Shane Bond leads New Zealand to thrilling win

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Bond has had an injury plagued career since his Test debut in 2001

Returning fast bowler Shane Bond inspired New Zealand to a thrilling 32-run victory in the first Test against Pakistan in Dunedin.

Bond, playing his first Test since 2007, followed his 5-107 in the first innings with 3-46 as Pakistan, set 251 to win, were skittled for 218.

Bond's second-innings haul included the crucial wickets of Mohammad Yousuf (41) and Umar Akmal (75).

Earlier, New Zealand, resuming on 147-8, were bundled out for 153.

It was a final day that ebbed and flowed as New Zealand added only six runs to their overnight total of 147 for the loss of their final two wickets when play resumed.

606: DEBATE Give your thoughts on New Zealand's first Test victory

That left Pakistan chasing 251 for victory - a target that looked well beyond them when they were reduced to 24-3 inside the first 11 overs.

But a composed half century from Umar to follow up his maiden Test hundred on debut swung the momentum back Pakistan's way.

When Yousuf departed for 41 after a 71-run partnership with Umar, Shoaib Malik joined Umar in the middle and together they steadily chipped away at the target.

But five minutes before tea Iain O'Brien forced the error from Malik, who top-edged Brendon McCullum after the pair had put on 66. That left Pakistan at 165-5 at tea, needing 86 runs to win in the final session.

Full credit goes to New Zealand for the way they played and the way they bowled in the second innings Pakistan captain Mohammad Yousuf

That target looked gettable with Umar and Kamran Akmal at the crease but the brothers could not reproduce their heroics of the first innings, when they scored 176 runs for the sixth wicket to rescue Pakistan.

When Umar was caught and bowled by Bond for 75, Pakistan still required another 56 runs, and the departure of Kamran five balls later for 27 saw Pakistan's hopes fade further.

Bond's career has been blighted by injury since he burst onto the scene in 2001, to the extent he has only played 18 Tests, and he was banned by his own cricket board after joining the Indian Cricket League in 2008.

"It was perfect really, it's why you want to play Test cricket because it is a true test and it has mental highs and lows," said Bond, 34.

"It was great cricket and to win in a team that's working so hard as well makes it satisfying. The boys are putting in a lot of hard work and I think we are starting to reap the rewards for it which is nice."

Pakistan captain Mohammad Yousuf was left to rue a slew of dropped catches following the defeat, with Imran Farhat missing several chances, including one off Daniel Vettori in the first innings when he was on nought. The New Zealand skipper went on to make 99.

"The result is disappointing obviously but full credit goes to New Zealand for the way they played and the way they bowled in the second innings," said Yousuf.

"We dropped vital catches, otherwise we wouldn't be chasing 250, but I'm pleased with the way the team fought back."

India spinners seal emphatic Test win over Sri Lanka

Harbhajan Singh ended up with figures of 3-98

India earned their 100th Test victory by comprehensively beating Sri Lanka by an innings and 144 runs in Kanpur.

The margin was India's biggest over Sri Lanka, surpassing the previous best of an innings and 119 runs in 1994.

Resuming on 57-4, Sri Lanka were dismissed for 269 before tea with only Thilan Samaraweera offering any resistance, finishing unbeaten on 78.

The crushing win puts India 1-0 ahead in the series, with the third and final Test taking place in Mumbai next week.

Paceman Zaheer Khan got the hosts off to the perfect start on the fourth day, taking the wicket of all-rounder Angelo Mathews for 15 in the second over.

Prasanna Jayawardene added 61 runs for the sixth wicket with Samaraweera before off-spinner Harbhajan Singh bowled him for 29.

606: DEBATE Who is your man of the match?

Harbhajan also trapped Rangana Herath leg before wicket for 13 while Muttiah Muralitharan, who scored 29 off 11 deliveries, fell to spinner Pragyan Ojha.

Samaraweera, the only Sri Lankan batsman to score a half century in the match, then forged another partnership with Ajantha Mendis - the eighth wicket duo putting on 73 - before Yuvraj Singh bowled Mendis for 27.

Ojha then caught and bowled last man Chanaka Welegedara, the wicket sparking wild celebrations.

"It is a moment of pride for me and the whole team to be a part of this 100th win," said Indian captain Mahendra Dhoni.

Dhoni was delighted with the performance of paceman Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, who was named man of the match after picking up 5-75 in the first innings and finishing with 6-122.

"The changes in the side brought in some fresh legs, Sreesanth was fantastic and he used the reverse swing very effectively," added Dhoni.

"The amount of runs we scored on the first day were very important, putting pressure on the Sri Lanka batting side.

"It was important to get some big momentum on our side going into the final Test match. I'm sure the wickets are going to be something different for the fast bowlers and the spinners so let's hope for some exciting cricket."

Meanwhile, Dhoni's counterpart Kumar Sangakkara insisted his side could bounce back and level the series, saying: "Every Test match offers an opportunity to come back.

