All posts by h716a5.icu

Ryan Reynolds has sent a touching message to Wrexham goalkeeper Mark Howard after the 37-year-old revealed his graduation from university.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

Reynolds congratulates Wrexham veteran on graduation37-year-old studied sports writing and broadcastingWrexham captain Tozer teases HowardInstagramWHAT HAPPENED?

Most people graduate from university in their early twenties, but Howard has shown that you are never too old for education. On Wednesday he shared the news that he has graduated from Staffordshire University with First Class Honours in Professional Sports Writing and Broadcasting. While his Wrexham teammates congratulated and ribbed him in equal measure, Reynolds shared a heartfelt message on Instagram.

AdvertisementGettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Less than a year ago Howard was Wrexham's first-choice goalkeeper, but the veteran lost his starting spot when former Premier League shot-stopper Ben Foster came out of retirement to help the Red Dragons' promotion push. With Wrexham now in League Two, Howard is behind Arthur Okonkwo and Luke McNicholas in the pecking order.

WHAT RYAN REYNOLDS SAID

Wrexham co-owner Reynolds took to Instagram to share a message with his goalkeeper. "Huge news!!!," the Hollywood star wrote. "To do this while playing professional football and raising two kids is an immense accomplishment. So proud of you pal."

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

WHAT DID HOWARD AND HIS TEAMMATES SAY?

Howard posted a graduation photo with the caption: "What an amazing but surreal day celebrating my graduation. It’s been a very enjoyable couple of years whilst playing and enjoying my football, your never too old to learn."

Wrexham captain Ben Tozer replied in jest: "Congratulations mate. The oldest person to have ever graduated?"

GOAL tells you everything you need to know about the new season, including which superstars have joined Cristiano Ronaldo in the Middle East…

Pep Guardiola knows a thing or two about spending sprees, so when the manager of Abu Dhabi-backed Manchester City says that Europe's elite clubs "need to be aware of what's happening" in the Saudi Pro League, you can be sure that something seriously significant is going down.

As the Catalan has correctly pointed out, the SPL has "changed the transfer market" this summer, paying one inflated transfer fee after another for players convinced to move to the Middle East by stunning salaries. As Odion Ighalo put it when asked why he and the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo are in Saudi Arabia, "It's for money, bro."

The reasoning has been obvious from the start, though. The real interest lies in whether it's sustainable. It obviously is from a financial perspective. Saudi Arabian clubs have deep pockets, particularly Al-Nassr, Al-Ittihad, Al-Ahli and Al-Hilal – who have just been taken over by the country's Public Investment Fund in a clear attempt to create a 'Big Four'.

The historic spending spree that has followed has undeniably captured the attention of the footballing world – the question now is whether the SPL can keep a hold of it. An entertaining and competitive 2023-24 campaign would certainly help in that regard, with the emphasis on the new arrivals to not only elevate the standard of play but also make new fans out of the many interested overseas observers.

So, what can we expect from the new season? And who's likely to come out on top? GOAL tells you everything you need to know below…

GettyAl-Ittihad

Al-Ittihad are the reigning champions and obvious favourites to win this season's title after a very productive summer. After all, Nuno Espirito Santo had already turned them into the most well-balanced team in the Pro League. They scored 60 goals last season – only Ronaldo's Al-Nassr managed more – but conceded just 13.

It's not difficult, then, to see the champions being even better in 2023-24, with N'Golo Kante and Fabinho having arrived to give even greater protection to the backline, and current Ballon d'Or holder Karim Benzema set to spearhead an attack that has also been bolstered by the signing of former Celtic winger Jota, who could prove one of the surprise stars of the season, and still features last season's top scorer, Abderrazak Hamdallah.

Benzema, though, is obviously the key. He had his injury issues last season but he remains a world-class talent, which is precisely why Real Madrid were so desperate to keep him for another season. Indeed, the French forward is already banging in the goals in the Arab Club Champions Cup, so do not be at all surprised if Benzema beats former club-mate Ronaldo to the Pro League's top scorer award this season.

