England won 4th test by an innings and 225 runs

England 446 (Trott 184, Broad 169, Amir 6-84) beat Pakistan 74 (Swann 4-12, Finn 3-38) and 147 (Umar 79*, Swann 5-62) by an innings and 225 runs

England duly completed an overwhelming innings-and-225-run victory over Pakistan, their heaviest defeat in Test cricket, before lunch on the fourth day at Lord's to take the series 3-1, but that faded into insignificance following the spot-fixing revelations which broke on Saturday evening and sent the game spiralling into another crisis. For the record, Graeme Swann claimed his ninth five-wicket haul, and his first at Lord's, while Umar Akmal biffed a late half-century.

A sombre atmosphere greeted the fourth morning with all the talk about the News of the World story which implicated a host of Pakistan players. There was a bizarre build-up to play starting as England warmed-up as normal while the visitors stayed in the dressing room having not arrived at the ground until 10am. Even the not-out batsmen, Azhar Ali and Umar Akmal, couldn't have a quick hit before resuming their innings and the contest was never going to last very long.There may have been the possibility of a repeat of The Oval four years ago when Pakistan refused to take the field, but this time they lived up to their word and resumed play. However briefly that lasted. The MCC members allowed the batsmen a gentle hand as they came to the crease, but it was a formal acknowledgement at best.Swann made the first breakthrough with his 10th ball of the day when he beat Azhar's outside edge with a lovely delivery that held its line and took off stump. However, even the normally exuberant Swann could only manage a muted celebration with the England players well aware that their performances in this match - and the series - will forever be tarnished.But they remained professional and did what was required. James Anderson, who had quickly replaced Steven Finn at the Nursery End, found Kamran Akmal's outside edge to complete another miserable series for the wicketkeeper who ended with 24 runs in six innings. Mohammad Amir, a young man with plenty on his mind, was soon cleaned up by another wonderful ball from Swann that pitched middle and hit off and Wahab Riaz lobbed a simple catch to mid-on as Pakistan just caved in.Saeed Ajmal was run out by a direct from Stuart Broad, but Pakistan avoided becoming the first side to be bowled out for less than a hundred twice in a Test in England since 1958 as Umar threw the bat in a 40-ball fifty which included two sixes off Swann, during a tenth-wicket stand of 50. However, Swann had the final say when he had Mohammad Asif caught at slip when a bottom edge rebounded off this boot and secured his place on the honours board. Honour, though, was in short supply elsewhere.

Feeble Pakistan crumble to impressive England bowling attack

Pakistan 74 (Swann 4-12, Finn 3-38) and 41 for 4 (Azhar 0*) trail England 446 (Trott 184, Broad 169, Amir 6-84) by 331 runs

England had already shifted themselves into a winning position after a world-record eighth-wicket stand between Jonathan Trott and Stuart Broad, but even in a summer of batting collapses the way they blew Pakistan away for 74 on the third day at Lord's took the breath away. For the third time in four Tests the visitors couldn't emerge from double figures as they subsided either side of tea, with Graeme Swann and Steven Finn sharing the last seven wickets for 28 runs, before they slumped to 41 for 4 in the follow on.

Having been through the debilitating experience of watching England haul themselves from hopelessness to supremacy in record style there was always the danger that Pakistan would succumb to the pressure. But having shown much more backbone with the bat at The Oval it was hoped they could replicate the same yet were skittled in 33 overs and the second innings promises little better. It was a depressing performance from Pakistan because some of the shots were plain awful, the worst being Imran Farhat's weak pull at the start of the second innings. A clear sign the fight had gone.

Credit, though, must go to the hostility of England's quicks and the continued guile of Swann as the four-man attack never took the pressure off Pakistan. In the follow on, Yasir Hameed was plumb lbw to Anderson as he played across the line then just to compound Pakistan's woes their last chance of making the fourth day a contest vanished as the light closed in. Salman Butt, who was getting annoyed by the chirp from England's close fielders, was lbw to Swann - an excellent decision from Tony Hill as the review proved it was pad just before bat - then, to what became the last ball of the day, Mohammad Yousuf top-edged a pull to deep square-leg. Pakistan's two best batsmen had gone twice in a session.Rarely can a Test have included periods of such dominance by the ball either side of an epic batting performance. Take out one stand and the batsmen have been walking wickets; but that partnership was the small matter of 332. As Trott and Broad extended their stay during most of the morning the ball barely did anything for the Pakistan bowlers, but when a new one was placed in the hands of Broad and Anderson it quickly became a major threat.Broad, fresh from his mighty 169, dispatched Hameed in familiar manner as the opener hung his bat outside off and sent a comfortable edge to second slip. Anderson then exploited Farhat's weakness against the moving ball when he drove loosely at an outswinger having watched the previous three deliveries zip past his outside edge.

The best set-up, though, was still to come as England executed their plan to Yousuf to perfection when Broad slotted a full delivery past his bat. It was almost identical to how he fell in the second innings at The Oval and England have always felt it was a way to trap Yousuf early since Anderson did the same at Cape Town in the 2003 World Cup.Briefly, Butt rallied as he tucked into a loose opening spell from Finn but Swann gave an immediate warning of the danger he would pose as he ripped two deliveries past Butt's edge in his opening over. With his first ball after tea Swann produced another unplayable offering which gripped and hit off stump. The batsman initially stood his ground thinking the wicketkeeper may have knocked off the bails, but his dismissal was swiftly confirmed.That brought Umar Akmal to the crease and he was immediately greeted by some words from Trott at silly point following their conversations during England's innings and Umar proceeding to launch his third ball over midwicket. But Swann was finding huge turn, much more than Saeed Ajmal extracted, and soon had Azhar Ali taken at short leg as the batsman lunged forward.

Meanwhile, Umar started complaining about problems picking up Finn's line from the Nursery End as the bowler's hand came from above the sightscreen. It clearly affected Umar's mindset when he was told just to get on with it by the umpires and it wasn't long before Finn, who improved with the change of ends, speared a yorker through his defences.Trott's timing and placement remained of the highest quality, particularly a couple of off-side strokes against Ajmal, and he was within sight of being the first man to score two double hundreds at Lord's until becoming last-man out. It will go down as one of the finest centuries made on this famous ground; Pakistan's entire line-up couldn't even get halfway towards matching it.

Sri Lanka rode on Tillakaratne Dilshan's century to clinch the tri-series title with an emphatic 74-run win.

Sri Lanka rode on Tillakaratne Dilshan's century to clinch the tri-series title with an emphatic 74-run win over India on Saturday, ending Mahendra Singh Dhoni's sequence of four consecutive series triumphs on Sri Lankan soil. The hosts first amassed an imposing total of 299 for eight largely built around Dilshan's (110) eighth ODI century and then shot out the visitors for 225 in 46.5 overs in a rather lop-sided floodlit contest.

The Indians paid the price for a sloppy bowling display which allowed the hosts to put up a big total on the board on what appeared to be a good batting track at the Rangiri Dambulla International stadium. It turned out to be Dhoni's first ODI series defeat on Sri Lankan soil, as the hosts had lost to India in four finals in the past two years at home, with the most recent being the Asia Cup in June.

The hosts lost a five-match bilateral series 3-2 in 2008 and another 4-1 in early 2009. Later that year India beat Sri Lanka in a tri-series final also involving New Zealand.

While Dilshan, who notched up his maiden century on Sri Lankan soil, played a pivotal role in his team's victory, captain Kumar Sangakkara (71) and Mahela Jayawardene (39) chipped in with useful contributions. Chasing a stiff target of 300 for win, only Dhoni could provide some resistance with a gritty 87 while a few other batsmen like Virender Sehwag (28), Virat Kohli (37) and Suresh Raina (29) got the starts but could not make it count.