"The team is hurting right now, they are disappointed with themselves, but we're mentally pretty strong and we want to come back and win the Test match."

India batsmen dominate Sri Lanka

Second Test, Kanpur, day one (close): India 417-2 v Sri Lanka Match scorecard Coverage: Regular score updates plus daily reports on BBC Sport website, plus live television coverage on Sky Sports 1 from 0400 GMT Sehwag hit 18 fours and two sixes in his 16th Test century Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag hit hundreds as India dominated day one of the second Test against Sri Lanka. Gambhir (167) and Sehwag (131), who was dropped in the opening over by Mahela Jayawardene, put on 233 after India won the toss and elected to bat in Kanpur. Muttiah Muralitharan removed both men either side of tea, but Rahul Dravid (85 not out) and Sachin Tendulkar (20 not out) led India to 417-2 at stumps. It was the first time India had made 400 in a day in a Test match. Kumar Sangakkara's depleted attack was hammered around the park as India's top order ensured there was no capitulation as in the first Test in Ahmedabad. Sehwag, 31, was uncharacteristically scratchy in the first hour and was dropped by Jayawardene at first slip before he could get off the mark, before going on to dominate the opening stand. 606: DEBATE After watching some of the second Test this morning I was left incredibly frustrated with Indian cricket, the pitch looks so unbelievably flat DPD He broke the shackles by driving Angelo Mathews for his first boundary in the 12th over and followed that with a pull to the mid-wicket fence in the same over. Sehwag then surged ahead of Gambhir and reached his 16th Test century off just 97 deliveries by turning Muralitharan for a boundary to fine leg. Sehwag hammered Muralitharan for three consecutive boundaries as India sped past the 200 mark in the afternoon session and continued to accumulate runs at breakneck pace before Muralitharan made the breakthrough. Sehwag drove at a delivery with a little more air and picked out Tillakaratne Dilshan at extra cover. "It was a good track to bat on and we capitalised on that," said Sehwag. "I knew they were playing with three spinners so I decided to play out the first few overs when the ball was seaming before hitting out against their slow bowlers. "We will now look to put up a big total and put Sri Lanka under pressure. The wicket should crack up on the third and fourth days and we are confident of taking 20 wickets." The 28-year-old Gambhir, who had provided the early momentum, slowed as he neared his century but got there in style, skipping down the track to hit Rangana Herath for a straight boundary. It was his eighth century, fourth in as many Tests and second in succession after a century in the second innings in Ahmedabad. Together with Dravid, Gambhir added 137 for the second wicket, before Muralitharan pulled off a brilliant caught and bowled for Sri Lanka's second wicket of the day. Dravid reached his half-century - his 58th in Tests - by sweeping Muralitharan for a single and he and Tendulkar played cautiously to finish the day unbeaten. Ajantha Mendis, who took injured fast bowler Dammika Prasad's place in the side, conceded 87 from 19 overs while Herath - the third specialist spinner in Sri Lanka's attack - leaked 91 from 18 overs. Muralitharan, whose form has been questioned of late, finished with figures of 2-100 from 18 overs.

India v Sri Lanka 1st Test Match: Day one

Test Match Series: India v Sri Lanka
16-11-2009 at Ahmedabad, Day 1 of 5

Close

India won the toss and decided to bat

India 1st Innings 385 for 6 (90.0 overs)

India 1st Innings

			Runs	Balls	4s	6s
Gambhir		b Welegedara	1	10	0	0
Sehwag	lbw	b Welegedara	16	11	3	0
Dravid	not out		177	251	26	1
Tendulkar		b Welegedara	4	3	1	0
Laxman		b Prasad	0	4	0	0
Yuvraj	c Dilshan	b Muralitharan	68	93	13	0
Dhoni	c Jayawardene	b Prasad	110	159	10	1
Harbhajan	not out		2	11	0	0
Extras		2nb 1w 2b 2lb	7
Total		for 6	385	(90.0 ovs)

Bowler O M R W Welegedara 17.0 3 75 3 Prasad 18.0 1 90 2 Mathews 12.0 1 50 0 Muralitharan 23.0 3 90 1 Herath 19.0 1 73 0 Dilshan 1.0 0 3 0

Fall of wicket 14 Gambhir 27 Sehwag 31 Tendulkar 32 Laxman 157 Yuvraj 381 Dhoni

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Umpires: A L Hill, N J Llong, J J Crowe, A M Saheba
India: Sehwag, Gambhir, Dravid, Tendulkar, Laxman, Yuvraj, Dhoni (C/W), Harbhajan, Mishra, Zaheer, I Sharma
Sri Lanka: Dilshan, Paranavitana, Sangakkara (C), M Jayawardene, Samaraweera, Mathews, Jayawardene (W), Prasad, Herath, Muralitharan, Welegedara

India and Pakistan in different groups for World Cup

--Cricinfo--

	David Morgan: "You can be sure that we at the ICC had learnt from past mistakes" © Getty Images
Related Links News : India to host 2011 World Cup final Series/Tournaments: ICC World Cup Teams: Australia | Bangladesh | Canada | England | India | Ireland | Kenya | Netherlands | New Zealand | Pakistan | South Africa | Sri Lanka | West Indies | Zimbabwe Sites: Cricinfo ICC Site

India and Pakistan, Australia and South Africa find themselves in different groups for the 2011 World Cup. The groupings for the tournament, to be held in the subcontinent, were approved on the second day of the ICC board meeting in Johannesburg. The 14 teams have been divided into two groups of seven.

