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For most teenagers a Test century on debut remains a distant dream, butfor Mohammad Ashraful it was a dream come true.”I had difficulty sleeping last night, as I dreamt about Lara’s 375 and mescoring a century,” he said afterwards.”I told my captain about what I had dreamt in the morning and he told me Icould make it come true, so I just decided to play positively.”Ashraful, who according to his passport celebrates his 17th birthday onSunday – though his birth date had been thought to be 7th July 1984 – became the youngest ever player to score a Test century, bettering Mushtaq Mohammad’s record set in 1961 when he had scored a century against India at the tender age of 17 years and 82 days.He did not play like a teenager, however, as he slammed the Sri Lankanbowlers all round the Sinhalese Sports Club. He went on to score 114 off 212balls hitting 16 fours.He played Sri Lanka’s spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan expertly, using hisfeet and driving over the top, pull-sweeping over mid-wicket, anddexterously late cutting whenever the ball was a fraction short.”I did not feel under any pressure out in the middle, in fact I felt reallycomfortable,” he claimed. “I have practiced against a bowler with aMuralitharan-like straighter ball back home and I had no trouble pickinghim.”Bangladesh still lost the game by a whooping innings a 137 runs, butBangladeshi captain Naimur Rahman was still chirpy after an astonishingthird day, in which his side his side had recovered from 81-4 to score 328,their second highest total in their five-Test history.”It was good for the team to comeback like they did here today as it provedthat we can perform,” Rahman said afterwards.”I always thought this was going to be his match, but Ashraful’s innings wasextraordinary – he played liked an experienced champion.””If he can go out there and do that then we all can,” he said. “His inningswill give the team a lot of confidence.””This game was a good experience as we are learning from our opponentseveryday,” he added.

England 391 for 9 dec (Root 130, Bairstow 74, Starc 6-111) beat Australia 60 (Broad 8-15) and 253 (Warner 64, Rogers 52, Voges 51*, Stokes 6-36) by an innings and 78 runs
ScorecardBen Stokes took his tally to six wickets as Australia were cleaned up on the third morning•Getty Images

England regained the Ashes 10.2 overs into the third day at Trent Bridge as they completed a thumping win by an innings and 78 runs in the fourth Investec Test. It was 599 days since England fell apart in an Ashes whitewash in Australia. The rebuilding has been painful, but Alastair Cook’s young England team has beaten an experienced Australian side that will now be dismantled.The last act was down to Mark Wood – Australia’s last man Nathan Lyon considering a leave and instead dragging the ball back into middle and leg stump. But with Australia seven down at start of play the smiles had crept onto England’s faces from the moment they took the field and, on the players’ balcony, Trevor Bayliss and Paul Farbrace did a passable impression of the Jollity Brothers.Ashes cricket can turn its combatants into heroes, and often it can destroy them too. Up on the Australian balcony, Michael Clarke, a captain who had failed again to win the Ashes in England, mournfully watched the final stages from the Australian balcony as Cricket Australia confirmed that he will retire at the end of the series.”Time has caught up with me,” said Clarke. “As a player you build yourself up for big tournaments – the World Cups and the Ashes. It’s not easy but it’s the right time to go.” Everybody loves winning – and winners – but there is something especially noble about a great player recognising the time to go, and departing with grace and good spirit. The applause he received – in England too – was heartwarming.Cook, a younger man, and stubborn with it, had survived his own tough times to live a happier chapter, becoming the third England captain to win the Ashes twice on home soil. “I couldn’t be happier,” he said. “After what we’ve been through in the last 18 months to play like we have in three out of four Tests against a very good Australia side – we haven’t lost many days of cricket – is just incredible. I’m just so proud of this young team and the way they’ve taken their opportunity.”Two captains briefly in tears at the prize giving ceremony told of what the Ashes means.England have now won four home Ashes series in a row, a sequence not matched since the 19C. Now 3-1 up in the series, they