The Indian innings began on a disastrous note with Dinesh Karthik, who has been having a wretched time with the bat, being dismissed for a duck off Lasith Malinga. Unfazed by the early loss of his opening partner, Virender Sehwag luanched into the offensive with a flurry of boundaries picking up Nuwan Kulasekera and Angelo Mathews for special treatment.

But Sehwag's belligerence was shortlived as he was run out trying to steal non-existent leg bye, much to the disappointment of his team-mates. Sehwag survived a confident shout for leg before after he was hit on the pads by a Kulasekara inswinger but the appeal was turned down by the umpire.He then tried to steal a leg bye and turned back but it was too late by then to beat a direct hit. The Indians then suffered another jolt when Yuvraj Singh also returned to the pavilion, falling prey to Thisara Perera with a ball which kicked up from short of length.

Virat Kohli, who was shaping up well, was accounted by Perera a few minutes later to reduce the visitors 109 for four in the 22nd over. Captain Dhoni and Suresh Raina then tried to steady the ship by not taking too many risks as the asking rate climbed up to more than seven runs per over.

The duo added 49 runs for the fifth wicket before Raina (29), in a bid to accelerate the pace of scoring, went for a mighty heave but mistimed the shot and Dilshan took a well-judged catch at the cover region.Electing to bat, it was not a fiery start for the hosts as both the Lankan openers took some time to settle down and opened up gradually to pile up the misery on the visitors. There was a minor altercation between Dilshan and Munaf Patel, who collided with the batsman in the seventh over, but normalcy was restored after umpire Asad Rauf and Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni intervened and pacified the two players.

Dilshan was more aggressive of the two openers, who raised the best opening partnership of the series so far by putting on 121 for the first wicket. Ishant Sharma provided the breakthrough for the visitors by evicting the experienced Mahela Jayawardene (39) with Dinesh Karthik latchinng on to a well-judged catch.Jayawardene reached forward and tried to wrist a length delivery across the line but only succeeded in spooning a catch to Karthik at the sweeper cover. But his dismissal came only after he had achieved a personal milestone of completing 9000 runs in ODIs, becoming only the third Sri Lankan to achieve the feat after Sanath Jayasuriya (13,428 runs) and Aravinda de Silva (9824 runs).

Part-timer Yuvraj Singh then struck for his team by dismissing Upul Tharanga (6) who edged the ball to captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni behind the stump. After the two quick wickets, Dilshan and captain Kumar Sangakkara re-build the innings by playing cautiously. The duo kept the scoreboard ticking by gentle nudges and pushes before unleashing some exquisite shots on both sides of the wicket.The two batsmen piled up the runs with ease and with the Indian pacers struggling to check the run flow, the Indians badly missed the services of a specialist fifth bowler. Dilshan, who slowed down in the 90's, took two runs off Ishant to notch up his eighth ODI century and his first on Sri Lankan soil. It was his third ton against India.

Dilshan, however, could not survive for long after completing his century with Ishant Sharma taking a good catch on the boundary line off Praveen Kumar. Munaf Patel then removed Sangakkara with Rohit Sharma taking the catch while Nehra accounted for Chamara Kapugedera (12) to slow down the scoring rate just a bit. But a series of no-ball, wides and some lusty hitting by the late order batsmen in the slog overs ensured that Sri Lanka had a healthy total.

Trott and Broad saved England with centuries

Jonathan Trott and Stuart Broad hit centuries at Lord's on Friday to save England with a record eighth-wicket stand after Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir had blown away the early batting in the fourth and final test.Trott batted all day to reach 149 not out, adding 244 with Broad (125 not out) to lead England to 346 for seven in their first innings at the close of the second day.Broad, in an innings of genuine quality, scored his maiden test century and the first by an England number eight since John Murray against West Indies in 1966.His partnership with Broad is an England record for the eighth wicket against Pakistan, and the second highest against any country.

The hosts, 2-1 up in the series, were reduced to 47 for five in the morning session after resuming on 39 for one. Only 12.3 overs were bowled on Thursday.Eighteen-year-old Amir picked up six for 73 in 23 outstanding overs. He took four wickets in eight balls without conceding a run from the Pavilion end, dismissing Alastair Cook (10) and Kevin Pietersen (0) caught behind from consecutive deliveries.Paul Collingwood was then trapped lbw for a duck and Eoin Morgan was smartly caught at second slip by Yasir Hameed, also without scoring.It was the first time the England number four, five and six had failed to score in a test innings.Amir became the youngest player to capture 50 test wickets when Matt Prior was caught behind for 22 from the fourth delivery after lunch.Graeme Swann was then caught in the gully by Azhar Ali off Amir for yet another duck.

England, on 102 for seven, were in danger of succumbing for fewer runs than their previous lowest score of 130 against Pakistan.Instead Trott and Broad combined in a memorable partnership which flourished as the Pakistan bowlers tired and the sun finally broke through to sap any remaining moisture from the pitch.Trott moved confidently on to the front foot to drive through the covers and the mid-wicket area while Broad played like a top-order batsman.

Broad surpassed his previous highest test score of 76 and moved serenely to his hundred from 159 balls with nine

Sehwag clears the path for India to finals

India 223 (Sehwag 110, Southee 4-49, McCullum 3-35) beat New Zealand 118 (Mills 52, Praveen 3-34, Praveen 3-21) by 105 runs.

A combination of belligerent hitting by Virender Sehwag and potent seam bowling helped India storm to the final of the tri-series with a comprehensive thrashing of New Zealand in the last league game.

On a day when a majority of specialist batsmen on both sides batted with two left feet in bowler-friendly conditions, Sehwag found a way to carve out an aggressive century, scoring more than what 11 New Zealanders managed. A target of 224 turned out to be way out of New Zealand's reach as their top order crumbled against a four-pronged seam attack, a combination one wouldn't associate with Indian sides, especially in the subcontinent.New Zealand gave themselves a shot at qualifying for the tri-series final by restricting a wobbly India to 223. An overwhelming percentage of the total once again came from Virender Sehwag, as the lack of contributions from his colleagues continued in India's inconsistent batting displays through the series. Sehwag's whirlwind century formed the mainstay of a 107-run stand with MS Dhoni and gave India some amount of control, but his dismissal in the 33rd over heralded a quick end to the innings.Credit should go to the way New Zealand's varied attack made India struggle in conditions that didn't suit trigger-happy batsmen. The fresh pitch had bounce, nip and a bit of seam movement early on and the majority of the Indian batsmen lacked the temperament to last 50 overs in testing conditions.It appeared as though Sehwag was batting on a different pitch. He was unfazed by the early movement and nip off the wicket, which made the seamers look potent. Dinesh Karthik and Virat Kohli were out poking at deliveries outside off stump, while Yuvraj Singh was hurried by the pace and bounce of Andy McKay. When Suresh Raina was out pulling Tim Southee while trying to force the pace, India had lost four wickets by the end of 13 overs. Those wickets took the sheen away from a fluid and entertaining start from Sehwag.Not known for exaggerated foot movements, Sehwag used the crease to loft the seamers over the off side, through the line of the ball. He barely moved across the stumps but such was his confidence that he managed to stretch, scoop and slash powerfully over backward point. He backed away and slapped the slower bowlers past the infield as well. A more conventional punch through cover brought up his 1000th ODI four and that was part of a sequence of three consecutive fours off Southee.India were lucky to have Dhoni at the other end for he rotated strike and built a solid partnership. Their stand produced a valuable 107, but India needed them to stay longer as they were the last capable pair, with only Ravindra Jadeja, who is still trying to find his feet in ODIs, and a long tail to follow. Sehwag didn't drop anchor, though. He continued charging the spinners, lifting Kane Williamson inside-out over extra cover for boundaries and also cleverly picking the gaps at fine leg off the seamers. He played the upper cut over the vacant slip cordon shortly after getting to his century, but the fun ended for India when Sehwag found deep midwicket when on 110, his dismissal coming against the run of play.Dhoni, who had batted carefully while partnering Sehwag, had to try and reclaim the advantage for India but New Zealand took control. Having grafted to 38 off 75 balls, he edged a Nathan McCullum delivery trying to drive. Jadeja got going with meaty jabs through cover, but he ultimately fell to a well-directed bouncer from the impressive Southee, who picked up four wickets. India had lost both Dhoni and Jadeja in the space of two overs and were losing control fast. The lower order took the score past 220, enough to give New Zealand something to chase, but perhaps 30 short of a competitive score. What could hold New Zealand back, however, is that their batsmen haven't had a hit for the last 12 days. Against a four-pronged seam attack, their equally unpredictable line-up could be tested under lights.

