2nd Test, Ban vs WI: Bangladesh 226 for 6 at stumps

Shakib Al Hasan made 97 runs and Nasir Hossain smashed an unbeaten half-century to help Bangladesh reach 226 for 6 at stumps Saturday after a slow start on the fourth day of the second and final Test match.
Bangladesh was 85 for 5 at tea but Shakib and Nasir fought back to yield a 144-run, sixth-wicket partnership at the end of the day after the West Indies declared its first innings at 648 for 9 just 10 minutes into the second session with a 261-run lead. At stumps, Bangladesh still trailed the visitors by 35 runs.Nasir was not out on 64 after Shakib was out three runs shy of a century. Shakib took 117 balls including 10 boundaries and one six to reach his total. Tino Best returned figures of 3-26, while Veerasammy Permaul took 2 for 51 and Fidel Edwards took one wicket to put the West Indies on course to sweep the two-Test series 2-0.

Best removed opener Tamim Iqbal (28), Shahriar Nafees (21) and Naeem Islam (2). Fidel Edwards trapped the other opener, Nazimuddin, lbw for a duck while Veerasammy Permaul (2 for 51) dismissed skipper Mushfiqur Rahim for 10 and Shakib for 97.
Earlier, Shivnarine Chanderpaul scored an unbeaten 150 before the declaration that left the West Indies almost five sessions to dismiss Bangladesh in a bid to sweep the two-Test series 2-0 after claiming the first Test by 77 runs.
At the break, Shakib Al Hasan was unbeaten on 20 with Nasir Hossain not out on 1. After resuming on the overnight score of 564-4, the West Indies lost four wickets to Shakib Al Hasan for 146 runs in the morning. Two of the dismissals came in the last over before the lunch interval. The last wicket was taken by Sohag Gazi (3 for 167).
Shakib's four-wicket haul gives him 102 Test wickets. On Wednesday, Bangladesh was dismissed for 387 runs.
Chanderpaul's 150 came off 282 balls with 12 boundaries and one six, and backed up dashing scores of 260 from Marlon Samuels and 127 from Darren Bravo. Chanderpaul had an unbeaten 203 in the first Test in Dhaka.
The West Indies were untroubled through most of the 26 overs played in the morning session until Shakib struck in the last four overs before lunch. Denesh Ramdin was out for 31, caught by Rahim, Darren Sammy went for a duck, Permaul had 13 and Sunil Narine was dismissed without scoring.

Tillakratne Dilshan returns as Sri Lanka eye whitewash

Sri Lanka will welcome back opener Tillakaratne Dilshan for the second and final Test against New Zealand in Colombo starting on Sunday after he recovered from a back injury. Dilshan, whose last innings was an unbeaten 102 in the third match of the five-game ODI series, missed Sri Lanka's 10-wicket win inside three days in the first Test in Galle.
"Dilshan is pretty much 100 per cent fit and Dimuth Karunaratne will make way for him," captain Mahela Jayawardene told reporters on Saturday. "We want to get Dilshan back into things ready for the Australia tour, which is very important for us and we wouldn't take a risk with him. When he left he was in pretty good form and now he feels ready and comfortable and the physio has given him clearance. He wants to play, he is happy and eager.There was also good news for New Zealand with fast bowler Tim Southee likely to play after recovering from a groin injury that prevented him for bowling on the final day in Galle. "He has been having a lot of rehab and participated in training yesterday, did the fitness work and pulled up well so he has been named in the 12 and he is looking good to play," said New Zealand captain Ross Taylor.
New Zealand have named the same 11 that lost in Galle, plus uncapped leg-spinner Todd Astle, and will make a decision on the final make-up of the side on Sunday morning. "Todd has had a lot of success in New Zealand and is not far from being a genuine allrounder," said Taylor. "He started off as a batsman and part-time spinner and he has worked hard on his bowling and turned himself into a decent spinner. He has fitted into the group very well, has got a good work ethic, trains hard and has come into the reckoning."
New Zealand's problems against spin have dominated the match build-up after Rangana Herath took 11 wickets in Galle, giving him 46 from eight Tests in 2012. Jayawardene said the player's form gave Sri Lanka a psychological edge. "Definitely," he said. "Any bowler who take a 10-wicket haul in a Test match will create problems for the opposition and we will try and ride on that. Rangana gives us that control factor, he has been a steady competitor for us and the way he is bowling right now he will be a big factor for New Zealand, definitely.
"But we can't rely just on Rangana and I was quite happy with the way the other three bowlers (Shaminda Eranga, Nuwan Kulasekara and Suraj Randiv) bowled at Galle and with the pressure and the opportunities they created."
New Zealand's spin phobia has been a key factor in five consecutive test losses against the West Indies, India and now Sri Lanka, their worst run since 1955. "(Spin has) been a factor as conditions have been a lot different to what we get at home but the players need to step up and play better," said Taylor.