go to the Kia Oval with the pressure off, but a smarting Australia side will remain desperate to summon a response to give Clarke a rousing send-off. In the Ashes, there is no such thing as a meaningless Test.And, in south London they may experience a surface a good way removed from the traditional England surfaces that have given them so much grief in Cardiff, Edgbaston and Nottingham in turn.Ben Stokes has been England’s talisman when it mattered. Swinging the ball lavishly, he took another wicket to finish with his best Test figures of 6 for 36. With James Anderson, one of the greatest proponents of swing bowling in history, looking on from the dressing room, Stokes made light of his absence in a manner that Anderson could admire.It might have been an old ball, 63 overs into its lifespan at start of play, but it had swung prodigiously for Stokes late on the second day and when he returned to the fray after what was no doubt a night of anticipation it proved to be as obliging as ever. At 241 for 7, still 90 behind, Australia faced up to an impossible task.Stokes has feasted on Australia’s left handers. He had bagged four the previous day, three with outswingers delivered from around the wicket and, with the last ball of his second over, he added Mitchell Starc to the list. It was a virtual replica of those dismissals, an outswinger catching the edge on its way to Ian Bell at second slip, but this time he had gripped the ball cross-seam in an attempt at variety and found it booming away to the slips all the same.Stokes is not particularly renowned as a swing bowler at international level, but in Durham they will tell you a different story. England’s most northerly county outpost encourages swing bowling and, on his day, Stokes swings it more than anybody.Some of his finest Test displays have been against Australia, his competitive instincts sharpened by the bristling nature of the contest. Red headed, raw boned and busily tattooed on muscular biceps, he has been in his element.A yorker from Wood soon did for Josh Hazlewood, leaving Australia’s last pair at the crease. Adam Voges, on a ground he knows well from county stints at Nottinghamshire, negotiated his way to a three-hour half-century, an effort which received warm appreciation.England did not turn to Stuart Broad, whose 8 for 15 had as good as settled the Test on the first morning. “Cookie will tell you that on the first morning I wanted to bat,” he said. He would have been glad of the rest. It remains to be seen whether he rests out The Oval. Anderson is definitely expected to sit it out.But that will become apparent in the days to come. For England, the first task was a celebration with the destination of the urn settled in a series that has been brisk, entertaining for all the one-sided nature of the matches, and at times nigh on incomprehensible.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMartin Guptill brought up his tenth ODI hundred in the company of Ross Taylor, who made 61•Getty Images

Martin Guptill’s measured tenth ODI hundred helped drive New Zealand to 294 for 5, but it was fast bowler Matt Henry, in his third outstanding turn in the series, who clinched the match and the series for New Zealand with 5 for 40.Sri Lanka had been in sight of their target, with 58 required from 40 balls, before Henry struck thrice in ten deliveries to swing the match definitively in New Zealand’s favour. He first rushed Chamara Kapugedara with a waist-high short ball, which the batsman could only top-edge to fine leg. Then next over, Henry delivered a head-high bouncer just outside off stump, which Angelo Mathews dragged to the deep square-leg fielder, to get out on 95. Sri Lanka’s great hope now dismissed, Henry also removed Dushmantha Chameera in that over. When Nuwan Kulasekara holed out at the start of the 48th over, Sri Lanka fell 36 runs short of the hosts, who took the series 3-1.Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson had also produced fine supporting innings for Guptill, contributing 61 apiece, while Trent Boult took 3 for 43 in his first game of the series. Mathews had helped resurrect the chase from 3 for 33, but though he had some support from Dinesh Chandimal, who hit 50, and Milinda Siriwardana, who struck 39 from 22 balls, he did not find a partner with whom to wrest the advantage for Sri Lanka.It had seemed an unlikely pursuit from the early overs, in which the required rate had also climbed. Boult made the first dent in Sri Lanka’s innings, but it may be fair to say that Tillakaratne Dilshan was equally complicit in his dismissal. Boult angled balls across Dilshan from around the wicket, but he still attempted an over-the-shoulder scoop in the third over. Dilshan only managed to send the ball floating to the wicketkeeper, off the edge. Lahiru Thirimanne played the ball onto his stumps next over, to give Henry his first scalp, before Danushka Gunathilaka mis-hit a lofted drive off Henry to Ish Sodhi, who took a good catch backpedaling from mid-on.Mathews and Chandimal then rebuilt sagely after those losses, but their pursuit of singles and twos was hindered by another sublime New Zealand fielding performance. The hosts made sprawling saves in the infield and on the fence, and perhaps their only fault was missing the stumps with their throws. They had at least two opportunities to have Mathews out for less than fifty, but could not effect direct hits.Chandimal departed attempting a heave over the legside after the required rate had crept above eight. His 65-ball 50 had helped give Sri Lanka a platform, but they required acceleration. Siriwardana provided that for a while, launching two leg-side sixes off Adam Milne in one over. He even reverse-slapped Mitchell Santner for four, but the spinner hit back to have Siriwardana caught at deep square leg in the same over.Mathews’ running was characteristically chaotic, but his bating was serene. He took smart runs into the outfield while Sri Lanka rebuilt, but also made calculated srikes, which were often perfectly executed. Mathews ran at the seamers often, and generally smoked them down the ground. The midwicket region was also productive for him. Mathews’ dismissal was a double-blow, because not only had he fallen to the short ball yet again this tour, but it was also another score of 90-odd – this one particularly unfulfilling, as it came in a series defeat.Earlier, there were signs of Guptill preparing for another assault in the Powerplay, but for most of his 102 off 109 on Tuesday, Guptill sought to accumulate, instead of accosting. It was against Thisara Perera that his innings eased into gear. Guptill flayed Thisara through the covers in the fourth over, then collected a high, straight six and two consecutive square boundaries off the bowler before the end of the Powerplay.When the field relaxed, with New Zealand at 55 for 1 after 10 overs, Guptill and Williamson quickly established a pattern of collecting risk-free runs into the outfield. The seam movement and carry that Mathews had hoped for at the toss did not materialise, and Nuwan Pradeep was the only bowler to get any movement off the deck. Once that disappeared, Guptill and Williamson both began hitting short balls in well in front of square, which suggested the surface was not particularly quick either.Williamson was serene as ever at the crease, inching towards his eighth fifty in 12 innings as Sri Lanka introduced spin via Tillakaratne Dilshan and Siriwardana. Guptill himself moved to his third half-century in the series with a swept four off Siriwardana in the 19th over; Williamson got to the milestone in the 22nd. Their stand grew to 122 before something of a freak dismissal ended Williamson’s stay two overs later. He aimed a swivel-pull off a short leg-side delivery from Dilshan, but managed only to glove it, then bounce it off his thigh pad towards wicketkeeper Chandimal, who snatched it low to the ground.Guptill progressed in much the same fashion alongside Ross Taylor, striking the occasional boundary off the bad balls, but otherwise happy to exploit the vacant green spaces. There were two sixes off his bat in the middle overs – one over deep midwicket and a flat-batted strike over the long-off boundary. He went on to bring up his century with an edged four through vacant slips.Guptill departed soon after, mistiming a hoick to long-on off Kulasekara, but by now Taylor had shaken off his poor form. He and Luke Ronchi began the death-overs charge – Taylor favouring the deep midwicket area – after Henry Nicholls had holed out for 2.With six wickets still in hand after the 45th over, New Zealand might have hoped for a brutal finish, but those expectations were tempered by Taylor’s departure, slogging Kulasekara to the square-leg fielder. Excellent death bowling from Kulasekara crimped the flow of boundaries, and Pradeep bowled well in support until the final over, where he leaked 16 runs, including two Santner sixes from the last three balls. Kulasekara was the best of Sri Lanka’s bowlers, carried through by experience to figures of 3 for 53, though he still hasn’t recovered his lost swing.