One individual spark needed:MS Dhoni

Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Tuesday defended his woefully out-of-form batsmen, saying he team just needs one individual spark of brilliance for the entire line-up to click in the must-win tri-series match against New Zealand."You want one batsman to play a big innings in all games, whichever the batsman may be, especially on these kind of wickets. It can be termed as individual brilliance because you have one batsman batting through and the others batting around him," Dhoni said."It's more about the mindset because in One-day cricket you're so used to going after and hitting the bowlers right from the first delivery. It's not only in the sub-continent, throughout the world you see wickets are a lot flatter now, especially for the One-dayers," he explained."If you talk about the batting collapses, it's happened twice in three games. But if it is said that this is the batting strength of our side, I won't agree with that. One thing we can't deny is that we have had two batting failures and we have to rectify the problem, get on the wicket and try to score some runs," he added.Dhoni said the key to success on the pitches here is to play steadily for at least 20 overs before cutting loose. "To give respect to the bowlers for the first 10 overs, and the next 40 overs is yours. This is one of those venues where you have to prolong the respect for bowlers by another 10 overs. If you don't lose too many wickets for 20 overs, then you can really dictate the bowlers and can have your own game plan set after that," he said.The crushing previous defeats to New Zealand (by 200 runs) and Sri Lankan (by eight wickets) have been hard to take, admitted Dhoni but insisted that the team can recover. "As a team, we are disappointed about it. But if you see, all the matches have been one-sided, which suggests if you lose too many wickets early, there is a big batting collapse. We have seen it happen throughout the tournament," he said."The batsmen are trying to work out their plans as to what needs to be done. They are not getting out to rash shots. They are trying to battle through and there are times when you can't do that. That's what happened in the last two games when we had batting collapses. So at the end of the day, when you are in the middle, you just have to find a way as to how you can get the runs because the pressure keeps on mounting," he added.

On the dreadful form of Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja, Dhoni said the duo may be struggling right now but both of them have proved themselves to be match-winners in the past.

"You have to see the strength. What kind of stability one brings into the side. Especially, if you see Ravindra Jadeja, if you see his bowling performance in the past one and half years, he had quite a few bad games in between but overall, a majority of games he has bowled really well. His batting has dipped down but if he can contribute with the bat, he is the option with whom we can play with five bowlers. He is literally our fifth bowler who has done well for us unless you can find an all-rounder who can bowl 10 overs for us," he explained.

"Rohit, I think, it's a tricky situation for him. Always in and out of the side. There's a pressure when you are always in and out of the side. He was unfortunate to get out once when he didn't get the umpire's decision in his favour. So two innings, I don't really think is good enough to decide whether a player is good or not. But of course, he is working hard. We are just hoping he comes up and scores some big runs," he added.

On former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram criticism that the youngsters in the team are too spoilt and soft, Dhoni said the he wasn't aware of such comments but just a couple of bad performances should not invite such remarks.

"I don't know what Wasim Akram said. For me, what's important is how the team is shaping up. if you talk about the team being soft, they have done really well in adverse and difficult conditions. Whether it's in Australia or the Twenty20 World Cup or some of the other tournaments where we were not at our best," he pointed out.

"Even in the Asia Cup, we did well with the youngsters. So I don't think you should be clever enough to make a statement based on three or four games. It's the overall picture that you set. I think the guys are courageous enough to go through any conditions or situations thrown at them. We are on the backfoot right now, with the conditions maybe. But these are the boys who will ultimately be part of the Indian cricket team now or sometime later," he added.

Asked whether India would consider going in with seven batsmen to strengthen the fragile-looking line-up, Dhoni said packing more willow-wielders was no guarantee for huge scores.

"That's definitely one of the options but again you have to see whether in these conditions we can bowl well with the part-timers because if we let them score to many runs, it becomes difficult to chase. At the same time, it may be difficult to contain them if they are chasing."

"We have to strike a balance but if the team feels the need to have additional specialist batsman and we can play around with the part-timers, we can look at that. But as I say, it's more like a gamble and you have balance the positives and the negatives of having an individual in the side," he said.

Perera 5wicket haul made India lose

Thisara Perera bagged a maiden five-wicket haul to help Sri Lanka storm into the triangular One-day series final with a crushing eight-wicket win over India on Sunday.

The 21-year-old seamer, playing his first match of the tournament, finished with 5-28 off 7.4 tight overs as India were shot out for 103 in 33.4 overs - their third-lowest total against Sri Lanka in One-Day Internationals.The total was not enough to put pressure on Sri Lanka, who completed the win in just 15.1 overs in the day-night match in Dambulla. The hosts finished their league engagements with 11 points from four matches, while New Zealand have seven points and India five after three games.The winners of the last league match between India and New Zealand on Wednesday will qualify for the final. Sri Lanka put in a solid all-round performance in the must-win match as their batsmen backed their fast bowlers, with Tillakaratne Dilshan (35) and Mahela Jayawardene (33) adding 79 for the opening wicket in 9.2 overs.

Sangakkara (13 not out) finished the match when he drove paceman Ishant Sharma through the covers for a four. Upul Tharanga remained unbeaten with 12.

Yuvraj Singh earlier top-scored with a fighting 38 in a disappointing Indian batting performance after the tourists elected to bat. Opener Virender Sehwag (12), Rohit Sharma (11) and Dhoni (10) were the others to reach double figures.Yuvraj was unlucky to be given out leg-before off paceman Lasith Malinga (2-21) as replays suggested the ball would have missed the stumps. He was the ninth man out after hitting one six and five fours in his 64-ball knock.Sri Lanka jolted India when paceman Nuwan Kulasekara (2-31) trapped Sehwag leg-before and had Dinesh Karthik (nine) caught behind in a lively opening spell.Man-of-the-match Perera, who played his last One-dayer in Zimbabwe in June, then wrecked the middle order when he claimed four wickets in five overs to dash India's hopes of posting a challenging total. He was once on a hat-trick when he had Ravindra Jadeja caught by Chamara Silva at gully and Praveen Kumar caught by Tharanga at mid-off with his next delivery.Perera ended the innings in the 34th over when he bowled Ishant Sharma. The Sri Lankan pacemen were well supported by wicket-keeper Sangakkara, who took four catches.

