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Nelson will host its first ever men’s international match when West Indies tour New Zealand in December-January for three Tests, five ODIs and two T20s

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Aug-2013

West Indies in New Zealand 2013-14

• December 3-7, 1st Test, Dunedin

• December 11-15, 2nd Test, Wellington

• December 19-23, 3rd Test, Hamilton

• December 26, 1st ODI, Auckland

• December 29, 2nd ODI, Napier

• January 1, 3rd ODI, Queenstown

• January 4, 4th ODI, Nelson

• January 8, 5th ODI, Hamilton

• January 11, 1st T20, Auckland

• January 15, 2nd T20, Wellington

Nelson will host its first ever men’s international match when West Indies tour New Zealand in December-January for three Tests, five ODIs and two T20s. The Saxton Oval, which had earlier hosted a women’s international T20 in 2010-11, will also host three group matches in the 2015 World Cup.West Indies’ tour begins with the Tests in Dunedin, Wellington and Hamilton, followed by the ODIs and T20s. Though no warm-up games were scheduled, ESPNcricinfo understands that there is likely to be a three-day game in late November, before the Tests. Auckland’s Eden Park will host the first ODI on Boxing Day, while Queenstown and Nelson will host the third and fourth games on New Year’s day and January 4 respectively.Nelson Cricket Association general manager Ed Shuttleworth said the chance to host a major international will be a boost for cricket in the South Island town.”To bring international cricket to our region has been a goal for many years and achieving this is a moment of real pride for all those involved in developing cricket and the facilities in the region,” Shuttleworth said. “The legacy of international cricket will be significant with participation increasing and kids being inspired by seeing the Blackcaps in their home town.”New Zealand Cricket CEO David White said the intention was to build an annual series of matches at popular holiday destinations like Nelson and Queenstown.White said there had been no progress in the schedule for the proposed tour by India, in the second half of the New Zealand summer.”I have to admit discussions with the BCCI have taken longer than we hoped, but we should be able to announce the tour schedule in the next few weeks,” White said.West Indies last toured New Zealand in 2008-09, drawing the two Test series 0-0 but losing the ODIs and T20s 2-1 and 0-1 respectively.

Azharullah and Trent Copeland each took three wickets as Northamptonshire roared to victory over Glamorgan by an innings and 25 runs inside three days

30-Aug-2013
ScorecardTrent Copeland nipped out three in Glamorgan’s second innings•Getty Images

Azharullah and Trent Copeland each took three wickets as Northamptonshire roared to victory over Glamorgan by an innings and 25 runs inside three days.Glamorgan collapsed in the afternoon session as they were bowled out for a meagre 187, with Australia paceman Copeland taking 3 for 41 and Pakistani seamer Azharullah 3 for 42.This was the promotion-chasing hosts’ first win in six matches in this competition, while it is the second time in three seasons that Glamorgan have been thrashed by an innings at Wantage Road.The visitors began their second innings at the start of the day, needing 212 just to make Northants bat again. But they suffered an early blow in the 10th over when Gareth Rees departed for 19 as David Sales took a fine catch falling to his left at second slip off Copeland.Copeland then struck again by taking the important wicket of Murray Goodwin by trapping him lbw for just 5. The third-wicket pairing of Will Bragg and Chris Cooke then survived the rest of the morning session as Glamorgan reached lunch on 86 for 2.But Bragg was to depart on 44 in the fifth over of the afternoon when he dragged Azharullah’s delivery on to his leg stump to end a stand of 70. Northamptonshire made further inroads three overs later when Steven Crook pinned Jim Allenby lbw.Cooke then went cheaply, having played well in making 42, when he gloved Azharullah’s leg-side delivery to Northants wicketkeeper David Murphy. It was now becoming a sorry procession for Glamorgan as their captain and wicketkeeper Mark Wallace was also taken by Murphy, this time off the bowling of Crook.John Glover soon followed him back to the pavilion after making only a single and became the third wicket to fall in 12 balls when he edged Azharullah to Murphy. The visitors slid ever closer to defeat when Andrew Salter fell to Murphy’s ninth catch of the match to give Andrew Hall his first wicket.Dean Cosker then smashed Copeland to Crook at fine leg to leave Northants on the brink of victory and maximum points. Graham Wagg did give the hosts some resistance but he was to be left stranded on 34 as the result was wrapped up two overs before tea was due when Michael Reed was taken at first slip by Copeland off Hall.

