Julian Hunte, the President of the WICB, will meet with Allen Stanford during the Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa. Stanford has been invited to the final by the ICC and a meeting between him, Hunte and ICC representatives is planned for September 23 in Johannesburg.The second Stanford 20/20 is scheduled for January and February 2008 and the WICB said: “A formal agreement has not yet been signed but the board has included the event in its 2007-08 calendar.”The meeting will also allow discussions of Stanford’s plans to take the game to an international level. During the first event in 2005-06 he had planned for South Africa to take on an All-Stars XI before the match fell through and there have been rumours of other teams being approached to take part in big-money matches.Meanwhile, the WICB is going to start advertising for a new CEO to replace Bruce Aanensen, who resigned from the post last week.Also discussed at the WICB board of directors meeting on Saturday was the creation of a Combined Campuses and Colleges Team which will take part in all future regional one-day and four-day tournaments.The board also agreed that a WICB-selected Under-19 team will play in all future regional one-day tournaments. The 20-member training squad for the Under-19 World Cup will play in this year’s KFC tournament. The regional season will start in with the one-day tournament in October 2007 and end in July 2008.

Trinidad and Tobago are looking to maintain their reputation as the leading team in the West Indies when they travel to Grenada for this weekend’s Grenada Cricket Festival.The Trinidad and Tobago squad have a lot to live up to as they contest the triangular Twenty20 tournament featuring Grenada and Antigua, but Omar Khan, the team manager, is confident, even though they will be without Dwayne Bravo and Ravi Rampaul.While this was not high on the priority list for the national team, as they prepare for the KFC Cup regional limited overs competition in Guyana later this month, Khan was adamant they will give a good account of themselves, saying: “We are going there to win and I believe that we have enough talent in the squad to come out on top.”It is a full-strength squad and it will be an opportunity for the guys that are going to continue their preparation for the KFC Cup, which is our top priority,” Khan said.Trinidad and Tobago, the defending KFC Cup champions, had reached the final of the Stanford Twenty20 Tournament last year but stumbled against Guyana. They will be using the Grenada Cricket Festival as a starting point for building their line-up for the 2008 Stanford Tournament, scheduled for January.”The KFC Cup squad still has to be cut down to 14 so these guys will have a further opportunity to impress the selectors,” Khan said. “The coach and training staff will also get a chance to do some extra work with the team in Grenada because it is all about performing in a different environment and conditions and the extra work there will pay off in the KFC Cup.”The squad leave today and play their first game tomorrow against Grenada at the National Stadium and take on Antigua at the same venue on Monday.Trinidad and Tobago Twenty20 squad:
Daren Ganga (capt), Denesh Ramdin (wk), Rayad Emrit, Richard Kelly, Amit Jaggernauth, Nicholas Ramjass, William Perkins, Mario Belcon, Keiron Pollard, Lendl Simmons, Sherwin Ganga, Andre Browne
Coach: David Williams
Manager: Omar Khan
Physical Trainer: Gerald Garcia

Ian Botham had an unhealthy influence on Andrew Flintoff and has long caused difficulties in the England set-up, according to England’s former coach Duncan Fletcher in the latest extract of his autobiography, Behind the Shades.”It did worry me that Botham influenced Andrew Flintoff far too much on that [2006-07] Ashes tour,” Fletcher wrote. Although the pair are good friends – Botham has long been a hero of Flintoff – Fletcher said that other members of the England side don’t hold him in the same high regard.”He thinks the players listen to him, but they do not,” Fletcher said. “Often you would go into the dressing-room and hear the players in exasperation saying things like: ‘Have you heard what Botham is saying about the wicket?’ Botham’s commentary has long caused problems.”After England’s match against Canada in the World Cup, England were invited by Rod Bransgrove – the Hampshire chairman – onto his boat for a party. “In the dressing room…Kevin Pietersen, who knows Bransgrove well from Hampshire, was asking the other players who was going on the boat,” Fletcher wrote. “At least four or five of the senior players asked: ‘Is Botham going?'”Pietersen found out Botham was indeed going and, when he relayed this in the dressing-room, a unanimous call of ‘no thanks’ rang out. None of the players went. For once they were standing up to someone in the media.”Fletcher and Botham’s relationship “deteriorated over time”, and tensions between the pair were constantly kindled by Botham’s “unbelievable” views. “Back in 2004 in Jamaica, Sky called a meeting with Michael Vaughan and me, intended to improve the relationship between the broadcasters and the team,” Fletcher wrote. “Present at a restaurant, owned by a relation of Michael Holding, were Holding himself, executive producer Barney Francis and David Lloyd.”It was interesting that Botham was not there because most of the conversation centred around him as he appeared the one obstacle to improving the relationship. Some critics said he was inconsistent in his thoughts and did not do enough investigative work before a day’s commentary.”