Pakistan won the III test

Umar Akmal and Mohammad Amir held their nerve to guide the tourists to a four wicket win in what was almost a repeat of their defeat of Australia at Headingley recently when they lost seven wickets chasing 180."It was a bit nervous but this time it was by four wickets instead of three," said Butt.The result leaves the tourists 2-1 down in the series with one more Test to play at Lord's starting on Thursday.Set 148 to win on the fourth day Pakistan got off to a flying start thanks to Butt (48) and Imran Farhat (33) but wobbled when they lost three wickets for eight runs with their target in sight.But Akmal (16 not out) and Amir (four not out) steadied the ship and Pakistan now head to Lord's with a chance of levelling the series.England were given a glimmer of hope just before the break when Graeme Swann had Butt caught at slip for 48, to give him his second wicket of the innings.And they were given further hope after lunch when Azhar Ali was run out by a combination of Swann and James Anderson, Mohammad Yousuf was bowled by Anderson for 33 and Kamran Akmal padded up to Swann and was given out leg before."The main mistake was the run out," said Butt. "There was no need for that but in the end the guys did really well."For England it was a disappointing end to a six-match winning streak."None of us like losing," said captain Andrew Strauss. "We lost because in the first session of the game we lost five wickets and on Friday we lost six wickets quickly which cost us dearly."When you lose five or six wickets you are putting yourselves under pressure unnecessarily."We need to make sure it does not happen again but in this game Pakistan were better than us and deserved to win."England scented victory and with Anderson and Swann blocked off the runs to try and force Umar Akmal into an aggressive shot.But the Pakistani batsman refused to take the bait and got his 16 runs from 36 balls before winning the match by nudging Swann to midwicket and starting his celebrations before he had completed the run.Before lunch Butt and Farhat, looking determined to finish things early, got Pakistan past 50 in the eighth over after they had lost opener Yasir Hameed to the fourth ball of the innings.The opener edged his first ball from Anderson to second slip where Graeme Swann needed two attempts to hold on to the chance which left Pakistan on five for one.Farhat made 33 before he was leg before to Swann, the only bowler who gave Strauss any control whatsoever. Butt nearly saw his team home, making his 48 runs from 64 balls but he was neatly caught by Paul Collingwood, again off Swann, just before lunch.With 33 needed after lunch Pakistan had a wobble when Azhar, Yousuf and Akmal all departed.England added just one run to their overnight total as Aamir recorded his Test best figures of 5-52 to give Pakistan their chance of winning the Test.

India won against Srilanka with bonus point

Virender Sehwag was denied a well-deserved century, but the swashbuckling opener made sure that he took India home against Sri Lanka with six wickets in hand in the ODI tri-nation series.Chasing a meagre target of 171 runs, India fumbled at the start, losing three wickets for 32 runs before Sehwag smashed an unbeaten 99, with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni remaining not out at 23 to post a dominating win against the hosts.India, who were dismissed for 88 in their 200-run loss against New Zealand in the first match, reached the victory target in 34.3 overs thus finishing with two bonus points to bounce back in the tournament.But there was a sore point when Sehwag batting at 99 and India needing just one run for victory struck Suraj Randiv for a huge six over long-off and raised his bat in celebration, only to realise a moment later that it was a big no-ball from the off-spinner and his runs would not be counted. As per the rule, which many would have come to know only today, the match finished when Randiv over-stepped which gave India the required one run to win, making Sehwag's six inconsequential.

Shewag, who is never shy of reaching milestones or finishing off matches with his customary sixes, was not complaining at what many would have felt an attempt from the Sri Lankan to stop the batsman from scoring a century.Though Sehwag was not able to reach his century, he guided the Indian team after they were in deep trouble with Dinesh Karthik (10), Virat Kohli (0) and Rohit Sharma (0) dismissed with only 32 runs on the board in 10.4 overs.Sehwag, who got a life when he was dropped while nearing half-century, curbed his attacking instinct from the start and took time to settle down on a tricky wicket. He and Suresh Raina (21) added 59 runs to steady the ship before the latter was out to Dilhara Fernando.Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni then made 23 and shared an unbeaten 80 runs partnership with Shewag, who struck 11 fours and two sixes in his 100-ball innings as he gradually opened up towards the end.Earlier, India put up a spirited bowling performance to bowl Sri Lanka out for 170 runs in 46.1 overs. Opener Tillakaratne Dilshan was the top-scorer with 45 after Sri Lanka elected to bat.Sri Lanka, struggling at 103 for seven in the 32nd over, managed to cross the 150-mark after Randiv (43) and Nuwan Kulasekara (22) did teh rescue job. Randiv smacked four boundaries in his 61-ball knock.Medium pacer Praveen Kumar wrecked the Sri Lankan top order, taking two wickets for 20. He removed opener Upul Tharanga with the first ball of the match and then trapped former captain Mahela Jayawardene leg-before in his fourth over. Fast bowler Ishant Sharma also picked up two for 32.Spinners Pragyan Ojha (3-36) and Ravindra Jadeja (2-34) put on the pressure as India never allowed Sri Lankan batsmen to settle down.India made two changes to the side that lost to New Zealand by 200 runs in the opening match. Yuvraj Singh, who is down with dengue fever, made way for Kohli while Ishant came in place of Abhimanyu Mithun.

Srilanka Vs India ODI:triseries India batting

India Batting

Dinesh Karthik:c Nuwan Kulasekara b Angelo Mathews:10(35)

Virender Sehwag:not out:99(100)

Virat Kohli:c Kumar Sangakkara b Dilhara Fernando:0(3)

Rohit Sharma:lbw b Angelo Mathews:0(2)

Suresh Raina:c Upul Tharanga b Dilhara Fernando:21(35)

MS Dhoni:notout:23(38)

Extras(b 5, lb 6, w 1, nb 6)18

Total(171/4)

Srilanka Bowling

Lasith Malinga:7-0-34-0(4.85)

Nuwan Kulasekara:5-0-23-0(4.6)

Angelo Mathews:7-1-32-2(4.57)

Dilhara Fernando:8-0-33-2(4.12)

Suraj Randiv:7.3-0-38-0(5.06)

Man of the match:V Sehwag

Srilanka Vs India ODI:triseries

Srilanka batting

Upul Tharanga: b Praveen Kumar 0(1)

Tillakaratne Dilshan: c Rohit Sharma b Pragyan Ojha 45(62)

Kumar Sangakkara: c Pragyan Ojha b Ashish Nehra 2(12)

Mahela Jayawardene :lbw b Praveen Kumar 4(11)

Thilan Samaraweera :c Ravindra Jadeja b Ishant Sharma 7(23)

Angelo Mathews: lbw b Ravindra Jadeja 15(26)

Chamara Kapugedara: b Ravindra Jadeja 10(28)

Suraj Randiv: c Suresh Raina b Pragyan Ojha 43(61)

Nuwan Kulasekara: c MS Dhoni b Ishant Sharma 22(30)

Lasith Malinga: st MS Dhoni b Pragyan Ojha 5(12)

Dilhara Fernando: not out 6(11)

Extras: (b 1, lb 3, w 7, nb 0)11

Total(170/10)

India bowling

Praveen Kumar:8-2-20-2(2.5)

Ashish Nehra:9-0-39-1(4.33)

Ishant Sharma:9-1-32-2(3.55)

Pragyan Ojha:9.1-0-36-3(3.92)

Ravindra Jadeja:10-2-34-2(3.4)

Virender Sehwag:1-0-5-0(5)

Yuvraj joined the injury list

India is facing many problems with the fitness of players.Dinesh karthik was injured in practice session and now middle order batsman Yuvraj Singh is suffering from dengue.As per the reliable resources, he may not play the match with Srilanka taking place on Monday.Now its time for young stars to pull up their socks.Rohit Sharma will be the man to perform upto his potential.

Injuries blow for struggling India

Earlier in the series Ishanth was injured which made Indian pace attack very weak.This made a call for Munaf patel.Now it's the turn for Dinesh Karthik,who injured during the practice session at Dambulla due to uneven bounce.This made the captain cool little bit angry and he walked off from practice session.Nehra also didn't attended the practice and the reason was unknown.India team ,which tasted 200 run defeat against New Zealand, now stuggling with injuries.