AdvertisementAl Nassr TwitterAl-Nassr

It's still hard to believe that Al-Nassr were top of the table when they signed Cristiano Ronaldo to great fanfare in January and yet failed to win the league. The Portuguese scored freely, of course, netting 14 times in just 16 games, but his frustration with Rudi Garcia's tactics quickly became obvious, and the French coach was sacked before the end of the 2022-23 campaign.

So the pressure now falls on Luis Castro to lead Al-Nassr to a first title since 2019. Ronaldo's compatriot doesn't exactly boast a stellar CV, but he did win the Ukrainian Premier League with Shakhtar Donetsk in 2020 and besides, he's taking over a squad that has been significantly strengthened over the summer.

How much Alex Telles will add to the defence is, of course, debatable after his trying time at Manchester United, but Seko Fofana should make a big impact in a midfield that will now be run by the excellent Marcelo Brozovic, who was Inter's best player in the Champions League final.

However, the signing that's generated most headlines is, of course, that of Sadio Mane. The Senegalese has endured a dramatic decline over the past 12 months that saw him go from a hero at Liverpool to a zero at Bayern Munich. However, the 31-year-old should still have more than enough left in the tank to run riot up front alongside Ronaldo, meaning Al-Nassr should once again be challenging for the title.

Hilal TwitterAl-Hilal

Al-Hilal's bid for a fourth consecutive Pro League title unravelled over the second half of last season, but that had a lot to do with the fact that they reached the final of both the Club World Cup, where they stunned Flamengo in the semi-finals, and the AFC Champions League.

However, the most successful side in Saudi Arabian football look far better equipped to win a record-extending 19th title this term – not least because they now have Jorge Jesus back in charge. The Portuguese fell out with his employers during his first spell at Al-Hilal, but he returns after four years away having only further enhanced his reputation as one of the game's great coaches by winning a Copa Libertadores with Flamengo, in 2019.

Jesus will also have a stellar squad at his disposal. Kalidou Koulibaly may have underwhelmed at Chelsea but the Napoli legend is an incredible acquisition for the centre of the defence, while Ruben Neves and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic have the makings of the best midfield pairing in the league.

Unlike many of the other players to have moved to Saudi Arabia this summer, both Neves and Milinkovic-Savic are still in their prime and the Serb, in particular, should quickly prove himself one of the most dominant players in the Pro League.

There have been no superstar signings up front as of yet – unless you count former Barcelona winger Malcom, who has joined from Zenit – but in Ighalo they already possess a proven goalscorer at this level. All things considered, a title challenge appears inevitable.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

Al Ahli TwitterAl-Ahli

Back in the top flight after winning last season's First Division, Al-Ahli were without a manager until the end of July before managing to lure Matthias Jaissle away from Red Bull Salzburg, which caused quite a bit of controversy. The German had won back-to-back Austrian titles with Salzburg, so they were furious when it emerged that he was in talks over a move to the Jeddah just two days before the start of the new Bundesliga season.

Al-Ahli won't care, though, after finally filling their coaching vacancy with the highly-rated Jaissle, who could work wonders with arguably the most exciting attacking line-up in the league. Star summer signings Roberto Firmino, Riyad Mahrez and Allan Saint-Maximin really should form a fantastically fluid forward line with enough flicks and tricks to bamboozle even the best defences in Saudi Arabia.

However, Al-Ahli have also strengthened elsewhere, with the signing of Franck Kessie from Barcelona representing a real coup, given he was tipped to join Juventus. The Ivorian will add quality and physicality to the midfield, while ex-Roma centre-back Roger Ibanez is a great addition to the backline.

As for Eduouard Mendy, the Senegalese goalkeeper may have suffered a serious slump at Stamford Bridge, resulting in him losing his starting spot to Kepa Arrizabalaga, but if he can get back to anything resembling his Champions League-winning best, he could prove a real difference-maker.