Mumbai Indians and Lions will meet each other in a must-win encounter in Jaipur, after torrential rain in Ahmedabad left the ground at Motera unfit for play

The Preview by Alagappan Muthu26-Sep-2013

Match facts

September 27, 2013
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)Sachin Tendulkar is closing in on 50,000 runs in recognised cricket•BCCI

Big Picture

Both teams have taken the field only once in this Champions League T20, but when Mumbai Indians and Lions meet in Jaipur, neither will be far from desperate times. Both could not impart any damage to Rajasthan Royals’ perfect record at their home ground this year and with torrential rain in Ahmedabad causing a double washout to compound their troubles, Mumbai and Lions are still searching for their first win. They will need to win to prevent themselves from a situation wherein their fortunes are dependent on other results.History sides with Lions, although their 2-0 record over Mumbai was cultivated in South African conditions and with a markedly different team. Neil McKenzie’s absence, courtesy a pulled stomach muscle, hit them hardest in their previous match. Though captain Alviro Peterson acclimatised reasonably well to his new role in the middle order, there was very little support on offer from the others, unlike in the last edition when veteran opener Gulam Bodi – another man who was missing from the XI against Royals – gave McKenzie company among the top three run-getters in the tournament.Experience, however, does not guarantee success as depicted by Mumbai’s faltering top order. Only once has the opening partnership crossed 12 in the last five matches and Mumbai will hope that on a true Jaipur pitch, Sachin Tendulkar, who had averaged 22.07 in IPL 2013, and Dwayne Smith strike better rhythm. They might have to contend with the threat of Imran Tahir, after Lions witnessed the exploits of legspinner Pravin Tambe first-hand.The situation reverses in the bowling department with Mitchell Johnson and Nathan Coulter-Nile forming a potent combination at the top, the former bringing the ball in and the latter taking it away. Without Malinga’s pin-point yorkers to bank on in the death and Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha looking tame enough that they only bowled four overs between them in the first match, Mumbai will have to concentrate on early wickets.There’s a bit of a sidenote to this match: Tendulkar is 31 runs short of becoming only the 16th player and first Indian to aggregate 50,000 runs in all recognised cricket.

Players to watch

Hardus Viljoen lived up to his billing of being as fast as Dale Steyn, consistently touching speeds in excess of 145kph. His height adds an extra dimension, which could prove decisive on a pitch with ample carry and against a batting line-up that revolves around Indian batsmen and Kieron Pollard.The rise of Ravindra Jadeja has relegated Pragyan Ojha to excess baggage in the Indian team and he would have endured a sense of déjà vu as he was limited to bowling only one over in Mumbai’s opening match. Against a side on its first tour of India, his flight and guile would be expected to make an impact.

Quotes

“We need to lift our game, and if we do that, we have enough talent in our bowling and batting to make it to the semis.”

New Zealand’s former chief selector, Bruce Edgar, has called for a full review of New Zealand Cricket’s “management style and process” after his recent departure from the organisation

ESPNcricinfo staff11-May-2015New Zealand’s former chief selector, Bruce Edgar, has called for a full review of New Zealand Cricket’s “management style and process” after his recent departure from the organisation. It was announced last week that Edgar was standing down from his selection role, with NZC keen to turn the talent identification of his part-time job into a full-time position.But Edgar said there were issues of principle and respect involved in his departure. He said he had to “beg, borrow and scrape” to secure tickets in the officials’ area for the World Cup final at the MCG in March, and at other times during the tournament was seated away from the area for players and officials, and was in the “awkward” position of sitting among the players’ parents and partners.When given tickets to the final, Edgar said he was in an ICC hospitality area among the wives and girlfriends of the Australian players. Edgar said NZC chief executive David White had apologised to him for the problems with tickets.”It’s been more the principle,” Edgar told of his departure. “You don’t leave organisations on money, it’s that respect thing and being treated correctly and appropriately. It was like I was grovelling, especially around the World Cup.”They [NZC board] need to have a close look at their management style and process within the organisation, which means a 360 review on everyone where all stakeholders have an opportunity to make comment. That’s what good organisations do.”You’ve got some very good, astute people on the board and they understand governance. They just need to ask the question and see if the appropriate structures and processes are in place.”Edgar also said that NZC would need to plan carefully over the coming years for the eventual departures of captain Brendon McCullum and coach Mike Hesson.”This is not about me. If Brendon retires; Mike Hesson gets an IPL contract, that creates instability, then you get the revolving door process,” Edgar said. “The players felt secure, knowing that they were being backed not just for one game but for a series and being given an opportunity to grow and develop as opposed to thinking that this is just a revolving door. The risk is this could lead to all that potential instability.”