Hundreds from Parthiv Patel, Aakash Chopra and Subramaniam Badrinath took India A to a mammoth total before two spinners, at different phases of their first-class careers, spun a web around South Africa A to clinch a thumping victory. The duo – Pragyan Ojha, 21, from Hyderabad, a left-arm spinner, and Amit Mishra, 24, from Haryana, a legspinner – once compared to Shane Warne – took 13 of the 17 wickets to fall on the third day.It is a pity there was only a smattering of spectators present to witness the youngsters outfox the South Africans by sticking to the basics of the craft of spin: line, length and flight. It can be a treat to watch spinners – especially if they are of contrasting breeds – get the better of batsmen and these two did not disappoint. Hashim Amla and Boeta Dippenaar have both played Test cricket but were made to look like novices against Ojha and Mishra.Ojha has been in form recently, taking 29 wickets at 19.89 in six games for Hyderabad during the 2006-07 Ranji season and spinning India A to wins in Zimbabwe and Kenya, in four-day and one-day matches. Here at the Kotla he chose not to experiment too much, but relied on his accuracy and ability to flight the ball. He started as he meant to, tossing the ball up and landing it in the right area. There was no room whatsoever to cut, a plus point for any spinner. Almost every ball landed on a length and turned, forcing the batsmen to play.Speaking to Cricinfo after the match, Ojha confidently said that his biggest asset was being patient. “I didn’t want to try too much; rather I felt I would be better off being patient. I just wanted to stick to my line and length, nothing else. Before the match I spoke my coach, Paras Mhambrey, who advised me to stick to the basics. We knew this was pretty much a dead wicket, so the plan was to stick to line and length and make the batsmen play.”Line and length is precisely what Ojha adhered to, and the results came rather quickly. Justin Ontong was defeated in the flight and popped up a simple return catch. Last-man Friedel de Wet lost his middle stump heaving across the line, and South Africa were all out for 145 in 45.4 overs. Following on, nothing changed for the visitors. Five minutes before lunch Ojha got Morne van Wyk with one that spun away, the batsman playing forward then trying to withdraw only for Parthiv Patel to pick up a smart catch.Amla, looking all at sea as the ball repeatedly spun past the bat, was done in by a flatter one, that took out the off stump. Dippenaar battled his way to 29 from 60 balls but failed to put Ojha away. After operating with a middle-and-leg line for about four or five deliveries, Ojha tossed one up just outside off stump, on a length, and sucked Dippenaar forward. He completely fell for the trap, spooning an easy catch to extra cover. Ojha spread his arms and roared as his team-mates ran to embrace the fielder.Ontong and Tsolekile buckled down for a 66-run seventh-wicket partnership and just as South Africa looked like they may play out the day, Ojha struck. Ontong, tied down by the two spinners, tried to go downtown over mid-on but edged to second slip to give Ojha his fourth wicket. The fifth came as Kleinvedlt tried to cut one that was spun into him, and steered it into Mohammad Kaif’s hands at slip. Ojha finished with figures of 5 for 66 from 23 overs.After taking wickets against Zimbabwe and Kenya, Ojha said he didn’t need to draw up a different game plan against a tougher South African opposition, and neither was he intimidated by them. “See, I believe Indians are the best players of spin. And I’ve bowled a lot on Indian pitches against very good batsmen. When I was selected for the training camps [ahead of the Indian team selection for the tours of Ireland and England] I bowled to Rahul [Dravid] bhai and Sachin [Tendulkar] paaji, which gave me a lot of confidence. So I was not worried that much about the South African batsmen.”But what about that other most crucial factor, flight, which he used so brilliantly on the third day? “It’s a result of lots of practice. I made an attempt to flight the ball, land it in the right areas. I had seen this Kotla wicket on television, and knew pretty much how it was going to be. I wanted to flight the ball and keep it on middle and off.

Ojha’s discipline, as he says, is a result of hard work in the nets. “I marked out a spot and bowled right there. I didn’t want to get overconfident for this match. I know I need to work hard and I am enjoying this time. It feels good to be playing like this.”Ojha also credited his spin partner Mishra. “He bowled very well and it was good to see him do so.”Too true. Mishra faded away after 2003 and only he would know how good today’s performance was. Mishra is a bowler who likes dry pitches and today that’s what he got. He bowled only two overs on the second day but when tossed the ball with South Africa four wickets down, Mishra got stuck in. In the first innings Mishra tossed up a well-disguised googly and Dippennar misread it, getting caught off the inside-edge at short leg. Thami Tsolekile, a battling young wicketkeeper, last four deliveries to give Mishra two in the over.Mishra tossed it up a touch more, held it back in the air just a second, and Tsolekile was beaten only to push it to silly point. Mishra let out a roar and a pump of the fists; it was endearing to watch. To the burly Rory Kleinveldt, he changed his line to middle and leg, teasing him in the air, and flung himself to his right to pluck a return catch off an on-drive. He had taken three wickets for eight runs, and India were on their way to enforcing the follow-on. Mishra then picked up the last two wickets in the second innings. First he had de Wet caught at midwicket and then it was Charl Langeveldt, playing the same shot to who-else but Ojha and a comprehensive win was achieved.Indian spin is about to enter a void, with Anil Kumble at the last stages of his career, and it was heartening to see these two aspirants show an appetite for a fight. And do so by keeping it simple.

