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ScorecardFile photo: Gary Wilson stroked a 33-ball 45 to lead Ireland’s small chase•ICC/Sportsfile

Fourteen wickets fell and only 189 runs were scored in Townsville, with Ireland powering past Papua New Guinea by five wickets. PNG, after being inserted, lost wickets right from the off and struggled to string together even a single meaningful stand, as Craig Young, Andy McBrine and Kevin O’Brien all struck at regular intervals. Only three players managed single-digit scores, and just six boundaries were scored throughout the entire innings, as PNG limped to 92 for 9.Ireland did not make the most convincing start to the chase, losing three wickets inside four overs, but Gary Wilson (45) and O’Brien’s 53-run stand put the team back on track. Ireland eventually got home in the 13th over, with 47 deliveries to spare. Norman Vanua was the pick of the PNG bowlers, collecting 3 for 26.

WAPDA sitting prettySalman Butt’s Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) are in prime position to reach the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final, becoming the only side in the competition to win both Super Eight games, and opening up a ten-point lead in their group. Batting first against United Bank Limited (UBL), they posted 243 and conceded a 32-run lead to UBL, for whom Mohammad Nawaz, who has had an indifferent tournament with both bat and ball, marked a return to form with 88, while Umar Siddiq score 67.Butt took charge in the second innings, top-scoring with 66, but lack of support from his teammates meant WAPDA could only set UBL 189 to chase. As it turned out, that was more than enough for the WAPDA bowlers, particularly Waqas Maqsood and Zahid Mansoor, who took four wickets each as HBL succumbed for 131, virtually guaranteeing their opponents a final berth.Runfest or bowlers’ paradise?The game of the round took place between a Mohammad Hafeez-led SNGPL and Usman Salahuddin’s Lahore Whites. SNGPL scored a near-impregnable 411 in their first innings, thanks to a century from Khurram Shehzad, with Iftikhar Ahmed posting 87 and Asad Shafiq chipping in with 59. Lahore Whites responded relatively solidly, an unbeaten 96 from Mohammad Mohsin and half-centuries from captain Salahuddin and Hamza Akbar helping them to 344.Trailing by 67, the Whites needed to dismiss their opponents quickly. Their bowlers seemed well aware of what was required, taking just 36 overs to send SNGPL packing for 93, 39 unbeaten runs coming from Hussain Talat. A target of 161 gave the Whites a shot, but their batsmen, too, looked to have caught the bug afflicting SNGPL. It took just 29 overs for SNGPL to skittle them out for 88, with Mohammad Abbas taking five wickets to put his side two points clear at the top of Group 1.HBL cruiseSalman Afridi carried his bat in the first innings for Habib Bank Limited (HBL) to set up a comfortable seven-wicket win. HBL scored 252, before their bowlers blew away Lahore Blues for 68, Umar Gul taking five wickets and forcing Saad Nasim’s side to follow on. They did put on a vastly improved show in the second innings, Nasim himself top-scoring with 60, but the damage had already been done. They could only set HBL 93 to win, which they achieved comfortably for the loss of three wickets to leapfrog the Blues to second position in the table.Fawad watch Fawad Alam’s side did win by six wickets, but he missed out on the opportunity to bolster his credentials for an international recall, scoring a duck in the first innings. He did hit the winning runs for his side, however, finishing the second innings unbeaten on 19 as SSGC chased down KRL’s target of 182 to keep his side in with an outside chance of qualifying for the final.

The ICC’s Future Tours Program (FTP) remains paramount for the Indian Premier League, Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman and commissioner, has told Cricinfo. Modi also reiterated the IPL would strictly follow the two-year freeze on players post their retirement, to prevent a rush of active cricketers towards the financially lucrative Twenty20 league.”The IPL is here to stay and I am sure it is in everyone’s interest that it carves its own place. That does not mean we will play less bilateral cricket. We will all continue to fulfill our commitments to the Future Tours Programme …[which is] the most important for all countries and most definitely for the BCCI,” Modi said. He also made the point that, in most countries, the season ends by March.There is also a concern that the IPL’s economy is on a completely different scale to traditional cricket economies, an imbalance that could harm the game. Modi indicated that the IPL was aimed at protecting cricket’s primary position on the subcontinent. “As far as scale is concerned India already has the largest market or appetite for cricket. The IPL will further ensure there is little erosion of support for cricket. Other sports like football have been slowly trying to make inroads, through the English Premier League. We think the IPL will help put a stop to that.”He also downplayed fears, most recently expressed by Australia captain Ricky Ponting, that the IPL would lure experienced cricketers into an early retirement by saying the onus would be on the player’s home board. “Even two years after his retirement, the player still needs an NOC [No Objection Certificate] from his home board. Only then will we take him. Our objective is to have players who currently or in the future are playing for their country. So we will always work with other boards to ensure that we are all on the same page.”And with just five days to go for the players’ auction in Mumbai, Modi addressed fears expressed by some of the eight franchises by saying they would be kept in the loop at every stage of the IPL’s decision-making process. “We need to work with them [franchises]. It’s with their success that we will achieve ours. It’s not us against them or them against us. We are all on the same side. We will ensure we work with our partners and that’s what my job is.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsBJ Watling claimed his 100th dismissal and was part of all four wickets New Zealand took•AFP