2nd Test: SA fight back to reduce Australia to 111/5 on day three

Rory Kleinveldt took three top-order wickets to help pull South Africa back into contention in the second Test by restricting Australia to 111 for 5 at stumps on Saturday, a lead of 273 with two days to play.
The Australians had a 162-run cushion after dismissing South Africa for 388 on day three, and were coasting at 77 without loss in the second innings until Kleinveldt struck. The second-Test paceman dismissed David Warner (41) and Rob Quiney (0) within three balls and then bowled Ed Cowan (29) as Australia slipped to 91 for 3.Dale Steyn chipped in with the wicket of Ricky Ponting (16), who dragged a wide ball back onto his stumps to make it 98 for 4. Night watchman Peter Siddle faced 16 balls before he was caught behind off Morne Morkel as the Australians slipped to 103 for 5, bringing Mike Hussey to the crease to rejoin Clarke. The pair put on 272 for the fifth wicket on day one to help Australia to 550 in the first innings.
It was a day of wild momentum swings, with South Africa losing 5 for 17 in a morning session collapse and Australia losing 5 for 26 late.
After resuming Saturday at 217 for 2, South Africa lost established batsmen Jacques Rudolph (29) and Graeme Smith (122) on 233, then needed a 93-run eighth-wicket stand between a wounded Jacques Kallis (58) and Test rookie du Plessis (78) to take the threat of the follow-on out of the equation.
Kallis, who injured his right hamstring bowling on the first morning, came in at No. 9 and stroked 11 boundaries and a six before he was caught behind off the part-time spin of left-armer Michael Clarke.
Du Plessis scored 78 from 159 balls and was chasing runs in the last-wicket stand when he miscued to Clarke at short mid-on with the total at 388, giving Ben Hilfenhaus figures of 3 for 49 in 20 overs.
Nathan Lyon (2 for 91) and Peter Siddle (2 for 130) shouldered the bulk of the overs and took two wickets apiece.
Siddle had Smith caught behind to a very feint edge and trapped AB de Villiers (1) lbw in front of middle and leg — both batsmen having their referrals rejected by TV umpire Asad Rauf and leaving South Africa without any reviews in the innings.
Siddle had troubled Smith with a bouncer when he was on 118 and then the South African skipper's luck ran out in his next over. Hilfenhaus did the job with Australia's second new ball when he had Steyn (1) caught at second slip by Ponting in the 83rd over and bowled Kleinveldt in the 85th.
Kallis ducked under a bouncer from Hilfenhaus on the first ball he faced. The 37-year-old allrounder was clearly restricted by the leg injury that has meant he hasn't been able to field since the 17th over of the match.
After facing 93 balls, Kallis eventually tried to sweep against Clarke and the ball clipped his glove as it carried down leg-side to Matt Wade - the Australians getting the decision on review after Bowden rejected their appeal.
Injuries to Kallis and Australian paceman James Pattinson could have a big impact on the end of the match. Pattinson left the field after bowling just one delivery on Saturday and went to a hospital for scans on his injured left side. Results weren't likely before Sunday, when Australia may need him to bat.
He will also leave a big void if he's unable to bowl in the fourth innings, with top-ranked South Africa proving on their last Test tour here that they're dangerous when digging themselves out of trouble against Australia. Kallis won't bowl in Adelaide, but may need to bat again.
Kleinveldt didn't pick up a wicket on debut in the drawn first Test at Brisbane last week and was initially left out of the lineup for the Adelaide match, but was reinstated when Vernon Philander withdrew due to a bad back.
He proved his worth when he started swinging the ball around late on Sunday. In the over after Cowan had a big reprieve — caught at short cover off a no-ball from Imran Tahir on 26, denying the legspinner his first wicket of the series — Warner got a leading edge to a Kleinveldt ball and lobbed a simple catch to Faf du Plessis in the covers.
Quiney was out second ball, giving him a pair of ducks for the match before Cowan was bowled by a ball that swung late. With another hot day expected Sunday, the pitch is expected to deteriorate and make batting difficult if the match gets to the last day.
South Africa only need to draw the series to retain their No. 1 ranking, while Australia need to win it to overhaul them.

2nd Test: Cook and Pietersen put England in firm control

Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen batted with some real purpose as England staged a brilliant comeback on day two of second Test at the Wankhede Stadium here on Saturday.
In reply to India's 327, both added an unbeaten 110 for the third wicket to take the tourists to 178 for 2 at the close of play. Not for a moment they looked in trouble on a pitch that has been partial to spinners. Cook, who scored a brilliant 176 in Motera in the first Test, was as solid as ever, while Pietersen unleashed nine boundaries during his innings of 62 off 85 balls. Cook was 13 runs short of a 22nd ton that will put him alongside Geoff Boycott, Colin Cowdrey and Wally Hammond as England's highest century-makers in Tests.After taking out the remaining four Indian wickets in the morning session, Cook and Nick Compton got up 66 runs for the visiting team for the first wicket, bringing the Indian spinning trio of R Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha and Harbhajan Singh down a peg or two. However, Ojha, who took nine wickets in the first Test, came back strongly to send back Compton and Jonathan Trott in his back-to-back overs as the visitors went into tea at 77 for 2.
Compton (29) showed great composure before nicking the left-arm spinner to Virender Sehwag at first slip, while Trott was trapped lbw for a duck. Pietersen, arguably England's best batsman right now against spin, joined Cook and both put the Three Lions in firm control by the end of the day's play.
Earlier in the day, Chesteshwar Pujara top-scored with 135 to help the hosts post a competitive total. His resolve was ended by Graeme Swann, who got the Indian batsman stumped by wicketkeeper Matt Prior. It was the Indian batsman's first stump-out in his entire first-class career so far.
Pujara (114) and Ashwin (60) resumed the day on 266 for 6 but their partnership lacked the fluency of Friday. Monty Panesar trapped Ashwin lbw for 68 with only 14 runs added to the overnight score. Harbhajan after getting his eye in played a few lusty blows before Swann struck to break the 35-run stand. Harbhajan scored 21 off 25 balls with the help of two boundaries and a six.
Pujara departed soon after Harbhajan, and Swann wrapped up the Indian innings, getting Zaheer Khan caught by Jonny Bairstow at short-leg for 11. Ojha remained unbeaten on 0. Panesar was the most successful bowler for the visitors with figures of 5 for 129, while Swann finished with 4 for 70.