Srilanka comfortable win against NewZealand

After electing to bat yet again, NewZealand's top order faltered once more but Watling made an impressive half-century on debut but nothing from the others once again except a fighting 36 from McCullum. Malinga and Mathews were impressive with their 3-fors. 193 was supposed to be a tricky target under lights and the Kiwis got right into the game with the early wicket of Dilshan, but Tharanga and Sangakkara put rumours of a collapse to rest as they stitched a fine 85-run stand for the second wicket which almost sealed the game for the hosts. Tharanga played a fabulous knock of 70 but just when things were starting to look monotonous, Sri Lanka made things interesting as they went after the bonus point and Tharanga's dismissal triggered a collapse and they fell short of gaining the bonus point by just 5 deliveries. The Kiwis kept picking up wickets but unfortunately, the target of 193 was not enough to stop the Lankans and Samaraweera guided them home with an unbeaten 36.

Srilanka Batting

Upul Tharanga-c Bradley Watling b Kyle Mills:70(109)

Tillakaratne Dilshan-c & b Kyle Mills:5(9)

Kumar Sangakkara-c Martin Guptill b Scott Styris:48(62)

Mahela Jayawardene-c Ross Taylor b Nathan McCullum:5(11)

Thilan Samaraweera-not out:36(38)

Angelo Mathews-c Ross Taylor b Kyle Mills:0(1)

Nuwan Kulasekara-c Gareth Hopkins b Tim Southee:7(3)

Rangana Herath-c Ross Taylor b Kyle Mills:2(3)

Chamara Kapugedara-not out:9(9)

Extras (b 4, lb 1, w 8, nb 0)13

Total(195/7)

Newzealand bowling

Kyle Mills:9.5-1-41-4(4.16)

Daryl Tuffey:5-0-31-0(6.2)

Tim Southee:6-0-41-1(6.83)

Andy McKay:4-0-26-0(6.5)

Nathan McCullum:7-0-23-1(3.28)

Kane Williamson:1-0-6-0(6)

Scott Styris:8-0-22-1(2.75)

Man of the match:WU Tharanga

Low Score by Newzealand:Srilanka target 193

New Zealand Batting

Bradley Watling:c Kumar Sangakkara b Angelo Mathews:55(68)

Martin Guptill:c Chamara Kapugedara b Lasith Malinga:0(1)

Ross Taylor:lbw b Angelo Mathews:16(34)

Kane Williamson:c Thilan Samaraweera b Angelo Mathews:0(2)

Scott Styris:c Mahela Jayawardene b Rangana Herath:24(33)

Gareth Hopkins:c Chamara Kapugedara b Lasith Malinga:11(22)

Nathan McCullum:c Rangana Herath b Ajantha Mendis:36(64)

Daryl Tuffey:b Lasith Malinga:0(1)

Kyle Mills:c Angelo Mathews b Rangana Herath:11(25)

Tim Southee:c Tillakaratne Dilshan b Nuwan Kulasekara:13(30)

Andy McKay :not out :4(12)

Extras (b 5, lb 4, w 10, nb 3)22

Total(192/10)

Srilanka Bowling

Lasith Malinga:10-1-35-3(3.5)

Nuwan Kulasekara:8.1-1-35-1(4.28)

Angelo Mathews:10-1-36-3(3.6)

Ajantha Mendis:10-0-42-1(4.2)

Rangana Herath:10-0-35-2(3.5)

Srilanka to take on New Zealand In 2nd ODI of Triseries

Sri Lanka open their tri-series campaign against a buoyant New Zealand side on Friday that embarrassed India in the series opener.

The Ross Taylor-led New Zealand came into the tournament as outsiders but raised many eyebrows by thrashing red-hot favourites India by 200 runs. The Kiwis can't be in a happier frame of mind having done most things right on Tuesday. The only visible concern seems to be the opening slots, where Ingram and Guptill looked completely out of sorts against the moving ball.The Black Caps also would want to set right their mistake of getting bowled out inside the 50 overs. Ideally, either Ross Taylor or Scott Styris should have carried on but with them gone and all-rounders Jacob Oram and Grant Eillott failing as well, things went woefully wrong for the Kiwis.Kane Williamson has brought in reputation that won't allow Taylor to drop him after just one match, even though he failed to trouble the scorers on his debut. One change that might be seen is wicketkeeper Gareth Hopkins being replaced by BJ Watling but the Kiwi skipper would think twice before tinkering with a winning combo.So unless a last-minute unfortunate injury, New Zealand would like to give those who didn't perform on Tuesday a second chance against Sri Lanka on Friday.One-day specialists Upul Tharanga, Chamara Kapugedera and Nuwan Kulasekara are set to don the blue and yellow for Sri Lanka. The islanders quite clearly have a better batting lineup but the tricky Dambulla conditions can test the best in the business, as was on view the other day.Suraj Randiv essentially becomes an automatic choice in the absence of Muralitharan, especially owing to his antics in the Test series. Having said that, Sangakkara may have to choose between Randiv and Ajantha Mendis as playing two spinners may be a luxury under seaming and swinging conditions. In such case, Randiv may get the nod along with a four-pronged pace attack of Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekara, Dilhara Fernando and Angelo Mathews.If the match against India was anything to go by, toss may well again be of monumental importance, with both captains wanting to bat first.

India vs New Zealand photos

India tasted 200 run defeat

India crashed to a humiliating 200-run defeat in the first match of the triangular ODI series against New Zealand with a pathetic bowling and batting display here today. After the Kiwis put up a competitive 288 on the board, riding on skipper Ross Taylor (95) and Scott Styris (89), India suffered an inexplicable batting collapse to bundle out for a paltry 88 in just 29.3 overs.

In what turned out to be a totally lop-sided contest, only three Indian batsmen could score double figures as the Kiwis ripped through the young batting lineup to launch their campaign on a high. It was a commanding show by the New Zealanders who relied on a 190-run stand for the fourth wicket between Taylor and Styris before Daryl Tuffey (3/34) and Kyle Mills (2/26) and Jacob Oram (2/15) shot out India to complete a convincing win.

Chasing 289 to win, openers Dinesh Karthik (14) and Virender Sehwag (19) made a watchful start but New Zealand struck twice in as many deliveries to get rid of the openers and reduce India to 39 for two in 7.1 overs. Sehwag was the first to go when he failed to negotiate a short ball aimed at his body by Mills as the ball kissed his glove and landed safely at wicketkeeper Gerath Hopkins' hands.

Karthik then followed suit when he played Tuffey''s delivery down the wrong line and missed the ball, which struck on his pads in front of the wicket. Rohit Sharma (4) then joined Yuvraj Singh (5) but the former was sent packing in the 10th over by Tuffey and two overs later New Zealand dealt India another blow, removing Suresh Raina to leave India tottering at 50/4 in 11.2 overs.

Sharma, brought in to bolster the middle order, ended up giving catching practice to first slip of Tuffey's outside off stump delivery. Raina also followed his partner and edged one straight to second slip to award Tuffey his third wicket of the day.

The 32-year-old seamer came to haunt India again in the 14th over when his direct throw found skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni short of wicket as India looked down the barrel at 53/5. Yuvraj and Ravindra Jadeja tried to stem the rot but Andy Mckay removed the former in the 17th over and eight balls later Praveen Kumar was also sent packing by Jacob Oram as India stared at an impending defeat.

Earlier, New Zealand had a disastrous start, collapsing to 28 for three in 6.5 overs but Taylor (95) and Styris (89) rescued the innings and helped New Zealand to reach 288. Newball bowlers Praveen Kumar (3/43) and Ashish Nehra (4/47) shared seven wickets between them to strangle the New Zealand top and lower order and helped India bowl out their rivals inside 300.