Where runs had flowed and wickets tumbled as a result of New Zealand’s assertive batting approach on the first day, the cricket was played at a slower pace on the second at University Oval, but was no less intense. The change in tempo was brought about by a battle of patience between New Zealand’s attack, which moved the ball in both directions from accurate lines and lengths, and two Sri Lankan top-order batsmen determined to cut out risk. At stumps, Brendom McCullum’s team had edged ahead on the day, consolidating their advantage in the match.Sri Lanka lost Kusal Mendis, playing his second Test, and the debutant Udara Jayasundera early to inexperience in alien conditions, but their relatively older hands Dimuth Karunaratne and Dinesh Chandimal – both playing their 24th Tests – had kept New Zealand wicketless in the second session. Their partnership spanned 48.5 overs but produced only 122 runs, because for large swathes of time they were given extremely few hittable balls. Sri Lanka had only 17 fours in the day – New Zealand had that many in their first 23 overs – and though Chandimal finished unbeaten on 83, the fall of Karunaratne and Angelo Mathews in the final session left the lower order with a lot to do.That Karunaratne got as far as 84 was because of a little luck and a lot of skill in the morning. In the first over of the innings, he left his bat raised while ducking a bouncer from Trent Boult, the ball pinging off the periscope over the wicketkeeper’s head. In the third, he edged consecutive outswingers but crucially played with soft hands so the catches did not carry to first slip.Mendis, however, did not use soft hands and a delivery from Boult slanted away from the right-hander and took the edge through to BJ Watling, who collected his 100th dismissal and the first of four catches in the innings.Tim Southee tested Karunaratne with two consecutive yorkers that hooped into the left-hander and homed in on his boot. Karunaratne inside-edged the first on to his pad, and blocked out the second confidently. Jayasundera also got a similar delivery as his first ball in Test cricket and survived.Jayasundera scored his first run by tucking Boult off his pads, but did not make another. He had watched Karunaratne slash a wide ball from Neil Wagner over the slips for four, but when he reached out to cut, he only managed a toe end to Watling.Boult’s first spell read 6-2-16-1 and Southee’s 5-1-6-0. That pressure was maintained by Doug Bracewell, who conceded only five runs in four overs before lunch.The scoring stayed slow after the break, the difference being the growing assuredness of Sri Lanka’s batsmen. Runs came via compact punches, dabs and crisp flicks off the pads – nothing extravagant. Karunaratne played the pull confidently, getting on top of the bounce and rolling his wrists to keep the ball down. With the ball not doing much for the seamers, McCullum brought on Mitchell Santner in the 30th over and the left-arm spinner was economical as well, conceding only 12 runs in his first ten overs. Sri Lanka made only 24 runs in the first hour after lunch.After 80 deliveries of restraint, Chandimal attacked, charging Santner and aiming a heave down the ground. The outside edge flew over slip. Two balls later he cut Santner for his first boundary. Karunaratne began to score more freely towards tea, thumping consecutive half-volleys from Wagner to the long-on and straight boundaries, and glancing a rare poor ball from Bracewell off his pads as well. The slight loosening of New Zealand’s purse strings was reward for diligent batting.Wagner was the weak link in the New Zealand attack, and in the first hour of the final session his economy was touching five an over while the innings run rate was around two. He bowled too full and was driven often by Karunaratne and Chandimal through the off side and down the ground. With his seamers ineffective despite the ball showing a tendency to reverse – Boult’s pace was down between 125-130kph – McCullum gave it to Santner.The wicket came against the run of play, when Karunaratne went back to cut a rather cut-able ball but edged it to Watling. Sri Lanka were still trailing by 280 but their captain took only two runs off that deficit: Angelo Mathews was caught down the leg side off Southee, the not-out decision on the field overturned by the faintest of Hot-Spots.Chandimal had got to his 50 off 143 deliveries with three boundaries, but he was less conservative in the final session, striking six more fours after raising his half-century. For company, he had the last specialist batsman Kithuruwan Vithanage, whose hard but airborne drive had been put down by Kane Williamson at short cover.Sri Lanka were 234 runs behind with six wickets in hand at the end of the day, and they will have to face the danger of a ball that is only an over old on the third morning.