A title triumph is perhaps too much to expect from the newly-promoted side, but the PIF-backed team will be expected to at least challenge for top spot.

A round-up of the latest round of matches of the SuperSport Series 2011-12

Firdose Moonda08-Jan-2012Cape Cobras held on to their spot at the top of the table with an innings and 54-run win over the Knights in Kimberley.The feat of the match came from the wicketkeeper-batsman Dane Vilas, who became the first to score more than 150 and make 10 dismissals, all catches, in a first-class match. Vilas was the star of the show as the Knights were skittled out for 218 and 160 in each of their innings.Between them, the Knights’ top three managed two ducks and a score of eight in their first innings, before Boeta Dippenaar’s 69 restored some pride. Rory Kleinveldt, who is part of South Africa’s one-day squad to play Sri Lanka, led the charge with 5 for 26.The Cobras fared little better and teetered on 106 for 6 before Vilas arrived at the crease. He combined with Robin Peterson for an eight wicket stand of 257. Peterson was out for 97 but Vilas went on to score the eighth first-class fifty of his career, a pacy 187 off 198 balls, including 23 fours and six sixes.Stunned by that effort, the Knights fell victim to Justin Kemp, who took 5 for 31, and fell apart. The massive loss was not their only casualty. Batsman Dean Elgar, who received his maiden call-up to the national side for the five-match one-day series against Sri Lanka, suffered a knee injury and was ruled out of the match and the international series. The Knights sit mid-table, in third position, a mere 2.66 points behind the Cobras.Even closer to the Cobras than that, are the Titans, who beat the Warriors by 202 runs in Benoni and are just 0.3 points off the lead. The national selectors would have watched that match with interest as a number of fringe players put their hands up for higher honours.Lonwabo Tsotsobe, who was playing in his first competitive match since October, took 4 for 90 as the Titans amassed 393 in their first innings. Faf du Plessis scored 112 and Albie Morkel an unbeaten 127. Wayne Parnell did not have anything pleasing to report as he finished with figures of 0-53 in seven overs and suffered a pinched nerve which kept him out of bowling in the second innings.Michael Price and JJ Smuts put on 113 for the third-wicket but the Warriors did not have too much other significant resistance and were bowled out for 264. Morkel took 3 for 33 while du Plessis’ legspin earned him 4 for 65.The Titans piled on the runs in the second innings, with Tumelo Bodice scoring 51, du Plessis 57 and Henry Davids 105. They declared on 326 for 6, setting the Warriors an improbable 456 for victory. An already tough task became impossible when the Warriors slumped to 10 for 3 in the fourth over, with Marchant de Lange doing the early damage.Jon-Jon Smuts defied the Titans for a while, with his 143, but had little support. Morkel picked up another two wickets and du Plessis 4 for 47 to end with eight in the match and give the Titans a comfortable win before lunch on the fourth day.

A round-up of the final day of the fourth round of Pentangular Cup matches

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Feb-2012Punjab and Sind reserved their berths in the final of the Pentangular Cup after finishing at the top in the points table, leaving Baluchistan, Federal Areas and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province out of contention. The final will be played from February 18 to 22 in Lahore.The pre-final dead rubber between Baluchistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province ended in a tame draw at Arbab Niaz Stadium in Peshawar. Baluchistan’s Ahmed Raza restricted KPP on 355 with his seven-wicket haul as KPP manged to add only 90 runs on the final day. Saeed Anwar Junior’s century and Rizwan Haider’s half-century helped Baluchistan to 252 for 5 when the match was called off.After three days ruined by wet conditions, Sind and Federal Areas kicked off the action on the final day at Rawalpindi Stadium. Federal opted to bat first and put on 221 for 3, with Afaq Raheem (72) and Umair Khan (49) capturing the eye. The umpires called off the day after 56 overs to declare a draw.