New Zealand had a tottering start, losing three wickets inside seven overs with the scoreboard reading just 28 but Taylor and Styris stemmed the rot and anchored the innings to safety after electing to bat first.

MAN OF THE MATCH::Ross Taylor

India vs New Zealand: India innings

India Innings

KD Karthik lbw b Tuffey : 14(20)

V Sehwag c Hopkins b Mills: 19(23)

RG Sharma c Taylor b Tuffey: 4(11)

Yuvraj Singh c Taylor b McKay: 5(25)

SK Raina c Styris b Tuffey: 6(6)

MS Dhoni run out (Tuffey): 2(9)

RA Jadeja c Styris b Williamson:20(44)

P Kumar c Taylor b Oram: 1(8)

A Mithun c Taylor b Oram:4(16)

A Nehra c Oram b Mills :4(11)

PP Ojha not out :0(4)

Extras (w 9) 9

New Zealand bowling

KD Mills :6.3-2-26-2(4.00)(1w)

DR Tuffey :8-1-34-3(4.25)(1w)

AJ McKay :6-0-11-1(1.83)(2w)

JDP Oram :6-0-15-2(2.50)(1w)

KS Williamson :3-1-2-1(0.66)

India vs New Zealand: New Zealand innings

India's seamers had New Zealand in all kinds of problems before stand-in captain Ross Taylor and Scott Styris launched a strong recovery with an unbeaten 95-run partnership in the opening game of the tri-series in Dambulla. There was sharp seam and swing movement in the early stages, followed by bite and turn for the slow bowlers, but New Zealand's most experienced top-order batsmen were up to the task to set their side on 288/10 at 48.5 overs.

New Zealand Batting

Peter Ingram-c MS Dhoni b Ashish Nehra:12(17)

Martin Guptill-c MS Dhoni b Praveen Kumar:11(6)

Ross Taylor-lbw b Ashish Nehra:95(113)

Kane Williamson-b Praveen Kumar:0(9)

Scott Styris-b Pragyan Ojha:89(95)

Jacob Oram-lbw b Ashish Nehra:14(10)

Grant Elliott-st MS Dhoni b Yuvraj Singh:7(13)

Gareth Hopkins-c Dinesh Karthik b Praveen Kumar:10(11)

Daryl Tuffey-c Pragyan Ojha b Ashish Nehra:19(13)

Kyle Mills-run out (Suresh Raina):9(5)

Andy McKay-not out:0(1)

Extras (b 1, lb 12, w 9, nb 0):22

Total(288/10)

India Bowling

Praveen Kumar:9-3-43-3(4.77)

Ashish Nehra:9.5-1-47-4(4.77)

Abhimanyu Mithun:4-0-24-0(6)

Pragyan Ojha:10-0-58-1(5.8)

Ravindra Jadeja:9-0-63-0(7)

Yuvraj Singh:4-0-23-1(5.75)

Virender Sehwag:3-0-17-0(5.66)

Triseries starting today

For a series with such an unhurried schedule, the rush to start within three days of the Tests is puzzling. India have had so little time to prepare that they decided to take an army chopper to Dambulla to save time on the five-hour road journey from Colombo. On Monday afternoon, the Indian team had their only practice session ahead of the one-dayers. They had a three-hour net in the middle, observed by the groundstaff going through their last-day preparations such as getting the advertising hoardings in place and the security personnel going through their drills.

In contrast to the packed schedule of Dhoni's team, New Zealand are coming off a lengthy break and have had two sets of practice games, first in Darwin against Indian state side Maharashtra and then against a couple of teams made up of Sri Lankan fringe players.Both sides are missing key players but India will start as favourites, particularly given the amount of experience the team has of the conditions in Dambulla. One thing to New Zealand's advantage side is that unlike most subcontinental pitches, Dambulla will favour their pace-heavy attack.Traditionally, the track is far tougher to bat on under lights than in the afternoon session, due to which the toss assumes plenty of importance.

Form guide

(most recent first)

India: WLWWL

New Zealand: WLLLW

Watch out for...

Suresh Raina is coming off a fantastic start to his Test career, and seems to have established himself as the best of the young Indian batsmen battling for middle-order berths. He didn't have the best of times during the Asia Cup, and will want to make amends this time round.

In the absence of Brendon McCullum and Jesse Ryder, Ross Taylor's batting form becomes crucial to New Zealand's chances. For a man with little captaincy experience, Taylor also has the added challenge of leading the side.

Team news

An ankle injury has ruled Ishant Sharma out of the first game which means Abhimanyu Mithun is in line to add to his solitary one-day cap. Dhoni had struggled with a finger problem during the third Test but he said that he expected to play despite being in a bit of pain.

Dinesh Karthik was Man of the Match in the Asia Cup final after making a half-century at the top of the order, but India also have the option of going in with Virat Kohli, who began his India career as an opener during a series in Sri Lanka two years ago.

India (probable): 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Dinesh Karthik/Virat Kohli, 3 Rohit Sharma, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 6 Suresh Raina, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Praveen Kumar, 9 Abhimanyu Mithun, 10 Pragyan Ojha, 11 Ashish Nehra

New Zealand (probable): 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Peter Ingram, 3 Ross Taylor (capt), 4 Kane Williamson, 5 Scott Styris, 6 Grant Elliott, 7 Gareth Hopkins (wk), 8 Nathan McCullum, 9 Daryl Tuffey, 10 Kyle Mills, 11 Tim Southee/Andy McKay

Pitch and conditions

No cricket has been played at the Dambulla stadium since the Asia Cup which means there will be plenty of juice in the fresh, greenish track on Tuesday. To balance that is the fact that the boundary ropes have been pulled in at least 10 metres from where there were during the Asia Cup.

England vs Pakistan II test day4 images

England vs Pakistan II test

Andrew Strauss and Jonathan Trott hit unbeaten half-centuries to guide England to an emphatic nine-wicket win in the second Test at Edgbaston to give them a 2-0 lead in the series. Both batsmen finished on 53 with the second-wicket pair making light work of a potentially testing surface as the hosts completed their sixth consecutive Test victory midway through the afternoon session.

England did the hard work before lunch and when they resumed 47 were needed with the bite gone from Pakistan's attack. Strauss went to his fifty from 108 balls then Trott brought up the same milestone, his second fifty of the match, with a powerful cover drive which levelled the scores. Strauss secured victory via a rather inglorious inside edge but he'll be highly satisfied by another successful outing,

The day began with thoughts of Pakistan continuing their resurgence from the third evening, but in the end it proved a stroll for England. The visitors had left themselves far too much ground to make up after crumbling for 72 on the opening day and they couldn't create enough opportunities to defend the low target. Two more chances did go begging off Strauss, both to the hero of the previous day Zulqarnain Haider, although the first was very difficult and the second came with less than 50 needed.It took England just 11 balls to wrap up Pakistan's innings as Stuart Broad, lighter in the wallet after his fine for throwing the ball at Haider yesterday, had Mohammad Asif taken in the gully. However, Pakistan managed the early breakthrough they desperately wanted when Cook's poor run continued as his stumps were demolished by Mohammad Amir. Cook's footwork was nowhere and he is becoming a serious concern, although with Ian Bell still injured and the England selectors not keen on major structural changes he is likely to have the remainder of the series to revive his season.Amir's eight-over opening spell was another eye-catching display from the 18-year-old and he could easily have collected a second scalp as he beat the outside edges of Strauss and Trott. Saeed Ajmal was introduced for the eighth over and nearly followed Graeme Swann's lead by striking straight away, but Haider couldn't gather Strauss's thick outside edge. It was a tough chance, but the type of opportunity that needed to stick if Pakistan were to stay in the contest.