Stumps The Bay of Plenty lived up to its name but only for New Zealand. Devon Conway and Tom Latham harvested a century each and by that time they were having so much fun they would barely let anybody else play.West Indies could argue that was a bit rude. They were in Mount Maunganui looking for rich bounty as well. A first Test win on these shores for 30 years, which if secured would hand them a share of this series’ spoils. All of that cast them in the role of a protagonist at the start of the day. But as time wore on and records – both trivial and tumultuous – came to pass, Roston Chase and his men faded into the background.Each of the five previous Test matches at this ground have yielded a wicket in its first session. This one didn’t. Kane Williamson, so used to an early start at the office, had to wait the longest he ever has to clock in. So restless had he grown that at the start of the final session, he was seen wearing all his gear barring the helmet practicing a rapid-fire series of leaves and blocks. There will be reels. Split-screens with Latham and Conway facing real cricket balls out in the middle and this guy just pretending to do so with a caption of who did it better. The answer is actually Terry Jarvis and Glenn Turner.Tom Latham brought up his 15th Test century without taking any risks•Getty Images

Latham had a big part in the history he helped make. Over 25 home Tests, dating all the way back to March 2012, New Zealand have only ever chosen to bowl after winning the toss. Here, he had a hunch about putting runs on the board. Outside of that one bold move, everything else he did was basic. Playing close to the body. Knowing exactly where his off stump was. Frustrating the bowlers to target his pads. Manufacturing easy put-aways. Latham’s 15th Test century – where he went past 6000 runs as an opener – was proof that fairy tales aren’t the only things that can come to life. Textbooks do too. It took all the way to 6.30pm for Latham to fall on 137. Test cricket was so close to having a fifth opening pair lasting the entire first day.Conway played himself into form. Twenty-six of his last 39 innings were cut short at or below the 30-run mark, which isn’t ideal considering his role at the top of the order is to set the whole team up. Given he was walking out onto a pitch with an unusual amount of grass – 13mm, normally it’s around 7-10mm – there was cause for concern. He put them all to bed, weathering an initial period where West Indies were willing to give up only 11 runs in eight overs. He instigated the first period of New Zealand dominance, the six overs to morning drinks where they scored a-run-a-ball. He went on to bat for longer than he has ever done since his double-century on debut at Lord’s four years ago.The only way any of this could have been worse for West Indies was if they had brought it all on themselves, and only the finest line separated that from what actually happened. Because they got what they wanted at the toss. First use of a surface that looked like it had been left in the care of a kindergartener with a green crayon. The bowlers, though, didn’t make the best use of it.Tom Latham nicked one behind to Tevin Imlach when on 104 and was dropped•Getty Images

Their third seamer, Anderson Phillip, started with a spell of 3-0-25-0, and as hard as he tried to improve – creating a rare wicket-taking opportunity when Latham nicked one behind to the keeper on 104 and was dropped – he still went to stumps with 14-2-71-0. It was symptomatic of a bowling attack that still produced jaffas – and might feel aggrieved none of them yielded any joy – but didn’t have it in them to back it up; to hit the good length spot consistently, test the batter’s discipline and search for vulnerability.Indeed, at the start of the second session, New Zealand had a harder time not scoring boundaries, five of them coming their way in the space of 12 balls. A small spell of rain offered West Indies the chance to regroup and they appeared willing to take it, Jayden Seales adopting the method of local hero Neil Wagner and going short for a concerted period of time. Conway wore one on the left hand, needed medical attention, and at the start of the 52nd over, he was overheard on the stump mic asking the umpire about the time for tea. He was in need of reprieve. Seconds later, Chase lobbed up a long hop that he pulled away for four. West Indies kept undoing their own good work. Often immediately.This was no batting paradise. Nor was it ever a fast bowler’s dream. Spinners took two-thirds of the wickets in the most recent first-class game in Mount Maunganui. It is with that in mind that New Zealand brought Ajaz Patel into the XI and backed themselves to put up a big total.Conway has led them there – batting through cramp, batting one-handed and eventually hitting that rarefied place where he was just batting on instinct, reacting perfectly even to things like extra and low bounce – but things could have been so different if West Indies had shown a little more discipline. Now their batters have to pick up the slack.

