him. The first delivery after the ball was changed bent in sharply, beating his bat and taking off stump.By then, Misbah was being a bit more expansive, and he guided Pakistan towards stumps. Asad Shafiq hit a couple of boundaries in an otherwise watchful innings that ended on 16 when he feathered Welegedara to the keeper.The two relatively quick wickets perked up Sri Lanka, and they almost had the crucial one of Misbah as well soon after when he attempted a swipe to midwicket. That resulted in a top-edge which flew over the slips and Misbah survived. Adnan Akmal, though, couldn’t make it to stumps as he was undone by Herath, who got the ball to hold its line after the previous delivery had spun away. Adnan didn’t read it and was trapped lbw.Despite those late wickets, it was a satisfying day for Pakistan as they bettered their chances of averting defeat, and winning the series – the sort of news their fans await after a dark week for Pakistan cricket.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outLasith Malinga’s late surge with the bat outdid Michael Hussey’s solid knock earlier in the day•AFP

It is not raining, it is absolutely pouring for MS Dhoni. On a night that everything was going to script for Dhoni’s side – the toss was won on a slow track, Michael Hussey had scored 81 to set up a more-than-competitive total, the slower bowlers had choked the Mumbai Indians innings off, Dhoni had himself pulled off two good stumpings and a dodgy catch – he missed a fairly simple chance to stump Lasith Malinga. Malinga had come in to bat with 53 required in 4.4 overs with three wickets in hand, but with nothing to lose he swung hard. When he connected clean he hit sixes, when he edged he got fours, when he missed he got byes. With 37 off 18, he completed an improbable win with one ball to go.It was a classical Twenty20 case of four overs outweighing the hard work done over 36 overs. It all began with the profusely sweating Hussey. He had lost four kilos over September 16 and 17 in Colombo when scoring the century that earned him the third of three Man-of-the-Match awards in the three-Test series. A week later, in similar humid conditions but a completely different format, he seemed like he had never stopped playing Indian leagues on slow and low pitches.Seamlessly he went from playing dabs and nudges for ones and twos to pulling out the big hits, helping Chennai double their 12-over score of 79. He even got the better of Malinga, scoring 13 off the bowler’s third over, but Malinga came back well to concede just eight of his last. Little did Malinga know then that he would be doing similar things with the bat at a similar stage of the next innings.Mumbai’s openers knew a majority of their scoring would have to be done against the hard ball, and came out swinging accordingly. However, the approach was not going to work against the spinners. Hussey played 22 dots in his innings of 81; Aiden Blizzard, though he hit attractive shots, failed to score off ten balls in his 28. R Ashwin came on to accentuate the dots. Almost inevitably he got Jacobs stumped down the leg side. Dhoni’s no-reverse-follow-through stumping worked a treat here.Dhoni introduced Raina before the specialist spinner, Shadab Jakati, and was rewarded with another stumping to send T Suman back. That followed a low catch to dismiss Ambati Rayudu, a piece of action that didn’t meet the scrutiny it deserved. Once again it was all down to Pollard, who flattered, promised, and as has so often happened, deceived by top-edging a slower one from Albie Morkel. Then came Malinga.He began with a pulled four off Morkel, but his innings reached a crescendo when he hit successive deliveries from Jakati for near-parallel straight sixes into both dugouts. Chennai were not panicking quite yet. Later in the over Malinga ran past a flat one from Jakati. This time Dhoni had enough time to collect it cleanly, but his instinctive no-reverse-follow-through method caused the ball to spill. He rarely misses those. He did today with 31 still required off three overs.In the next over Malinga edged a Bollinger yorker fine for four. The curse of the batsmen with nothing to lose was working. Bollinger came back with four slower deliveries that went for just one run. Morkel tried slower balls too, but bowled two of them wide. The one quick one he bowled Malinga sent for another flat six over long-off. Still at 13 required off seven, Chennai were the favourites.Morkel finished his night deceiving Malinga with a slower ball. The ball bounced halfway through to Dhoni, took a vicious bad bounce towards his face, and went for two byes. The second delivery of the last over Malinga absolutely slapped with no idea where he was hitting. It went flying over point for four, and Mumbai were now the favourites with six required off four. Captain Harbhajan Singh provided the finishing touches with a clipped four off a slower one and a single off the fifth ball of the over.