Australia will rely on the sheer pace of Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson to cover the huge gaps left by Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne. Justin Langer has also departed but filling the holes of two men who captured 1271 wickets is the main concern as the hosts attempt to retain their all-conquering ways.Sri Lanka will face a fast-bowling attack at the Gabba on Thursday that has a combined tally of 68 Tests and contains the debutant Mitchell Johnson. Brett Lee is the main man, having appeared in 59 matches, while Stuart Clark will probably begin his fourth series at first-change. The collective inexperience does not bother Ricky Ponting and he is confident the trio can kick-start the new era.”You have to look to somebody else to do the job that they [Warne and McGrath] were doing,” Ponting said. “They were great at building pressure. Now we might have to come back to sheer pace to get our breakthroughs with Brett and Mitchell.”Extra responsibility will also fall on Stuart MacGill as he tries to fit back into the team after an 18-month absence. One of the reasons Australia preferred MacGill to the swing of Ben Hilfenhaus was due to Warne’s strong performances in Brisbane, which he rated as a perfect venue for legspin because of the extra bounce.”We know Stuart MacGill’s wicket-taking ability is second to none in the history of the game,” Ponting said. “And we know we’ve got the options.”Sri Lanka’s recruiting of Trevor Bayliss, who was the New South Wales coach in June, has come with the bonus of intimate knowledge of almost half the Australian team. Mahela Jayawardene, the captain, said Bayliss had been passing on tips to his new team about what to expect from Clark, MacGill, Lee, Michael Clarke and Phil Jaques.”Trevor has been giving us a lot of information and we’ve been discussing a lot of plans,” he said. “It’s always good to have a lot of plans, but you also need to concentrate on what’s going on out there and go with your instincts.”Australia would like to bat first even though the pitch contains significant moisture and they may get their wish if Sri Lanka push for a four-man pace attack. Ponting, who has discussed the threats of the opposition bowlers with his team, felt playing so many would be risky.”If you look historically at things at the Gabba, sides that bat first win more often than not,” he said. “If they did want to play four they’d be going against that. And if the keeper [Prasanna Jayawardene] bats six it leaves them a little thin.”

Mohammad Ashraful will lead Bangladesh’s 15-man squad to play the three-match ODI series in New Zealand next month. Mashrafe Mortaza has been named his deputy; the tenures of both the captain and vice-captain have been extended until December 2008.Opener Shahriar Nafees and offspinner Mahmudullah have been dropped from the team that were run over by Sri Lanka in July. They have been replaced by Junaid Siddique, who scored 71 in the only match he played during the ICC World Twenty20, and Nazmul Hossain, an up-and-coming fast bowler.The squad has two other openers in Javed Omar and Tamim Iqbal, while the bowling attack will be lead by Mortaza, and includes Syed Rasel, Abdur Razzak and Shahadat Hossain, besides allrounders Shakib al Hasan, Mehrab Hossain jnr and Farhad Reza. Mushfiqur Rahim continues as wicketkeeper, while Aftab Ahmed – who has often thrilled with his brief but breathtaking stroke play – will play alongside Ashraful in the middle order.Bangladesh, who have only played two Tests previously in New Zealand, are scheduled to begin their tour with a warm-up match against Northern Districts starting on December 19 although there has been talk of organising a charity Twenty20 match to raise money for the cyclone victims in Bangladesh.Bangladesh squad Mohammad Ashraful (capt), Mashrafe Mortaza, Javed Omar, Tushar Imran, Abdur Razzak, Shakib Al Hasan, Syed Rasel, Aftab Ahmed, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Shahadat Hossain, Junaid Siddique, Farhad Reza, Mehrab Hossain jnr, Tamim Iqbal, Nazmul Hossain.