Cricketers talk of picking up habits. Batsmen make sure they remember their feet movements and bowlers talk of repeating their delivery motion. A minor alteration here, a slight variation there could be the difference between a poor day and a great one. Dale Steyn has picked up a fine habit over the last year: snapping up Man-of-the-Series awards with dangerous regularity.When someone gets one Man-of-the-Series prize, it’s time to take note; three in a row is pushing things to the extreme. When West Indies and New Zealand don’t figure you out, Bangladesh really don’t stand much of a chance. Pakistan were in some trouble too and a few more wickets there could have brought another such award. Surely thisisn’t just about speed; it’s about deadly effectiveness.”Once you find the recipe for success it’s best to stick to it,” Steyn said ahead of the first Test. “So I won’t be changing much. It’s worked so far, so hopefully I can take that form into this Test match and the whole tour.”The ‘recipe’ has been so successful that he’s stormed ahead of several South African bowlers, snapping up 100 wickets in just 20 Tests. He reached the mark two Tests quicker than legends like Hugh Tayfield and Allan Donald and left Neil Adcock, Andre Nel and the two Pollocks – Shaun and Peter – also behind.South Africa will be expected to use Steyn, Makhaya Ntini and Morne Morkel to hit the deck hard while Jacques Kallis and Paul Harris employ more restrictive methods. Styen, though, will be the chief weapon, expected to do the penetrative job.What Steyn may soon discover, though, is the quality of batsmen he’s up against. The line-ups he’s destroyed are no pushovers but this batting order could be a different proposition. “The Indians have a good side,” he said. “We will do our video analysis and find the flaws and weaknesses in their batting and bowl accordingly. I’m not going to look at how good their batsmen are or at a particular batsman, I’m going to bowl to their weaknesses. I’ll just take it one batsman at a time.”The muggy weather in Chennai will force him to stick to short bursts but Steyn insisted there would be no pressure to pick up wickets in every spell. “Depending on the day, you could possibly get in 8-10 overs in a spell,” he said. “But we’ll be looking to keep it short and sharp and keep the bowlers fresh.”That’s been the beautiful thing about the season so far. Graeme [Smith] has never put me under any pressure. I’ve been given the ball to do a job and I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to do it. We’ve got Morne [Morkel], Makhaya [Ntini] and others who can take five-fors and bowl teams out, and I get the freedom to run in and take wickets. I’ve been given the freedom in this series too, to run in and bowl sharp, short spells and hopefully I can carry my form into this series. But if not, there are others who can do the job.”Quick and straight, Steyn has shown the ability to hover around the 150kph mark but his priority, unlike a few other fast bowlers, isn’t related to the speed gun. “Polly and [Glenn] McGrath have shown that you don’t really need to have speed to become the world’s best bowler,” he said. “But it’s a good asset to have. Pace is something that doesn’t come around too often and India have found someone in [Ishant] Sharma and we have the potential in guys like Morne and myself. Again it’s where you bowl the ball that counts. It’s good to have pace but you have to take what McGrath and Polly did and hopefully add a bit of pace to it.”Has he spoken to anyone about what it takes to be successful in India? “I’ve toured with Polly in the past, there’s Graeme and we’ve got [Mark] Boucher behind the stumps who has kept to some of the best bowlers in different conditions. We all talk in the nets. The best people to speak to are probably the batsmen because they can tell you what the most difficult thing to face is. I’m privileged to have these experienced guys standing at slips or behind the wicket to me and they’re shouting something to me in Afrikaans every ball.”