England 2nd innings

Andrew Strauss:not out:53(114)

Alastair Cook:b Mohammad Aamer:4(7)

Jonathan Trott:not out:53(101)

Bowling

Mohammad Aamer:11-1-31-1(2.81)

Mohammad Asif:6-0-20-0(3.33)

Saeed Ajmal:14.3-1-42-0(2.89)

Shoaib Malik:5-0-20-0(4)

England need 118 to win II test

Pakistan innings ended at 296/10 by taking Asif wicket.

Length delivery outside off by Broad, Asif pokes at it and gets a thick edge towards gully. That is easy pickings for Pietersen who makes no mistake. Pakistan have been bowled out and England have wrapped it up pretty quickly.

Starting the day with 112 lead,Pakistan managed to get just 6 runs in addition.England has ample time to win the matgh and make 2-0 series lead.

In Pakistan's second innings Zulqarnain Haider was leading scorer with 88 of 200 balls

and England's off spinner Swann took 6 wickets

England vs Pakistan II test Day 3

England vs Pakistan II test Day 3

Debutant Zulqarnain Haider scored a courageous 88 to frustrate England's bid to win inside three days against Pakistan in the second test at Edgbaston on Sunday.Pakistan, bowled out for just 72 on Friday before England replied with 251, reached 291 for nine at stumps to lead by 112 with two days remaining. Umar Gul, batting with a runner, was on nine and Mohammad Asif had 13.Haider came in at 82 for five with his team still 97 runs from avoiding an innings loss. Partnerships of 52 with Mohammad Amir and 115 with Saeed Ajmal, who hit a career best 50, ensured England were at least given a fight."Cricket is such a game that you are never out of it until it ends," Pakistan captain Salman Butt told reporters. "This is a total that teams can get out to, and with the kind of bowling we have - the wicket has taken spin - we surely have a chance.

"It's a credit to the boys the way they batted out there, even if they took some blows they were determined to do the job at hand. They showed the upper order the way and I'm really proud of how they played."Pakistan, 1-0 down in the four-match series, were jolted by an inspired spell either side of lunch by off-spinner Swann, who took a test-best six for 60. Haider dug in, though, before he was the ninth victim when he drove Swann to mid-off.

"Pakistan made us work really hard, I don't think it is any surprise that that was going to happen at some stage as we have bowled them out cheaply three times in the series so far so it's just the way the innings went," Swann said."It led to a few frustrations, the fact we got through the top order and it was the guys lower down who made us work."Wicketkeeper Haider, picked for the omitted Kamran Akmal, looked to have bagged the unwanted tag of a 'king pair' when given out lbw to Swann first ball. But a referral showed the ball had turned too much.

Haider's finest stroke was perhaps a thumping straight drive for four off pace bowler James Anderson that took him to 77. Another boundary driven through mid-on off Steven Finn raised his 50, when he knelt and kissed the turf.Pakistan, 19 for one overnight, almost survived the first hour of the morning until Swann dramatically made his entrance by taking a wicket with his third ball of the match. He had bowled just two overs in the series before the day began.Left-hander Farhat (29), struck above his right eye when on 27 by a Stuart Broad bouncer, was bowled when Swann came around the wicket, pitched the ball outside his leg stump only for it to spin sharply enough to take off stump.Right-hander Azhar Ali, after battling hard for 82 deliveries, perished to another spitting off-break from Swann for 19. This time Swann came over the wicket and landed the ball outside Ali's off stump and managed to get it to clip leg stump.

For the remainder of the afternoon session, Swann was denied by Haider and the 18-year-old Amir, whose maturity belied his years.While Haider was a solid presence, Amir escaped a run out chance on one and a dropped catch by short leg fielder Alastair Cook on nine off Paul Collingwood. Amir eventually edged Broad to Andrew Strauss at first slip shortly after tea.

As England sniffed another chance to claim the win, Ajmal hung around to make a 50 off 77 balls, before edging Swann to Strauss at slip two balls after his milestone.

England vs Pakistan II test.Pakistan 2nd innings Day 3

Pakistan 2nd innings

Imran Farhat:b Graeme Swann:29(93)

Salman Butt:c Andrew Strauss b James Anderson:0(10)

Azhar Ali:b Graeme Swann:19(82)

Shoaib Malik:c Matt Prior b Steven Finn:3(23)

Umar Akmal:lbw b Graeme Swann:20(26)

Umar Amin:st Matt Prior b Graeme Swann14(25)

Zulqarnain Haider:c Andrew Strauss b Graeme Swann:88(200)

Mohammad Aamer:c Andrew Strauss b Stuart Broad:16(117)

Saeed Ajmal:c Paul Collingwood b Graeme Swann:50(79)

Umar Gul:Batting:9(18)

Mohammad Asif:Batting:13(23)

Extras(30)

Total 291/9

Bowling

James Anderson:28-13-62-1(2.21)

Stuart Broad:28-8-66-1(2.35)

Steven Finn:16-5-57-1(3.56)

Graeme Swann:36-20-60-6(1.66)

Paul Collingwood:7-2-14-0(2)

Kevin Pietersen:1-0-2-0(2)

England vs Pakistan II test Day 2 Images

England vs Pakistan II test Day 2

England suffered a first innings batting collapse but still edged nearer to another crushing win over Pakistan, who trailed by 160 runs at close of play on day two of the second test at Edgbaston on Saturday.

Pakistan, dismissed for a dismal 72 on Friday before bowling England out for 251, reached 19 for one at the close with opener Imran Farhat unbeaten on 10 and Azhar Ali was not out on five.

Bad light ended play five overs early.

The wicket to fall was that of Pakistan captain Salman Butt, who was defeated by a swinging James Anderson ball on off stump and caught by Andrew Strauss at first slip.Butt failed to score and now has just 16 runs in his four innings in the series so far.

Pakistan 2nd Innings

Imran Farhat:Batting :10(51)

Salman Butt:c Andrew Strauss b James Anderson:0(10)

Azhar Ali:Batting:5(42)

Total[19/1]

Bowling

James Anderson:6.1-5-1-1(0.16)

Stuart Broad:7-2-10-0(1.42)

Steven Finn:4-3-4-0(1)

England vs Pakistan II test.England 1st innings

England 1st Innings

Andrew Strauss: c Zulqarnain Haider b Mohammad Aamer 25(40)

Alastair Cook: c Umar Akmal b Mohammad Asif 17(35)

Jonathan Trott :c sub b Umar Amin 55(125)

Kevin Pietersen: c & b Saeed Ajmal 80(147)

Paul Collingwood: c Imran Farhat b Saeed Ajmal 28(70)

Eoin Morgan: c Zulqarnain Haider b Mohammad Asif 6(15)

Matt Prior :lbw b Saeed Ajmal 15(21)

Graeme Swann :c & b Saeed Ajmal 4(25)

Stuart Broad :c sub b Saeed Ajmal 0(3)

James Anderson :lbw b Mohammad Aamer 0(14)

Steven Finn :not out 0(5)

Total{251/10}

Bowling

Mohammad Aamer:20-4-57-2(2.85)

Mohammad Asif:20-5-41-2(2.05)

Umar Gul:9-1-24-0(2.66)

Saeed Ajmal:26.1-5-82-5(3.13)

Umar Amin:8-2-28-1(3.5)

Srilanka vs India IIItest.India second innings

India 2nd innings

M Vijay :c DPMD Jayawardene b Randiv 27{53}

V Sehwag:c DPMD Jayawardene b Randiv 0{3}

R Dravid: b Randiv 7{22}

SR Tendulkar:c †HAPW Jayawardene b Randiv54{122}

I Sharma:c Sangakkara b Randiv 4{26}

VVS Laxman:not out 103{149}

SK Raina:not out 41{45}

Extras:22

Total [258/5]

Bowling Srilanka

SL Malinga: 12-1-49-0 (4.08)

S Randiv: 29-3-82-5 (2.82)

AD Mathews: 2-0-5-0 (2.50)

Welegedara: 8.3-2-34-0 (4.00)

BAW Mendis: 14-0-65-0 (4.64)

TM Dilshan: 3-0-12-0 (4.00)

Laxman's century helps India to 1-1 series draw

The final day of the Test series lived up to its billing with India emerging victorious in a gripping contest to level the series and confound those who had doubted their depleted line-up. VVS Laxman battled the pressure as well as an injured back and, with support from Sachin Tendulkar and Suresh Raina, countered the probing Suraj Randiv to reach his 16th century and seal a memorable win - India's fourth-highest successful chase in Tests.