Wilson Manase, the Zimbabwe Cricket chairman, has said the landmark decision to tour Pakistan was taken after he had spoken to the Zimbabwe’s defence department and was told that it was all right to play in Pakistan

Umar Farooq25-May-2015Wilson Manase, the Zimbabwe Cricket chairman, has said the landmark decision to tour Pakistan was taken after he had spoken to the Zimbabwe’s defence department and was told that it was all right to play in Pakistan. He was responding to the suggestion from several quarters that the decision to tour was taken despite advice to the contrary from the government’s Sports and Recreation Committee (SRC).”SRC consulted with the ministry of foreign affairs and someone there said it might not be safe to visit Pakistan particularly after the Karachi incident, but Karachi is different from Lahore,” Manase told ESPNcricinfo. “I tried to see the officials in SRC and they kept on saying that they are busy, and time was obviously short for us as well as we had only two days to go before the team departs.”So what I did was to consult with the relevant authorities in government, the defense forces – they have got the intelligence, they are the people who know what the situation is and they have given a go-ahead from that area. They told me it’s safe to go. Also, the team that came here to look at the situation gave a clearance and then I took the decision.”Pakistan has been a no-go destination for major international teams since March 3, 2009, when gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan team bus while it was en route to the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore for the third day of the second Test. Over the last few years, the PCB has been pushing hard to convince teams to tour Pakistan, who have been forced to play their home matches in the UAE.Zimbabwe were the first Full-Member nation to tour Pakistan in more than six years, but the ICC refused to send its match officials for the games. Manase hoped Zimbabwe’s visit would help change the perception of Pakistan in the international cricket community.”I would like to indicate to the world – especially the Test-playing nations – that Pakistan is a safe country to play cricket,” Manase said. “We need to encourage members of the ICC to relook at the position of not visiting Pakistan, and if they are watching how things have gone, they would realise that Pakistan, in the quest to have teams visit, have done great work to create an environment where cricket can be played safely.”For the nations who remain skeptical, they should have sent some delegation to come and be part of this event and watch what is happening in Pakistan. That would have given them confidence. But wherever they are I believe they are watching. They are watching that the grounds are so full, they are watching the security given by the government and have understood Pakistan have the capacity to take any measures for the visiting team. I will brief them in the upcoming ICC meeting in Barbados.”While the security detail for Zimbabwe’s tour of Pakistan has been extremely heavy -thousands of personnel being only one of the measures put in place – the visitors have also been warmly embraced by the people of Pakistan, who have expressed their gratitude with cheers and posters during the first two Twenty20 internationals in Lahore.”We have been welcomed greatly by the general population of this country,” Manase said. “In actual fact the hospitality we have received here, we have not received anywhere in the word where we havegone to play cricket. We have felt safe here because the cricket board in conjunction with the government has made us feel secure.”There had been reports that several Zimbabwe players were reluctant to tour Pakistan in the days before their scheduled departure to Lahore, but all 16 of the first-choice squad eventually made the trip. Manase said no one had any misgivings.”I can tell you that players were never reluctant. They were always ready to go, we never had any dissent within,” Manase said. “All players who were selected did come. We are safe, the players are safe, and there is no problem.Pakistan won the T20 international series 2-0, though Zimbabwe ran them close in both games. The first of three day-night ODIs will take place at the Gaddafi Stadium on Tuesday, and Pakistan will tour Zimbabwe in August this year for a return series.

Luke Wright took his run-total in this season’s NatWest T20 Blast to 522 with an unbeaten 92 as Sussex Sharks strengthened their bid for a quarter-final place with an eight-wicket win over Glamorgan at Hove

ECB/PA10-Jul-2015
ScorecardTymal Mills was again in the wickets with 3 for 34•Getty Images

Luke Wright took his run-total in this season’s NatWest T20 Blast to 522 with an unbeaten 92 as Sussex Sharks strengthened their bid for a quarter-final place with an eight-wicket win over Glamorgan at Hove.Sussex made short work of a target of 165, reaching it when George Bailey hit the third six of the 15th over from Dean Cosker to seal only their second home win in the South Group but one which should guarantee a top-four finish with two games still to go.Glamorgan’s total of 164 for 7 looked competitive at halfway as they chased a third successive away victory but Wright and Chris Nash produced another punishing stand against them to set up victory.Three weeks ago in Cardiff they put on 116 but went one better this time, scoring 117 in 69 balls with Nash contributing 50 off 32 balls to the third-highest first-wicket stand in Sussex’s T20 history.