The run-up to Thursday’s Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League match between arch-rivals Abahani Limited and Mohammedan Sporting Club in Mirpur has been marked by a lack of buzz, unlike the excitement seen between the 1980s and the early 2000s.There is little interest around the match even in the vicinity of the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, the venue for the game, a far cry from the frenzied atmosphere that would mark such derby days before Bangladesh became a Test-playing nation. The match has drawn large crowds in the past but the advent of international cricket since the 2000s has affected interest around it.Abahani captain Tamim Iqbal, however, has stressed that the contest was highly regarded by players on both sides. He hoped the traditional rivalry could bring out the best in his underperforming team as they take on table-toppers Mohammedan. Abahani are sixth on the table with three wins in five matches, while Mohammedan have four wins in as many games.”We all have that feeling among us that we are playing Mohammedan tomorrow,” Tamim said. “I am also sure it is the same for the Mohammedan players as well, that they are taking on Abahani. There’s that relishing prospect among the fans as well, so it all amounts to a challenge. We will definitely take it positively. We have to play much better cricket as a team. We have won three out of five games so we know we haven’t played our best cricket.”The erosion of player loyalty to a particular club has also taken away some of the sheen from the Dhaka league, specially after the draft system this season in which only clubs had the choice of picking players.Tamim also acknowledged the issue, comparing it to the experiences of former Bangladesh batsmen Minhajul Abedin and Akram Khan who played for Mohammedan and Abahani respectively for close to a decade.”The draft system is the main reason why players can’t decide which club they want to play for,” he said. “It is a fact that if I play for a club for five years, I will develop a feel for it.”I am sure that Akram uncle or Nannu bhai felt that way as they played in a club for 10-15 years, but both sets of players today are aware of the club they are representing.”Tamim said that the players were aware of the history between the two clubs, which also extends to football and hockey.”We know the importance of these traditional clubs and the fact that there is also history between each other,” he said. “There’s extra importance to this contest for the officials, media and fans too. And it is present if these two clubs are playing cricket, football and hockey.”

Yorkshire are reported to have received clearance from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for fast bowler Rana Naved-ul-Hasan to play for the county this summer despite his participation in the unauthorised Indian Cricket League (ICL). A PCB official, however, denied this was the case, and said the matter was between the county and the England board (ECB).It had been thought that the PCB would refuse a No Objection Certificate (NOC) in view of his ICL links, and even when Mushtaq Ahmed was granted an NOC last week, it was believed that was not relevant to Naved-ul-Hasan as he had played international cricket more recently.Naved-ul-Hasan will now have to submit his application for registration to the ECB which is unlikely to be refused if he has an NOC as the board has always maintained that the certificate was the key document in the process.But a PCB official told Cricinfo that an NOC had not been given, though he suggested it might not be needed in this case. “Rana is not contracted to the PCB anymore and he is not allowed to play domestic cricket in Pakistan either. Therefore, this is a matter for Yorkshire and the ECB to resolve among themselves now. We have not given an NOC because he is not contracted to us, nor will he play domestically.”If Naved-ul-Hasan does play, this would seem to indicate a loosening in the policy all major countries have so far adopted against players participating in the ICL, by barring them from playing elsewhere internationally or domestically.