James Sutherland, Cricket Australia’s chief executive, has told broadcasters they will not be allowed to interview players as they leave the field during the Ashes series.The ban follows an incident this week in Victoria’s game against Western Australia in Perth involving Shane Warne, who was doorstopped by a television reporter as he left the field after being dismissed for 17. The female journalist was keen on exploring more about the rumours he and his ex-wife, Simone, were reuniting.The unprecedented interest in Australia’s fight to regain the Ashes has prompted Channel Nine, the Australian broadcasters, to try and boost their coverage by including on-field questioning of players. However, Sutherland said there would be limits set on the television company’s coverage.”You’re not going to see people talking to them straight after they have got out, that wouldn’t be appropriate,” Sutherland said. “There has to be some parameters that are appropriate to the circumstances. The players are more than happy to encourage the coverage as long as their boundaries are respected.”

On another rain-interrupted day at The Oval, in which only 45.4 overs were possible, Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden both struck centuries, and their first-wicket partnership of 185 was the best for any wicket for either side this series.Hayden’s century, his first since scoring back-to-back hundreds against Sri Lanka in July 2004, ended a run of 30 innings in which he’d failed to get past 70. Speaking to reporters at the end of play, Hayden said:”We have three sessions to bat tomorrow and we need to take the game deep into the fifth day. It’s been a frustrating summer, especially as I’ve done the hard work getting into the 30s but I know I’ve got to play patiently and straight.”Andrew Flintoff, who dismissed Ricky Ponting with a brutal lifting delivery, became only the second player after Ian Botham in 1981 to take 20 wickets and score 300 runs for England in an Ashes series. After rain and bad light had forced the players off, yet again, Flintoff spoke of the need for resilience by the home team.”When we weren’t taking wickets today (Saturday) we kept the runs down and that’s kept us in the match,” Flintoff said. My gut feeling is that the Aussies have their noses in front. We know that tomorrow, every ounce of energy we have has to be left out on that pitch.”The weather forecast for the remaining two days promises a greater chance of play, although there could still be interruptions to Sunday’s action.

After several delays and uncertainties, the arrangements for possibly the biggest weekend of the US cricket season are now set for Los Angeles in early October.Both the finals of the third annual USA Cricket Association’s national championships and the first annual USACA Under-19 tournament will be held at the Woodley Cricket Fields (Leo Magnus Cricket Complex) in Los Angeles over the Columbus Day weekend – October 8, 9 and 10.For the National Championship Finals, the four contending teams are: the New York Region, the Atlantic Region (DC, Maryland and North Carolina), the Central West Region (Texas and Colorado), and the North-west Region (Northern California, Oregon, and Washington State). The New York and Atlantic Regions were the winners and runners-up, respectively, in the US Eastern Conference, while Central West and Northwest are the finalists from the Western Conference. New York are favoured to retain their national title, but both Western teams impressed with their excellent play and are capable of springing a few surprises on their Eastern rivals.The National Under-19 tournament is being held for the first time in the United States, and is intended to showcase the youthful talent that exists around the country. It will feature players born after September 1, 1985, divided into four zones: New York/North East, Atlantic/South East, Central East/ Central West, and South West/North West. Selections for these zonal teams are already under way, and will be finalised after zonal trials are completed during September.With an eye to ICC’s rules for determining player-eligibility for ICC-sponsored international tournaments, the USACA has set up the following rules for the Under-19 tournament: five players in each team must be citizens, four can be residents who have stayed in the USA for more than four years, and two can be residents who have been in the USA for more than two years. How this will affect participation in the tournament remains an open question. There are some who argue that most youth cricketers from immigrant communities along the eastern seaboard are likely to be non-citizens who do not meet the residency criteria. On the other hand, the US rule, which confers citizenship to anyone born in the USA, might qualify many youngsters whose parents are non-citizens. Only time will show how this plays out in US junior cricket, and who gets included or excluded under these regulations.Meanwhile, many US cricketers are looking forward to the Columbus Day weekend as a grand finale to their season, where both the present and the future of American cricket will be showcased in one of the best-maintained cricket-ground complexes in North America.