India needed a recovery each time Laxman stepped out to bat this series, and he delivered once again: his most valuable innings coming in a situation that was the most challenging. The nerves of a tough chase were more evident in his partners, who offered chances and survived moments of edginess, as opposed to Laxman, around whose solidity India's hopes centered.

Laxman suffered back spasms shortly before he lost Tendulkar, and relied on Virender Sehwag as runner. As India approached the target, Laxman moved towards his century with sublime timing, easing the spinners through covers, and brought up the landmark with a tickle to fine leg.

Randiv was the most threatening of Sri Lanka's bowlers and assumed the role of lead spinner in just his second Test. He delivered the ball quick from a high angle and was potent on a track generating bounce. Randiv's three wickets on the fourth day had put Sri Lanka ahead and they would have been on top had an initially patchy Tendulkar not been dropped at forward short leg. He attacked from round the wicket, targeted the rough and got the ball to spit from a middle-and-off line. India's approach throughout the day had been positive and Tendulkar's hunt for runs, though reflecting his determination to keep India on track, kept Randiv interested. Tendulkar closed the face often, used the paddle, made room to cut Randiv from the stumps and even stepped out of his crease. He inside-edged Randiv to one that spun in but Tillakaratne Dilshan failed to hold on to a straightforward chance, a moment Tendulkar shrugged off with a lovely off-drive next ball.Laxman's performances in both innings were crucial but the game was set up in two decisive phases by Sehwag. His blistering century set a tempo to the Indian first innings that enabled them to scale down a formidable Sri Lankan total in quick time. And his dismissals of the Sri Lankan openers, Dilshan and Tharanga Paranavitana, on the third day deprived the hosts of the strong start they needed to post an intimidating target. All this on a competitive pitch, which gave India's bowlers enough assistance to grab 20 wickets despite the absence of their most experienced bowler and the unavailability of a first-choice seam attack.

Srilanka vs India IIItest day 5 images

1. Suresh Raina finishes 2.Randiv's celebrations for 5 wicket haul

3.Sachin half century 4.Lakshman's century celebration

England vs Pakistan II test day1

England took control of the second test at Edgbaston on Friday reaching 112 for two when bad light ended play on day one after Pakistan earlier slumped to 72 all out and their lowest-ever test total against England.Jonathan Trott was 31 not out and Kevin Pietersen, without a test century in 22 innings, had 36 to give England a lead of 40.
Pakistan may rue a day in which they won the toss and batted in tough, overcast conditions and then later dropped chances to hit back at England.Pakistan, who were all out for 80 on Sunday when losing the first test by 354 runs, again suffered through their batsmen's inadequacies to deal with the swinging ball.Stuart Broad claimed four for 38 and James Anderson four for 20, including the last three.Pakistan's bowlers struck twice immediately after tea when England slipped from 44 without loss to 44 for two. If chances offered by Trott and Pietersen had then been taken, the match may have taken a different path.
England lost left-hander Alastair Cook (17) first, after completing a hook shot too early only to see the ball balloon off his glove to second slip from the bowling of Mohammad Asif.
Captain Andrew Strauss departed after Pakistan activated one of their two allocated reviews. Replays showed Strauss deflected an inside edge off Mohammad Amir on to his thigh pad and through to debutant wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider.Trott was dropped on eight by Imran Farhat at first slip to a straightforward chance at waist height. Bowler Asif was visibly frustrated and did well to keep his feelings in check.
The Pakistan innings lasted just 39.3 overs and spanned four minutes short of three hours. Pakistan chose to bat despite agreeing in a team meeting the previous evening that they would bowl given such conditions, according to team sources.Umar Amin top-scored with just 23, while their highest partnership was 27 between Amir and Amin, before they lost their last four wickets for nine runs.Imran Farhat's arduous 31-minute struggle for no runs from 24 balls ended when his ultra-defensive approach was undone by a short ball which the opener edged to wicketkeeper Matt Prior off Broad.

It was clear the Pakistani batsmen were intent on playing more conservatively than at Trent Bridge but they also invited pressure.When Salman Butt played a leg glance off Anderson for a single to take the team to nine for one, it was the first run off the bat for 49 deliveries. Butt succumbed after 40 balls, attempting a rare attacking shot which he edged to Graeme Swann at second slip off Steven Finn.Shoaib Malik drove his first ball firmly through cover for three runs but he then edged an Anderson out-swinger to a diving Prior.Umar Akmal's clip off his legs over square for six off a Broad half-volley was a rare moment of cheer for the Pakistani fans, spotted around a half-full Edgbaston undergoing major reconstruction.Azhar Ali put up a brave but ultimately fruitless struggle. He failed to score a run from his 32 balls, before being trapped lbw by a Broad delivery that swung into him and cut back.Akmal (17) was lbw to Finn though he would probably have been not out if he had used one of his team's two reviews as the ball struck him outside the line of off stump. Debutant Haider edged his first ball in test cricket to Prior off Broad.

England 1st innings

Andrew Strauss:c Zulqarnain Haider b Mohammad Aamer25[40]

Alastair Cook:c Umar Akmal b Mohammad Asif17[35]

Jonathan Trott:Batting31[68]

Kevin Pietersen:Batting36[64]

Total{112/2}

Pakistan bowling

Mohammad Aamer:10.2-2-36-1[3.48]

Mohammad Asif:10-1-23-1[2.3]

Umar Gul:6-1-14-0[2.33]

Saeed Ajmal:7-0-32-0[4.57]

Umar Amin:1-0-5-0[5]

England vs Pakistan II test Pakistan 1st innings

Pakistan 1st innings

Imran Farhat: c Matt Prior b Stuart Broad: 0{24}

Salman Butt: c Graeme Swann b Steven Finn: 7{40}

Azhar Ali: lbw b Stuart Broad: 0{32}

Shoaib Malik: c Matt Prior b James Anderson :3{4}

Umar Akmal: lbw b Steven Finn: 17{29}

Umar Amin: c Paul Collingwood b Stuart Broad: 23{47}

Zulqarnain Haider: c Matt Prior b Stuart Broad: 0{1}

Mohammad Aamer: c Alastair Cook b James Anderson: 12{39}

Umar Gul: c Kevin Pietersen b James Anderson: 0{8}

Saeed Ajmal: not out: 5{9}

Mohammad Asif: c Kevin Pietersen b James Anderson: 0{5}

TOTAL(72/10)

England bowling

James Anderson:14.3-6-20-4(1.37)

Stuart Broad:17-7-38-4(2.23)

Steven Finn:8-3-10-2(1.25)

Batting:runs(balls)

Bowling:overs-maidens-runs-wickets(economy)

England vs Pakistan II test day1 images