MS Dhoni, who will captain India for the 50th time in Tests, highlighted the importance of knowing one’s limitations and their strengths

Sidharth Monga in Johannesburg17-Dec-2013When he walks out for the toss at the Wanderers on Wednesday, MS Dhoni will have achieved a rare feat: having captained in 50 Tests a team that always plays under the scrutiny and pressure of expectation that the England football team or the All Blacks usually face. Only 32 years old, he often jokes about how he has greyed with the captaincy. There is a reason why no Indian has led in 50 Tests. Rahul Dravid, possibly the best on-field captain India have had, could manage the job for only 25 matches before resigning. Dhoni has obviously done some things right, one of which is that he might not even know that he is going to walk out for a 50th toss in whites.When Dhoni had the seniors – Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Virender Sehwag gave him some of their best innings – he did the job perfectly for the most part. He knew all he needed to do was make sure they were in a good space and the performances would be delivered. He managed the off-field stuff well, which captains will tell you is equally important, if not more – remember Ian Chappell’s improvisation of a Bill O’Reilly line that even a collie dog can arrange a batting order and make bowling changes? Towards the end of the seniors’ careers, Dhoni perhaps trusted a good thing for too long, but largely he could do his job staying in the shadow and under the radar.Now, though, begins a new challenge for Dhoni. This is the first time he is captaining a side without any of his big guns. Even Gautam Gambhir is missing. India’s six specialist batsmen have a combined experience of 42 Tests, only three of them in South Africa. Dhoni knows he needs to be more proactive without being overbearing.MS Dhoni’s 50th Test as India captain is the beginning of a whole new challenge•BCCI”It will be quite different,” he said on the eve of the match. “When all the seniors were part of the side, you didn’t really have to worry much about how preparation is going because once you have played international cricket for a long time you know your game. At the same time you know how to prepare well in different conditions. Many of them had toured the same venues quite a few times, be it England, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand.”But with the new set of players, at times you have to guide them as to what needs to be done, and what are the areas where they need to improve,” Dhoni said. “At the same time not getting too technical is also very important. Because you can’t change your technique in five-six-seven days. What’s important is to know your limitation, and at the same time know your strength.”An ideal scenario would have been a gradual phasing out of the seniors, so that some of them were around to take the new batsmen through their paces in away Tests. However, not for nothing is the India captaincy difficult. There are few ideal scenarios. Now all these young batsmen will have to go through this as newcomers. A newcomer, though, will find what Dhoni says reassuring. He is not imposing demands, he is not going to sit and say things would have been better with Tendulkar or Dravid or Laxman around. He is going to guide newcomers on how to prepare, he is going to leave technical matters to Duncan Fletcher, and he will ask that they give their best on match day.Dhoni is also going to ask his bowlers to pull their weight, a demand sometimes not made because the senior batsmen used to clean up after them. “One of the most crucial things to do is to bowl well, because to win Test matches you have to score runs but at the end of the day we need to take 20 wickets,” he said, when asked of the importance of batting well in the first innings. “So I think it will be very important to bowl in the right areas. [You need to] get used to the conditions really well. Try to hit the top of off stump because that’s the ideal length irrespective of where you are playing. It’s a bit of both, but of course we need to bowl really well. If we start well with that, we will carry off the confidence to other departments.”Dhoni will live with his bowlers not having the pace of Dale Steyn or the bounce of Morne Morkel, but he will want them to hit the top of off with the seam upright more often than not.It’s possible Dhoni doesn’t let things such as legacy play on his mind too much. However, after the last two horror away tours put a downer on his good work as captain, his 50th is almost a fresh start for Dhoni when it comes to leading a Test side.