Pakistan’s performance at The Oval was certainly one they willneed to eradicate from their minds going into the NatWest Challenge deciderat Lord’s. They faltered in all departments, and it’s hardto draw any positives other than Yousuf Youhana’s welcome return to form.Rashid Latif’s decision to bat first was perfectly justified. Thepitch held no terrors with its consistent bounce very conducive forstrokeplay. Although Imran Nazir would count himself unlucky to get agood delivery first up, the same cannot be said for Mohammad Hafeez. He wasclearly tempted by the vast open spaces on the legside, and had flirtedwith danger plenty of times by playing across the line before beingtrapped in front of the wicket by Andrew Flintoff.Pakistan have too often been guilty of thrusting their frontfoot across to the off stump, which means they have to play around theirpads, making them serious candidates for a leg before decision. That isa technical flaw that has to be addressed immediately by Javed Miandad, as the youngsters will find it hard to progress at this level if they do not sort it out soon.The shot selection from most of the Pakistani batsmen again left a lot to bedesired. Yasir Hameed once again threw his wicket away afteranother impressive start, and Abdul Razzaq attempted an adventurous shotat an inopportune time.Another alarming aspect was the appalling running between the wickets.Youhana may have played an excellent knock, but one cannot forgive theconfusion in calling while he was at the crease. Shoaib Malik lost hiswicket to a ridiculous piece of running, while both Razzaq and AzharMahmood escaped on various occasions when the fielders missed thetarget. Youhana has a definite problem when it comes to running andcalling, and it is affecting the other batsmen.The low total of 184 to defend forced Latif to instruct Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami to try and blast out a wicket every ball before settling into a line and length. If this was the planned strategy then it failed miserably.The new-ball bowlers, especially Sami, must seriously considerbowling round the wicket to Marcus Trescothick from the outset. Hethrives on room outside the off stump, but a change in anglewould definitely counter that problem and rule out his smashing shotsover point or gully.Shoaib’s comeback was disappointing to say the least as he over-pitchedtoo many balls and offered too much width. It was a spell that was not farremoved from the drubbing he got from Sachin Tendulkar in the World Cup,but this time it was Trescothick and Vikram Solanki in the action. To cap that off was the ineffective bowling by Azhar Mahmood, who was pulled and cut atease. Pakistan have gone into both matches with a bunch of allrounders and theattack lacks diversity.By trying to pad out their batting, Pakistan are compromising with thepresence of a genuine wicket-taker like Danish Kaneria. Hewould do well against England, who are traditionally weak facingquality spin. While Razzaq and Mahmood lack penetration, Pakistan must seriously consider drafting in Kaneria for the decider, a game in which Pakistan need to go flat out.After forgetting this one the Pakistanis must go to Lord’s in a positiveframe of mind. It will be a test of nerves for the younger players of both sides.

Graeme Hick’s fifth CricInfo Championship century of the season and the 116th of his first-class career derailed promotion hopefuls Warwickshire at Edgbaston.The Worcestershire captain amassed an undefeated 196 and put on 217 with Vikram Solanki on a bad day for the home side’s hopes of closing the gap on the top three counties in the Second Division.A wayward bowling performance, especially in an afternoon session of 156 runs, allowed their local rivals to post a score of 435 for 5 on the first day. Hick closed with 21 fours and three sixes from 294 deliveries.It was also Warwickshire’s misfortune to run into two batsmen who launched a lavish counter-attack after Neil Carter had removed openers Anurag Singh and Philip Weston at a personal cost of 17 runs in 6.4 overs.Their hundreds arrived almost in tandem – Solanki the first there in 143 balls, followed by Hick in 147 – and a double-century stand arrived at exactly five-runs-an-over.The carnage ended when occasional off-spinner Mark Wagh had Solanki stumped for 112, including 15 fours and three sixes, and there was further respite for Warwickshire with Nick Boulton’s edge to second slip off Alan Richardson.But Hick made it clear he was in the mood to bat to the close. A straight six was a rare interruption in an effective containing spell by Wagh and the former England batsman took 102 balls to reach a relatively cautious third 50.Yet he still monopolised a stand of 82 with David Leatherdale until his partner became Keith Piper’s fourth victim of the day. The two century-makers had been so dominant that Andy Bichel became the next highest scorer with a late dash to 39 not out.