Group A

In spite of fast bowler Sohail Khan’s day-three heroics, all Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) could manage was a draw and claim three points against Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) at the Asghar Ali Shah Stadium. A defiant display by third-placed WAPDA on day three saw them make 353 in their second innings. SSGC needed 328 to win, but they spent yesterday idling to 264 for 6 as the match ended in a rather tame draw.WAPDA had a win in mind, as the first two SSGC wickets fell with only 13 on the board. The third wicket fell at 68, but a 159-run stand for the fourth wicket steered SSGC out of the woods. The experienced Saeed bin Nasir hit his 12th first-class hundred, batting for almost four and a half hours and facing 208 deliveries. With Saeed was the SSGC captain Atiq-uz-Zaman, who missed what would have been his fourth century by just nine runs. The 32-year-old Atiq, who played in a Test match for Pakistan as wicketkeeper back in 1999-00 and is now settled in England, made 91 off just 134 balls in a little over three hours with 11 fours.National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) were breathing easier again as they managed to draw their match against Habib Bank Limited (HBL) at the NBP Sports Complex Stadium. NBP refused to buckle down, after having conceded a 44-run first-innings lead to their opponents, and spent the entire day yesterday posting 251 for 6 in their second innings.From nine matches, ranking leaders HBL have now totalled 66 points, after having taken three from the match. They only have Karachi Whites to contend with before the all-important final, in their last preliminary round game ten days from now after the Eid ul Azha and Christmas break. NBP have two matches in hand and 51 points from eight matches to their credit. They must win against both Sialkot, in the replay of their abandoned first-round encounter, and Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC). This will bring their points tally to 69. At the same time, they will be hoping that Karachi Whites beat Habib Bank and the latter don’t add to their 66 points.Lahore Ravi defeated Sialkot by a three-wicket margin on the final day of their respective tenth round match at the Lahore City Cricket Association (LCCA) Ground.By the end of the third day’s play, Lahore Ravi, at 177 for 7, still required another 35 to win. Their eighth-wicket pair yesterday took their team to 214 for 7 without any further mishap and a win was comfortably achieved.Wicketkeeper Shahbaz Butt, with an unbeaten 45 off 101 balls with five fours and a six, had the belligerent Waqas Ahmed as his partner and the two added 65.Waqas had a tremendous match, as he followed his 23-ball 45 in the first innings with an unbeaten 30 off 34 deliveries with five fours. In addition Waqas, a former Pakistan Under-19s star, captured 4 for 48 and 6 for 70 for a match haul of 10 for 118.Lahore Ravi remain at fourth place in the 11-team Group A ranking, with 39 points from nine matches of which they have won four and lost three. Sialkot, Quaid-e-Azam Trophy champions in 2005-06 and runners-up last season, are down at number nine with a mere 15 points from eight appearances.Multan emerged victorious by nine wickets over Hyderabad at the Multan Cricket Stadium. Adbul Rauf, the Multan captain, grabbed 6 for 72 to bowled Hyderabad out for 180 and needing just 70 to win, the hosts did so for the loss of only one wicket and collected the full nine points.Multan are up to the fifth spot, with 30 points after having completed their ten-match schedule. Hyderabad have been pushed to rock bottom by Pakistan Customs. They have only three points from their nine matches, of which they have lost five.