Keith Bradshaw, the former MCC chief executive, believes the ECB and the counties will have to revisit the concept of a Twenty20 franchise competition in the future

Daniel Brettig03-Dec-2013Keith Bradshaw, the former MCC chief executive, believes the ECB and the counties will have to revisit the concept of a Twenty20 franchise competition in the future, despite twice shutting down efforts to herald an equivalent of the IPL and BBL in England.In 2008 and 2010 Bradshaw was at the centre of proposals to create a domestic T20 tournament that transcended the old county model, creating eight to 10 franchise teams to contest the title in a tighter format, rather than all the traditional 18 counties.Now overseeing the South Australian Cricket Association, including the Adelaide Strikers in the BBL, Bradshaw told ESPNcricinfo he still felt strongly that the franchise concept would provide a better avenue for T20 in England, and draw new supporters to a game that is being increasingly marginalised by other sports and pursuits in the British Isles.”I always felt it was something that could have had huge benefit for English cricket,” Bradshaw said ahead of the Adelaide Ashes Test. “At the time too I felt, particularly with David Stewart, then Surrey chairman, we were particularly concerned about losing our elite English players to the IPL and the various T20 leagues we thought would pop up.”So we wanted to create something that rivalled if not bettered the IPL, so players would want to stay in the UK and attract people there. I just felt at the time, as did David, that an 18-team competition wasn’t delivering the potential of T20 cricket. It didn’t get up, but I understand the concept is being looked at again.”When I was around they used to call it ‘the F-word’, a dirty word, but if you look at the success of the BBL in Australia, English cricket has massive potential. There have been some changes, they’re bringing in the Friday night games, so it will be a watching brief to see how that goes.”T20 in England has undergone various tweaks since it was launched as the world’s first T20 tournament in 2003. Next season, a new NatWest T20 Blast features 14 group stage matches spread across three months with the majority of matches scheduled for Friday nights. The format is set to remain until at least 2017.Team identities have become a source of contention in the shortest format. Team nicknames have been adopted, changed and in several cases now dropped altogether. But Warwickshire have taken the dramatic step of renaming their T20 side the Birmingham Bears.Bradshaw said that while he had accepted the opposition of the counties and elements of the ECB, he expressed regret that the ideas of the former IPL supremo Lalit Modi in particular were not more closely examined by those in power.”It’s like playing the game and the spirit of cricket, you accept the umpire’s decision and you move on,” Bradshaw said. “I’ll always think that was the best model for English cricket at the time. We spoke to Lalit Modi about the IPL in terms of his experience and his learnings about what worked and what didn’t.”He really was an amazing innovator, I think he was a genius in many ways, and we certainly tried to use what were the best parts of the IPL model but recognising that the English model had to be different. It wasn’t a straight take from the IPL at all, it was a different model.”

The IPL governing council has set August 31 as the deadline for the owners of Deccan Chargers franchise to clear player payments and sort out the financial problems with the banks to avoid any stringent action

Nagraj Gollapudi15-Aug-2012The IPL governing council has set August 31 as the deadline for the owners of Deccan Chargers franchise to clear player payments and sort out the financial problems with the banks to avoid any stringent action. In an emergency meeting called on Tuesday in New Delhi, the governing council confronted the owners of Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited, who hold the rights for the Hyderabad-based franchise, to explain in detail as to why the company had mortgaged the team ownership rights with two leading Indian banks.According to the BCCI officials, the board owns the ownership rights and that no franchise could mortgage the rights on its own.”The governing council asked the owners of Chargers to clear the players’ payments as by this time usually almost 60-70% of the contractual amount usually gets paid. But the franchise had defaulted on that. Secondly, they need to sort out the financial mess with the various banks to make sure the team remains unbothered. We need to protect both the IPL and the players,” a governing council official said.According to the official, the BCCI was concerned after the banks had directly sought the board’s involvement, asking to pay all the money set for the franchise, directly to them as Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited owned them big money. “What is more concerning is the Deccan Chargers owners have hypothecated the intangibles. They have told the banks that the team has a certain market value and based on that they had procured the loans,” the official said.T Venkatram Reddy, the owner of franchise, was present at the meeting, but was adamant that the issue was unnecessarily blown out of proportion. “He outrightly blocked all the allegations by the banks and was confident all issues would get sorted by August 31,” the official said. However, it is understood that the BCCI had already checked with the Registrar of Companies and found out that Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited had accumulated borrowing charges amounting to INR 3200 crore.According to the official, the banks were interested in knowing if they were in any position to sell the franchise on their own since the owners had defaulted to clear the dues. “We don’t know what exactly the amount is but the very fact that the banks have approached us means it is a serious issue,” the board official said.At the two-hour meeting, the Deccan Chargers were told that their immediate step should be to clear player dues over the next fortnight. The 15-day deadline has also given the Deccan Chargers owners the option of giving the presenting the details of the prospective buyers of their franchise to the Governing Council. Officials say that the prospect of the termination of the franchise had arisen “almost 15-20 days ago” however, the BCCI was “keen to be seen to aid the franchises to a limit.”