Insights

Sussex are in a strong position to qualify for the quarter-finals. By contrast, Glamorgan are likely to be scrapping hard for their place after this defeat. It could be argued that Sussex and Glamorgan – two well-rounded, well-drilled teams are similar in style and substance. The difference, it could also be argued, is Luke Wright. With experience playing in the BBL and IPL Wright is perhaps the best and most experienced player in England not in the T20 international team. His past five scores this season are 57*, 111*, 47, 12, 92* and such rare international quality hiding within the domestic circuit is invaluable.

Nash hit seven boundaries and initially took the initiative but once Wright had reached his half-century he went into overdrive, savagely attacking the Glamorgan spinners as he hit Andrew Salter’s off-breaks for successive sixes before taking three maximums of slow left-armer Cosker. It was left to Bailey to hit the winning runs with the eighth six of the Sussex innings.It was the fifth successive game where the side batting second at Hove had won and Glamorgan will feel that their total was at least 20 runs short.They lost opener Jacques Rudolph in the fifth over when left-armer Chris Liddle trimmed his off stump and thereafter Glamorgan needed a solid unbeaten knock of 63 from 46 balls from Ben Wright to hold their innings together.Liddle and leg-spinner Will Beer bowled with commendable control but the fireworks were provided by left-armer Tymal Mills, who finished with 3 for 34 and unsettled all the Glamorgan batsmen with his searing pace.Mills picked up a wicket in his first over when Colin Ingram gloved down the leg side and he returned to the attack to knock back Graham Wagg’s middle stump and have David Lloyd caught off a leading edge.Glamorgan only got some momentum when Craig Meschede clubbed 20 off an over from Matt Machan, including two sixes, and well though Wright batted in difficult circumstances he never found the tempo that Luke Wright and Nash produced later in the contest.

Collins Obuya’s half-century and some tidy bowling helped Kenya quell Oman’s chase by seven runs and register their second straight win in the World T20 Qualifier in Edinburgh

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Jul-2015
Full scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo: Collins Obuya completed his fifty in 34 balls•ICC

Collins Obuya’s half-century and some tidy bowling helped Kenya quell Oman’s chase by seven runs and register their second straight win in the World T20 Qualifier in Edinburgh.Sent in to bat, Kenya were off to a steady, if not racy, start, their openers, Narendra Kalyan and Irfan Karim, adding 29 runs before Rajeshkumar Ranpura accounted for Karim in the sixth over. Two overs later, Kalyan was trapped in front by Zeeshan Maqsood to reduce Kenya to 33 for 2.Obuya and Nehemiah Odhiambo then joined hands to raise 39 runs in 4.5 overs. After Odhiambo’s dismissal, Obuya put on 52 in 5.5 overs in the company of captain Rakep Patel, who scored 21 off 15 balls, to increase the run rate.Obuya brought up his fifty off 34 balls with a six off Ranpura in the 18th over, but he perished three balls later. Kenya scored 45 in their last five overs to finish with 143. Debutants Munis Ansari and Maqsood picked up two wickets each along with Ranpura, who gave away only 17 runs in four overs.Oman’s reply was stifled by some thrifty bowling from left-arm seamer Lucas Oluoch and left-arm spinner Shem Ngoche. Oman managed to score only 25 in the Powerplay, with two maidens from Oluoch, and were on 49 for 3 after 10 overs, Ngoche picking up two of the wickets while Oluoch bowled four overs on the trot, giving away only 10 runs.Oman struggled to get any partnerships going at the top of the order with Jatinder Singh, with 31 off 34 balls, making the only substantial contribution. They, however, gave Kenya a scare at the back end as No. 7 Amir Ali smashed a 20-ball 30 to bring Oman closer to the target. With 24 required off the last over, he was dismissed by Odhiambo off the third delivery, effectively ending Oman’s hopes. Ngoche finished with figures of 3 for 25.