Group B

Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) attained a whopping innings-and-181-run triumph over Karachi Blues, on the final day at the United Bank Limited Sports Complex Ground No.1 in Karachi. After having gained a massive 327-run first innings lead over their opponents, with their score of 515 for 5 declared, ZTBL had Karachi Blues dismissed for a poor 146.Zohaib Khan, Peshawar’s slow left-arm bowler, achieved career-best figures of 5for 49 to hasten the Blues’ demise. Right-arm medium-fast bowler Kashif Dawood played an admirable foil with 3 for 28 in 12 overs. Kashif returned a match haul of 8 for 65. ZTBL have now completed all their ten matches in the Group B preliminaries. With a tally of 36 points, however, they stay at the fifth spot. Blues are down at number nine in the 11-team ranking with a mere 12 points from nine matches.At the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium after either side had forfeited its first innings, a definite result was achieved with Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) dismissing Abbottabad for a poor 111 to attain a 246-run win.Bottom-of-the-table Pakistan Customs lifted themselves up to number ten in the 11-team pool ranking, as they attained a creditable draw against Karachi Whites at theNational Stadium. After having gained a 58-run lead over the Karachi team, Customs batted on for much of the last day as they made 271 in their second innings. Needing an impossible 330 to win, Karachi Whites lost four wickets while scoring 60.The left-handed Rehan Rafiq, unbeaten at 60 overnight, managed only four more to his score. His 64 came off 142 balls with ten fours and he added 97 for the fifth wicket with Yasir Hussain (39) before three wickets fell in a heap. Mohammad Hasa, just 17, followed up his first-innings 43 with a career-best 76 from 143 balls. With Raees Amjad (34), Hasan helped add 91 for the eighth wicket. Karachi fast bowers Mohammad Hasnain and Fahad Khan bagged four wickets each.From their nine matches, of which they have lost as many as seven and drawn two, Customs have scraped together just six points. Karachi Whites, in fact the defending champions of the competition, are now at eighth place with 21 points from their nine appearances.At the Diamond Club Ground in Islamabad, Quetta left the home side a rather steep target of 284 after declaring their second innings closed at 321 for 9. Islamabad were 199 for 5 when the match came to a close. For Quetta, who had earlier surrendered a 38-run lead, left-handed opener Shoaib Khan compiled 154 off 240 balls with 16 fours and two sixes. With Jalat Khan (46), his fifth-wicket stand was worth 97. For Islamabad, captain Ashar Zaidi was unlucky to miss a hundred by just one run, his 99 being terminated by pace bowler Faisal Irfan, after he faced only 114 balls and hit 16 boundaries.Islamabad remained at third place in the Group B ranking with 39 points from nine matches and Quetta at the bottom with a mere three points from their ninePeshawar batted well in their second innings to score 258 at the Arbab Niaz Stadium, leaving Rawalpindi 199 for an improbable victory. All they had was ten overs at their disposal as they reached 46 for 1 before the match ended in a draw.

Kandurata, led by Sri Lanka’s vice-captain Kumar Sangakkara, qualified for a place in Sunday’s final when they recorded their third straight win in the competition, defeating Hirdaramani Ruhuna by 43 runs under the Duckworth- Lewis method in a night match played at the R Premadasa Stadium.Winning the toss and choosing to bat, Kandurata made their third total in excess of 250 through half-centuries from Thilan Samaraweera (71 off 96 balls) and Chamara Kapugedera (63 off 65 balls). The innings was given a late boost by Thilan Thushara who slammed a breezy 47 off 27 balls with four sixes and a four.Ruhuna could not sustain an adjusted target of 282 from 47 overs despite fifties from Upul Tharanga and Indika de Saram and were dismissed for 238 in the 44th over, with Thushara once again being the stumbling block taking 3 for 29.Basnahira South, captained by Tillakaratne Dilshan, registered their first win by beating Basnahira North by six wickets, again under the Duckworth-Lewis method, at the SSC grounds. Put into bat, Basnahira North could manage only 207 for 9 in 50 overs, their batsmen being restricted by young left-arm spinner Milinda Siriwardene who took 6 for 40 off 10 overs.Basnahira South’s run chase was curtailed by rain and their revised target saw them set 175 for victory off 36 overs. Ian Daniel with 74 off 75 balls (5 fours, 2 sixes) led the way to victory which was achieved with eight overs to spare.