Surrey have signed Azhar Mahmood for this year Friends Life T20 competition

George Dobell19-Apr-2013Surrey have signed Azhar Mahmood for this year Friends Life T20 competition. Mahmood, the former Pakistan allrounder who now qualifies as a non-overseas player, represented Surrey between 2002 and 2007 and is currently with Kings XI Punjab in the IPL.Aged 38, Azhar sustains Surrey’s recent policy of signing ‘mature’ players: Vikram Solanki (37), Gary Keedy (38) and Ricky Ponting (38) are also among the new additions to the club, joining the likes of Zander de Bruyn (37), Gareth Batty (35) and Jon Lewis (37).Azhar is certainly experienced. Only seven men have played more than his 170 T20 games and only three men have taken more than his 190 wickets. He is also 17th on the run-scorer list. He represented Kent between 2008 and 2012.”From what I gather, Azhar has been sorely missed since he left and should never have been released in the first place,” the Surrey team director, Chris Adams, said. “Come the start of the FLt20, to have such a high-skilled player of his quality to fill a number of roles with bat and ball is a great bonus for us. He comes with a wealth of experience, a great record behind him and we’re really, really pleased.”Mahmood said: “It feels very special to be coming back to Surrey. I enjoyed my time with Kent but, ever since I left Surrey in 2007, I was always getting messages from Surrey fans and supporters asking when I was coming back, so I say thank you especially to Chris Adams and Alec Stewart in bringing me home.”Obviously it’s a very different set up to when I was last at Surrey and Twenty20 cricket has also gone from strength to strength so it’s exciting times ahead. I like the squad Surrey have for Twenty20. It looks strong and a real mix of youth and experience, and I look forward to catching up with the guys when I get back from India.”Surrey, who came bottom of the South Group in last year’s competition, have also announced Octopus Investments as a new FLt20 sponsor.

Openers Josh Cobb and Greg Smith both hit centuries as Leicestershire beat Somerset by six wickets in a spectacular run-laden Yorkshire Bank 40 clash at Grace Road