Sam Curran celebrated becoming the second youngest player to make his first-class debut for Surrey by taking a wicket with his fourth ball on the opening day of the Division Two clash against Kent at the Kia Oval

ECB/PA13-Jul-2015
ScorecardTom Curran took two wickets but it was his brother Sam that made the bigger impact•EMPICS/Surrey CCC

Sam Curran celebrated becoming the second youngest player to make his first-class debut for Surrey by taking a wicket with his fourth ball on the opening day of the Division Two clash against Kent at the Kia Oval.At stumps, Kent had reached 132 for 4 off the 30 overs made possible by the weather and the floodlights, thanks largely to Daniel Bell-Drummond (39) and Sam Northeast (45) staging a recovery by adding 60 for the visitors’ third wicket at
quicker than a run a ball.Damp conditions put paid to any play before 3pm, but the younger of Surrey’s two Curran brothers soon made up for lost time by parting Joe Denly’s middle and off stumps with an inswinging delivery in the second over.Both Currans shared new ball duties and older brother Tom justified Surrey’s decision to bowl first by having Adam Ball, driving uppishly, caught at backward point five overs later.At 17 years and 40 days old, Sam Curran’s first-class debut came 69 years to the day after Tony Lock, the youngest player to play for Surrey at 17 years and eight days, made his first appearance – also against Kent – at the Oval on July 13, 1946.He also came close to adding to his tally when Bell-Drummond, on six, was dropped at square leg. Bell-Drummond then joined forces with Northeast and brought up the fifty partnership in the 16th over, with the first of two fours in the space of three balls from James Burke.But the introduction of Zafar Ansari’s left-arm spin just before tea conjured up the wicket of Bell-Drummond, who was lbw for 39.Northeast, who opened his account with a four straight down the ground and batted positively for his 45 in 47 deliveries, was caught behind off Tom Curran shortly after a brief delay for bad light.Darren Stevens got off the mark with a six over long-on off Ansari but was unable to add to his score before bad light brought a premature end to proceedings at 5.58pm, with Ben Harmison the other not out batsman on 11.

Two years later, neither Ross Taylor nor Brendon McCullum has returned with New Zealand to South Africa, but Mike Hesson is back and has plenty to show for it

Firdose Moonda11-Aug-20152:49

Away wins a sign of progress – Mike Hesson

The last time New Zealand were in South Africa, they were a mess. Against the backdrop of a captaincy controversy, which saw Ross Taylor step down after a spat with Mike Hesson and Brendon McCullum take over in difficult circumstances, they cracked down the middle and crashed to innings defeats in both Tests. They teetered on the point of crisis, Hesson appeared a man condemned and their ODI series win was completely clouded over.Two years later, neither Taylor nor McCullum has returned with New Zealand – the former has a groin injury, the latter is being rested, but Hesson is back and has plenty to show for it. He is still in charge, for a start, and his charges have come good. As he put, it they have had “pretty big two years” after plunging the depths in South Africa, which proved a turning point for their cricket.”The one-day series win the last time we were over here was a big start for us,” Hesson said in Durban. “We hadn’t won a series in SA and we were under-strength, so to win that was a big achievement for us. That was the start of a pretty big two years culminating in a World Cup final and the Test team moving up the rankings steadily. We are improving.”New Zealand have not lost a Test series in two years, since they last visited England in 2013. They have since played seven series, won four and drawn three. In the same period, they have played ten bilateral ODI series, won five, drawn two and lost three.They have done all of that with a similar group of players to the bunch that visited South Africa two years ago; similar but different because some of them have grown up. Kane Williamson, who was but a promising kid back then, is now the stand-in ODI captain; Martin Guptill has become more dangerous; he has an ODI double-hundred to his name and Nathan McCullum remains a consistent presence. The same youngsters who made the trip then are making the trip now: Colin Munro, Jimmy Neesham, Doug Bracewell and Mitchell McClenaghan, this time with the promise of more game time.With good results, they could establish themselves as part of the core that Hesson believes is getting stronger, but that is only half the secret to New Zealand’s success. “A true test of a side is how well they go away from home. Just about every side performs well at home because that’s what they have grown up doing. We have started to win series away from home on a relatively consistent basis and that’s a sign that we are making progress.”Among New Zealand’s recent victories was a Test series win in the West Indies and ODI series victory in the UAE , two places where unfamiliar territory was as much a challenge to them as the opposition. New Zealand conquered the conditions through careful planning, which most teams regard as a luxury in the modern schedule. “We’ve been able to extend our prep time by four or five days. We plan a long time in advance in terms of the series we are likely to be confronted with. You tend to do that when you get rolled over,” Hesson explained. “It doesn’t always guarantee success but it gives you the best chance. We like to be as diligent as we can about those kinds of things.”For this trip to South Africa, New Zealand prepared with two warm-up games in Pretoria before heading to Zimbabwe. Apart from one defeat in Harare, the rest of their recce was successful and they were able to come to terms with winter conditions in Africa. They are not unlike summer conditions in New Zealand – slower surfaces with not much bounce, which may be less conducive to the attacking cricket that New Zealand enjoy playing. “The wickets will be conducive to good cricket, possible not as aggressive as the cricket as we saw in England due to the nature of the surfaces,” Hesson said.But that won’t change New Zealand’s approach too much. They are confident in their blueprint and ready to show they have come full circle: from a mess into a mature outfit with the same man, Hesson, manning the ship.”We’ve identified the way we want to play our cricket, the way we want to be known and respected by our own fans and we’re proud of the way we play the game, ” Hesson said. “As a group we’ve looked at our strengths and weaknesses and tried and work out how you can generate some consistency. It looks great when it works and when it doesn’t, occasionally, it doesn’t look so good but if you accept that’s the way you want to play, you can cope with the outcomes.”