One suspects that Peter Steindl would make a decent poker player. There is his unflappable refusal to rise to the bait of controversial questions, his cool-as-Antartica recitation of facts and figures and an almost admirable disinclination to indulge in cheap sound bites where he can accentuate three or four buzz words. As Scotland’s recently-appointed cricket coach – the fourth man in as many years to embrace the role – it is perhaps hardly surprising that the 37 year-old Queenslander has no interest in picking over the bones of his predecessors, Tony Judd, Andy Moles and Peter Drinnen, the last brace of whom departed the job, amidst acrimonious allegations of so-called “player power”. But there again, Steindl must recognise that Scotland cannot afford any fresh scandals or off-field imbroglios, considering the manner in which the good vibrations which surrounded the squad two years ago have been replaced by a widespread feeling that the side have lost a little of their sheen.This week, as they venture to Namibia for a crucial Intercontinental Cup tie in Windhoek, Steindl and his charges will have an early opportunity to exorcise the memories of a rather misfiring 2007 campaign. For the last 12 weeks, the likes of Craig Wright, Ryan Watson, Fraser Watts, Dewald Nel and Neil McCallum have been forced to side-step the squalls and showers, whilst preparing for the new season at the National Cricket Academy in Edinburgh. And everybody in the squad recognises that Steindl won’t be a soft touch if they continue to punch below the standards they established three years ago when they swept to a convincing victory at the ICC Trophy competition in Dublin.For starters, he won’t tolerate excuses about poor displays being linked to the players’ amateur status: a refrain which has grown wearily familiar in the past few summers. “It would obviously be beneficial for our guys and for the governing body if there were some kind of contracts on the table, but we have to live in the here and now, and deal with the situation the best that we can,” said Steindl, whose relationship with Scotland stretches back to 1991, since when he has, at various times, played and coached with Cupar, Edinburgh Academicals, Grange and Corstorphine. “Plenty of people have commented that we need it [professionalism], and yet the situation hasn’t changed, so I can’t afford to worry about it. My task is to work with what I have got and, basically, I am excited about the challenge. We are all committed to developing a style of play which is positive, one which we are all comfortable with, and which enables us to play consistently good cricket against any opposition, whether it’s the full ODIs against New Zealand and England later this year or our meetings with Ireland, Kenya and the Netherlands, where we attempt to make an impression against the other Associates.”But, across the board, there are definitely signs of progress. Our A team will be participating against the English county second XIs, our under-19s will be part of the SNCL Premier League and our under-17s have a full programme of county matches, so we are advancing towards a scenario where an increasing number of our players will be experiencing a higher level of competition. Clearly, the main focus remains on the first XI and the Saltires, because it is very important to us that we build towards next year’s ICC Trophy [from which only four countries will qualify for the next World Cup in 2011). And that’s why we have set targets and performance measures for all the guys in the squad. What I want to see are collective performances, where as many of the lads as possible are contributing in their core areas, whether batting or bowling, and I think it is important that they are all ticking the boxes. There is a good buzz around the camp at the moment and I can tell you this: all of the guys we have in our plans love playing for Scotland, be it for the Saltires, the national side or any of the age-group teams.”One might have imagined this wouldn’t need stating, but as they steel themselves for Intercontinental Cup action, it’s worth pointing out that many of Scotland’s leading luminaries will simply not be able to commit themselves to the demands of an ever-expanding fixture list, which, in 2008, includes a fortnight in Toronto for back-to-back meetings with Bermuda and Canada, the European Championships in Dublin in July and the Twenty20 qualification event in Belfast, in addition to the mouth-watering prospect of tackling Flintoff, Pietersen, Collingwood & co at the Grange on August 17.But, for now, the onus lies on overcoming the Namibians, who remain unbeaten in the four-day tournament, and have amassed 48 points from their three outings, 22 more than the Scots, whose aspirations were blighted by bad weather, which ruined their meeting with lowly UAE in Ayr. Nor will the Africans be anything other than formidable adversaries, given the fashion in which their belligerent top-order batsman, Gerrie Snyman, produced a magnificent knock of 230, an innings peppered with more than 20 fours and 11 sixs, in orchestrating the defeat Kenya earlier this year.”The Namibians are third in the table and we are sixth, so this is a big challenge,” said Steindl. “That win over Kenya was a fantastic result for them and they are on an upward curve, but our guys are desperate to get outdoor cricket again, so they can hardly wait to climb on the plane. I appreciate that some of the boys might have difficulty getting time off from their employers or whatever, and I am very sympathetic to the amount of dedication they have for the game. But we’ll look at it, case by case. In an ideal world, we would have all our best players available all the time, but I’m aware that things will crop up which means that isn’t possible. It just means we have to be flexible.”Nobody ever entered Scottish cricket in pursuit of a lavish lifestyle: on the contrary, the phlegmatic have-bat-will-travel-for-nothing philosophy was and is a necessity for those in the front line. Ultimately, Steindl seems to have grasped that moaning about his lot is pointless – but his is still a thorny assignment in the weeks and months ahead.

An interesting final day’s play is on the cards in the Buchi Babu allIndia invitation tournament between ONGC and TNCA President’s XI atthe AC Tech college ground in Chennai on Tuesday. At stumps on thesecond day on Monday, ONGC were 95 for two in their first innings inreply to the home team’s score of 383. A total of 289 runs in a daywith eight wickets in hand is a tough, but not impossible task. On theother hand, it is also possible for TNCA President’s XI to take eightwickets without conceding that many. All in all, it can be said thatthe match is nicely poised for a keen battle for the all importantfirst innings lead.Having resumed at 296 for five, TNCA President’s XI could not havebeen happy at getting only 87 runs on Monday morning. The overnightsixth wicket pair of Badri Attavar and D Dhandapani took theirpartnership to 151 before the latter was out for 62. Attavar wascomparatively subdued but got to 155 before he was leg before to Saif.He batted 426 minutes, faced 306 balls and hit 18 boundaries. Therewas some resistance from the tail but the home team’s total fell belowexpectations. Rahul Sanghvi finished the most successful bowler withthree for 90.ONGC were off a good start with openers Manoj Mudgal and Gagan Khodaputting on 52 runs off 12 overs before the former was out for 25.Skipper G Vadhera (3) did not last long but Khoda continued to go forhis shots. Shortly before close, he reached his half century witheight fours and a six. By close he had faced 67 balls and a lot willobviously depend on him as ONGC continue their run chase on Tuesday.Keeping him company is another run getter with the proper credentials,Virendra Shewag who has started off well, getting 13 runs off tendeliveries with two hits to the fence.