The cream of the country’s talent will take part in the Pentangular Cup, due to begin in cities around Pakistan, from February 10. For the first time in its 34-year-old history, only provincial teams will be competing for the prize, which includes Pakistan’s four provinces as well as a team representing the Federal Areas.Unusually for a domestic competition, the country’s top players are taking part, a result of the board’s policy to make it a tournament of the top 75 performers from the Quaid-e-Azam trophy. Additionally, 25 of the most promising young players from around the country have been called up to the squads.Shoaib Malik, Pakistan’s captain, will lead Punjab, Shahid Afridi is Sindh’s captain, while Younis Khan leads the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP). Shoaib Akhtar, who is playing in a bid to prove his fitness before Australia tour Pakistan, will lead the Federal Areas, which includes players from Islamabad and surrounding regions. Balochistan, historically Pakistan’s weakest cricket province, will include guest players from around the country in a bid to strengthen the side and will be led by Naseem Khan.The tournament has undergone a number of format changes, often including departments and not always restricted to – as the name suggests – five teams. This year’s tournament, however, is a return to how the tournament was originally intended and is among the most financially rewarding: not only do the winners claim a Rs 1 million prize (approx US$16,000), each member of the playing XI will be paid Rs 25,000 (approx US$400) per match. Non-playing members of the squad will get Rs 10,000 (approx US$160). The tournament will also be televised on a local sports channel.There will be a short break after the first round of matches as general elections will be held in the country on February 18, but the four-day matches resume from February 22. The tournament, which kicks off with Sindh taking on NWFP in Karachi and Punjab playing the Federal Areas in Lahore, will be played on a single-league basis.Squads
Punjab: Shoaib Malik (capt), Mohammad Yousuf, Salman Butt, Mohammad Hafeez, Misbah-ul-Haq (vice-capt), Kamran Akmal (wk), Naved Latif, Adnan Raza, Ammar Mahmood, Junaid Zia, Wahab Riaz, Waqas Ahmad, Mansoor Amjad, Mohammad Khalil, Abdul Rehman, Mohammad Salman (wk), Aizaz Cheema, Kashif Raza, Nasir Jamshed, Azhar Ali, Mohammad Asif (will be included in the team after a fitness test).Sindh: Khalid Latif, Khurram Manzoor, Shadab Kabir, Shahid Afridi (capt), Naumanullah, Hasan Raza, Faisal Iqbal (vice-capt), Asim Kamal, Fawad Alam, Rizwan Ahmad, Sohail Khan, Anwar Ali, Mohammad Sami, Faisal Athar, Danish Kaneria, Sarfraz Ahmad (wk), Hanif Malik (wk), Tahir Khan, Uzair-ul-Haq, Asif Zakir.Federal Areas: Shoaib Akhtar (capt), Rao Iftikhar (vice-capt), Yasir Arafat, Sohail Tanvir, Rauf Akbar, Naeem Anjum (wk), Afaq Raheem, Raheel Majeed, Naveed Qureshi, Usman Saeed, Bazid Khan, Shahzad Azam Rana, Omair Khan, Atif Maqbool, Fayyaz Ahmad, Bilal Asad, Asher Zaidi, Babar Naeem, Yasir Ali, Asadullah Sumeri.Balochistan: Usman Tariq, Imran Nazir, Saeed Anwar jnr, Shoaib Khan, Naseem Khan (capt), Sohaib Maqsood, Rameez Alam, Bilal Khiljee, Saeed Bin Nasir, Jalat Khan, Abdur Rauf (vice-capt), Kamran Hussain, Azharullah, Tanvir Ahmad, Mohammad Irshad, Imranullah Aslam, Gulraiz Sadaf (wk), Nazar Hussain, Faisal Irfan, Yasir Arafat (jnr).NWFP: Younis Khan (capt), Yasir Hameed (vice-capt), Riffatullah Mohmmand, Wajid Ali, Aftab Ahmad Khan, Wajahatullah Wasti, Riaz Kail, Asad Shafiq, Zulfiqar Jan (wk), Aslam Qureshi, Yasir Shah, Khurram Shahzad, Shakeel-ur-Rehman, Nauman Habib, Fazl-e-Akbar, Adnan Raees, Waqar Ahmad, Fawad Khan (wk), Junaid Khan, Samiullah Khan, Umar Gul (will be included after a fitness test).