Shishir Bhavane, who injured his wrist while batting on the second day, has said that the support from Shreyas Gopal helped him fight pain and put Karnataka on top

Vishal Dikshit in Bangalore10-Oct-2015If you look at the scorecard, you will see it has been a painful game for the Bengal bowlers. Three centuries and a half-century from Karnataka, and they declared with a first-innings lead of 225 runs, at the stroke of tea on the third day.What you cannot see in the scorecard is Karnataka No. 3 Shishir Bhavane’s injury and the pain he had to endure during his 119, his maiden first-class hundred. Bhavane’s right wrist was injured while batting in the first session on the second day. He was later cleared of any injury after scans, and was declared fit to bat again today after a night’s rest. To bat on the third day, especially for a long period, he had to take two painkillers and some encouraging words from his partner Shreyas Gopal, who scored his second hundred against Bengal.”It was paining a bit but Shreyas helped me out there a lot,” Bhavane said after stumps on the third day. “He kept pushing me and made sure I never gave up the fight.”Bhavane took one painkiller in the morning and the other after lunch, when he was on 69. The two batsmen came together at the score of 342 for 5, when Karnataka led by only 30 runs, and one more wicket would have opened up the tail. With an injury that made him curb his shots and instincts, Bhavane mainly nudged the ball around for singles and couples, unlike Gopal who struck 20 fours during his hundred.”What it [the injury] does is it cuts down your strokes, I was just waiting to drive and just to tap singles. That made me concentrate more,” Bhavane said.”I found it difficult to play square of the wicket and flick [the ball]. I had to roll with my top hand and playing on the on side I was finding it difficult. On the impact I was feeling the shock through my arm so it was little difficult. Actually I have to give credit to Shreyas also, he pushed me and backed me a lot.”Gopal also found it difficult to flick the ball, but his reason was completely different. He said the nature of the wicket and the field placements were such that he could not go for whatever shots he felt like.”[When the ball is] on the stumps it’s difficult because you can’t flick in the air, so I had to check my flicks, I couldn’t play them very easily,” Gopal said. “There were a lot of balls I could have flicked on another wicket but I didn’t want to because they had a short midwicket and a square leg and it’s not easy hitting through covers and mid-off. That’s why I was waiting and playing to my strengths.”The two batsmen slogged it out and added 142 runs in over 50.5 overs to put Karnataka in a commanding position. The hosts now lead Bengal by 167 runs and they need another eight wickets to seal their first win of the season. Gopal stated that with a potent bowling attack on a fourth-day pitch, Karnataka would make the Bengal batsmen “earn every run”.”It’s obviously the perfect KSCA wicket,” Gopal said. “If we can create a few more marks by the fast bowlers, the spinners can come into the game at some point and definitely it’s not easy playing our fast bowlers. We are the best fast-bowling unit in the country. It’s going to be pretty hard for them and we’ll try and make it as difficult as possible.”It’s turning but it’s turning from the fourth stump, there isn’t much help from the wicket as yet. But considering that tomorrow is the fourth day, the cracks may open up a bit more. There could be some uneven bounce as well. I think that’s when we will be more effective but until then we have to bowl stump to stump.”