Form is temporary, class is permanent goes the adage. When a classybatsman is in form, that is the ultimate problem for a bowling side.Zimbabwe today were at the wrong end of an exhilarating battingdisplay from three men – Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and SouravGanguly. If Tendulkar provided the initial impetus with a run a ballblistering 39, Dravid (70 not out) and Ganguly (65 not out) took Indiato their fourth consecutive victory in the first Test of the currentseries at the Feroz Shah Kotla. The pair added 110 runs for the thirdwicket and took India past the target of 190 in 37.3 overs with sevenwickets to spare.The session between lunch and tea proved to be a most dramatic one,and settled the issue in India’s favour. The Indian bowlers, freshfrom the rest and rejuvenated by the meal knocked out the Zimbabwetail. But not before they let at least three chances go abegging.Skipper Ganguly floored a sitter in the slips and Vijay Dahiya added ablackmark to a good match for him by dropping a regulation catchbehind the stumps. Fortunately for India, the error was rectified soonenough as Henry Olonga, the last man, missed a full, straight Srinathyorker and was trapped plumb in front. After charging in for 24.1overs, Srinath returned 5/81, taking his match tally to nine wickets.Although Srinath had created the chance for the Indians by restrictingZimbabwe to 225, there was still a challenging target to beoverhauled. Challenging or not, it was easy work for India given thekind of form the top three batsmen have been in.Sadagoppan Ramesh and Shiv Sunder Das walked out to the middle endingany speculation that the Indians might change the batting order in anattempt to make a quick start. Unfortunately for Ramesh, his poor formcontinued. Playing at a ball outside the off stump from Heath Streakwithout really moving his feet, Ramesh (0) presented Andy Flower withan easy catch. First innings double centurion joined Das out in themiddle and started off in splendid fashion, pulling Brian Strang tothe fence in style.Unfortunately for India even this combination was not to last. Dasmade an error of judgment, backed up too much and could not regain hiscrease before a Brian Murphy direct hit broke the stumps at the nonstriker’s end. For the third time in this match, the score read 15/2.In walked Sachin Tendulkar. Playing as only he can, the Mumbai classact decimated the Zimbabwean bowling. Driving the ball with immensepower, Tendulkar found the gaps with ease. The momentum was sofrenetic, the hitting so clean, that even Heath Streak was forced tostop and applaud.When the spinners were brought into the attack, their fate was nobetter. Tendulkar employed the sweep shot with great results. Plantinghis foot and sweeping the ball all along the ground, Tendulkar poundedthe hoardings square of the wicket. Unfortunately for India thefairytale didn’t last long. Tendulkar went hard at a ball from PaulStrang that was well outside the off stump and miscued it to backwardpoint. The other leg spinner, Brian Murphy who suffered so much at thehands of Tendulkar pouched the catch. Tendulkar’s 39 ball assault thatyielded as many runs, was over. His innings however, had put India inthe driver’s seat.Ganguly and Dravid then came together to forge a sensible 110-runpartnership that saw India through to victory. Dravid added anunbeaten 70 to his first innings double ton. Stroking the ball withgay abandon, he realised very early on that this target could beoverhauled by sensible batting. Ganguly too was patient and prudent inshot selection. When the ball was there to be hit though, neithermissed out. If Dravid’s pet stroke was the pull, Ganguly’s was thedance down the wicket that deposited the ball in the stands. WhenGanguly nudged the ball behind square for his 65th run, India hadcompleted their triumph with 9.3 overs to spare. Srinath was adjudgedthe man of the match.