26-May-2013
ScorecardJosh Cobb’s 130 was his second YB40 hundred of the season•Getty ImagesOpeners Josh Cobb and Greg Smith both hit centuries as Leicestershire beat Somerset by six wickets in a spectacular run-laden Yorkshire Bank 40 clash at Grace Road.Somerset, who had won their first three games in the competition, posted 323 for 3 with Peter Trego hitting 118 and Marcus Trescothick, Alviro Petersen and Jos Buttler weighing in with half-centuries.However, Leicestershire responded by scoring 324 for 4 to win the game with seven balls to spare, thanks largely to the efforts of Cobb and Smith. The duo set up the record-breaking run chase with the club’s biggest-ever opening partnership in one-day cricket, putting on 235 in 25 overs to beat the previous best of 228 by Phil Simmons and Vince Wells against Kent in 1996.Cobb’s 130 was his second successive century in the competition this season while Smith, brought in only because Niall O’Brien was away playing for Ireland against Pakistan, hit a career-best 135 not out. Leicestershire’s previous most successful run chase was against Durham when they scored 289 for victory in 1996.Captain Cobb, who made 107 in the first game of the season against Gloucestershire, again led from the front reaching a half-century off 35 balls with 10 fours. Smith matched him shot for shot, taking only 27 balls for his 50 with eight fours and a six.The boundaries continued to flow as the two batsmen put Somerset’s attack to the sword, Cobb moving to his century off 62 balls with 16 fours and a six. The 200 stand came up in the 20th over, but with the record partnership established Cobb was yorked by Steve Kirby for 130 off 87 balls.Joe Burns, Ned Eckersley and Matt Boyce all went cheaply as Leicestershire stuttered. However, it was only a temporary blip with Shiv Thakor joining Smith in a fifth-wicket stand that produced 46 runs and a stunning victory.It was difficult to believe that Somerset’s innings could be eclipsed after some great batting that saw Trescothick (57) and Trego put on 120 in 15 overs for the first wicket. Trego, finally caught in the deep off Nathan Buck, hit 118 off 100 balls with 15 fours and a six while Petersen (63 not out) and Buttler (54no) shared a fourth-wicket stand of 82 in the last seven overs.It was the second time in four games this season that Somerset had topped the 300 total. Incredibly, this time it was not enough.

A summary of the matches from Group C of the Ranji Trophy on January 30, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jan-2015
ScorecardFile photo: Varun Aaron picked up two wickets to keep Jharkhand on top of Goa•Getty ImagesParas Dogra’s second double-ton of the season enabled Himachal Pradesh to post a mammoth 535 for 5 on day two against Tripura at the Maharaja Bir Bikram college stadium in Agartala.Himachal captain Bipul Sharma set up the declaration with a rapid, 119 off 136 balls, that included 13 fours and three sixes. The innings was part of an unbeaten 218-run partnership between Bipul and Dogra as none of Tripura’s eight bowlers, three of whom conceded more than 100 runs, could find a way past them.Himachal carried the momentum into their bowling when Rishi Dhawan struck in the fourth over, picking up Samrat Singha for 6. Dhawan struck again when he had Abhijit Dey caught by Karanveer Singh reducing Tripura to 64 for 2 in the 17th over.The hosts, however, were revived by opener Bishal Ghosh’s unbeaten 81 off 120, with 13 fours. Ghosh had Rakesh Solanki for support in a third-wicket partnership of 79 runs.
ScorecardJhakrand rode on Saurabh Tiwary’s 162 off 269 balls, and despite their lower-middle order failing, managed to post 385. Shiv Gautam could only add four more to his overnight score of 72 as Goa kept picking up regular wickets. Vedant Naik, the 18-year old offspinner, hastened the end as he struck twice in the 130th and 136th overs to wrap up the innings. His four wickets cost 67 runs, while Amulaya Pandrekar and Darshan Misal ended with two apiece.Jharkand came back strongly with the ball as India fast bowler Varun Aaron struck in the sixth over to remove Swapnil Asnodkar for 7. Amogh Sunil Desai was the only batsman from the top five to make more than 18 runs, but he was bowled for 55 off 113 balls in the 36th over. Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem, who had taken the wicket, finished the day with highly economical figures of 14-6-24-1. Goa could manage only one run in the next five overs before Aaron dismissed Misal for 16.
ScorecardAssam finished day two on 199 for 6, with a lead of 62 runs, despite losing regular wickets. An unbeaten 61-run partnership for the seventh wicket between Syed Mohammad and Swarupam Purkayastha was their saving grace.Andhra’s surge began when Gokul Sharma, Dheeraj Jadhav and Arun Karthik were dismissed in the space of three runs forcing Assam from 97 for 2 to 100 for 5. Seamer Cheepurapalli Stephen claimed 2 for 52 from 24 overs, while legspinner Marripuri Suresh bowled 26 tight overs for only 39 runs.