Suresh Raina is playing the patient game. He has no other option and he understands that. Two years ago he was earmarked for the future but he dropped off the radar, having failed to regain his mojo after which the team management lost its patience. He went back to domestic cricket to work out his faults but it was not a smooth drive and he had to encounter obstacles and navigate tight corners to work his way back into the Indian dressing room.”I didn’t make use of the time I spent in the middle”, Raina admits reflecting back on the form slump he faced in 2006 after starting off his international career on a high note. After returning home midway through the series in South Africa in December 2006 Raina scored a century against Tamil Nadu in a Ranji Trophy game. The selectors gave him another chance when they picked him for the last two ODIs of the home series against West Indies. Raina only played in the final game in Chennai, and his 23 was the last score he made for India.Soon it was back to the domestic grind but Raina suffered a knee injury during the one-day domestic tournaments and had to undergo surgery. He didn’t let that interfere with his focus and tried to work on his shortcomings. “I had to improve my footwork and my fitness is much better now”, he said.Raina agrees it is tough to make a comeback after one year, but he is now more positive and derives confidence from that. “I play very positively whenever I play any form of cricket. It’s good for me I got some big runs in the Ranji season. It’s always tough to come back, but the Indian players spoke with me to keep my confidence high.”Raina proved he had recovered completely from the injury with handy scores for Uttar Pradesh which played a crucial role in getting his side to the final for a second time in three years. UP lost the final to Delhi but Raina had scored 683 runs in eight Ranji games, including a double-century, a hundred and three half-centuries. In addition he worked on his fitness and more importantly sought to understand different match situations, which he feels is the key to success in the middle.He learnt by watching the seniors. “His [Tendulkar] practice session is different: his batting style, the selection of the balls is good learning. He has always been good at understanding the position of the game and adapts accordingly.” Raina now intends to do the same as he talks about the changes he has brought into his game during his break from international cricket. “Now I keep myself in a positive frame of mind and make sure I read the situation, understand the player at the other end and adapt”, Raina said, stressing that he has been working hard in the nets despite not yet getting a chance in the CB Series campaign.He understands that getting a chance in the series isn’t going to be easy since there are at least four players vying for the same No. 6 position. With Mahendra Singh Dhoni coming in at No. 5, Raina will first have to compete with Yuvraj Singh who, despite his minor form slump, will still be favoured for his experience. Dinesh Karthik and Manoj Tiwary are also waiting for call-ups.But competition and batting position don’t bother Raina too much. “What mattes is how you read the situation. I learned a lot of Yuvraj batting at No. 6. So I don’t see any pressure”, Raina said, pointing out that there was still one more practice session before the next game against Australia on Sunday. With four more games left in the league phase Raina is not losing hope yet.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

On a roller coaster day at the Wankhede Stadium, where fortunes kept swinging from one side to the other, North Zone managed to grab a slight advantage with a 66-run lead. Siddharth Trivedi left North reeling at 97 for 4 with an incisive spell of seam bowling before Rajat Bhatia and Yashpal Singh added 128 for the fifth wicket to steer them out of trouble. Another mini-collapse left North on par with West before VRV Singh and Ashok Thakur charged them to a valuable lead.The drama started with the first ball of the day. Trivedi had Aakash Chopra edging to third slip before he prised out Karan Goel for a duck in the same over. In a blink, North were limping at 53 for 2. Cue Shikhar Dhawan and Mithun Manhas, to try and start the repair job.Trivedi continued to move the ball both ways while the other bowlers maintained the pressure with a disciplined bowling performance and eventually, the pressure started to tell. Dhawan fell trying to cut Trivedi and Manhas, trying to be aggressive, nicked a loose drive behind and North were struggling at 97 for 4.In walked Bhatia, who had scored a century in the Ranji Trophy final to save Delhi from a precarious position, and he proceeded to repeat the rescue act here. The pair of Bhatia and Yashpal started off in an uncertain manner, playing and missing quite a lot. Sandeep Jobanputra was the unlucky bowler as he went past the outside edge, especially Yashpal’s, on many occasions. Slowly, as the sun came out and the wicket lost its sting, they prospered. Bhatia was strong on his legs, whipping anything full through midwicket while Yashpal started to connect with his drives.The second session belonged to North as the pair pulled away before Parthiv Patel, West’s captain, got into the act. With seven men on the leg side, he told Rakesh Dhruv to bowl from over the wickets to an outside-leg-stump line, tempting the batsmen to go inside-out to the offside. After resisting initially and padding away those deliveries, the pair started to go for the shots and it led to Yashpal’s dismissal. He went down the track and heaved straight to mid-off. Dhruv went on to induce a nick off Uday Kaul.The new ball got rid of Amit Mishra, Bhatia, top-edging a hook, and Vikramjeet Malik in quick succession leaving North at 274 for 9. With the scores level, VRV swung his bat merrily while Thakur played conservatively to push the scores along. The field spread out and VRV wisely started to pick singles and the lead crept past 60 before he was stumped off Dhruv.Wasim Jaffer and Sahil Kukreja saw out two patient overs to finish the day with West 2 for 0.