The competition will be shorter than its 2007 version, with the ICC revealing a new format that will reduce the number of games from 51 to 49, and possibly lessen the duration by at least a week. The 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean was criticised for dragging on too long; it had lasted for six weeks with the 16 participating teams divided into groups of four, and had two teams from each progressing to the Super Eights stage.

"We're on record as saying that we acknowledged that 2007 might have been longer than desired. So we want to take a week off, if not more," Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, said after the meeting. "We wanted to get the balance correct. We had one proviso that we would not have wanted more than two of the subcontinent teams in any one group. The rest depends on where you stand in the rankings and you use the formula that allocates the teams, dependent on your positioning in the ranking tables."

David Morgan, the ICC president, added: "We're already certain that it will be shorter. You can be sure that we at the ICC had learnt from past mistakes. I mean there is no doubt that the ICC World Cup in the Caribbean was unsuccessful in some aspects."

At the meeting, the ICC also lauded the success of the World Cup's miniature version, the ICC Champions Trophy, which had earlier won the endorsement of Ricky Ponting and Daniel Vettori. "I think most experts of the game and the opinion-makers are now convinced the ICC Champions Trophy definitely has a place in the cricket calendar," Morgan said. "It also gives me immense pleasure to say the quality of cricket we have seen in the last 14 days proves that 50-over format can comfortably co-exist with the traditional five-day Test and the short 20-over formats."

Groups for the 2011 World Cup

Group A - Australia, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Canada, Kenya.

Group B - India, South Africa, England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Ireland, Netherlands.

Lanka second in Test rankings

--BBC--

	It is the first time Sri Lanka achieved such a high ranking

The Sri Lankan cricket team has reached the second top spot in ICC Test rankings after Australia were defeated by England in the Ashes series on Monday.

It is the first time Sri Lanka achieved such a high rank in international Test rankings, Daily Mirror sports editor Channaka de Silva said.

“This is a unique moment in Sri Lanka’s short history of Test cricket,” president of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), DS de Silva told BBC Sandeshaya.

He expressed hope that, if the current form continues, Sri Lankan team will soon achieve the top post in the most prestigious form of cricket.

For being defeated by fifth-placed England in the series, Australia loses eight ratings points and is knocked off top spot for the first time since the current method of ranking was introduced in May 2003.

While South Africa have reached the top spot, India are currently ranked third in the Test cricket world ahead of Australia and England.

Zimbabwe bt Bangladesh by 69 runs

Third one-day international, Bulawayo:
Zimbabwe 323-7 (50 overs) bt Bangladesh 254 (44.2 overs) by 69 runs
Match scorecard

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Masakadza attempts a sweep shot during his 112-ball innings

Hamilton Masakadza hit a maiden one-day century as Zimbabwe beat Bangladesh by 69 runs in the third match of their series in Bulawayo.

Masakadza made 102 and shared a fourth-wicket stand of 142 with Brendan Taylor, who was run out for 94.

Elton Chigumbura weighed in with five sixes in his unbeaten 61 off 33 balls as the home side totalled 323-7.

Seamer Tawanda Mupariwa and spinner Ray Price then took three wickets each as as Bangladesh were bowled out for 254.

Despite the defeat, Bangladesh lead the series 2-1.

But the home side will go into the final two games in positive mood after piling up their highest limited overs total against a Test-playing nation.

Masakadza's hundred was his first for Zimbabwe since 2001, when he became the then youngest player in history to make a century in his debut Test by hitting 119 against West Indies aged just 17 years and 354 days.

"I've been waiting for this for a long time. I've been close a few times but today I finally came through.

"The greatest feeling is that I wanted to do well for the team and we won the game," he said afterwards.

Bangladesh never looked likely to chase down such a huge target after losing their first four wickets with only 39 on the board.

Raqibul Hasan made 78 before being bowled by Masakadza, who also took two catches, and Mahbulbul Alam hit three sixes in one over off spinner Malcolm Waller in making 59 off 43 balls, his highest score for Bangladesh.

But they were all out in the 45th over when Mupariwa (3-32) had Mahbulbul caught by Mark Vermeulen.

"We didn't bowl well and we didn't field well. It was a very difficult day for us," skipper Shakib Al Hasan commented.