CricketViewer.com

Pakistan batsman Mohammad Yousuf who was last week banned by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) from playing for the country, has been permitted to play in a private league in Bangladesh. This comes on a day when the board reiterated that players need its permission for taking part in foreign competitions.

“PCB firmly conveys to all concerned that no player is allowed to play cricket outside Pakistan without having prior approval from the board in this regard,” the PCB statement said. “Any player interested to play cricket in any part of the world should apply to the board to seek permission for the same.”

MS Dhoni, the Chennai Super Kings captain, could be sidelined for a few days after picking up an injury during his team’s victory against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens on Tuesday. Suresh Raina has been named captain in his absence.

Dhoni was hit on the arm by a rising delivery from Shane Bond during Chennai’s innings but continued batting, scoring an unbeaten 66 off 33 balls to lead his team to a match-winning 164. He kept wickets as well during Kolkata’s unsuccessful chase but was seen wearing an ice pack during the post-match presentation ceremony.

At the halfway mark it seemed as if Kings XI Punjab had scored enough to record their first victory of the tournament, but Royal Challengers Bangalore went after the target with such vengeance that Punjab were punished for trespassing on private property. At the forefront of the chase was the reborn Twenty20 basher Jacques Kallis, who smashed an unbeaten 89, and playing valuable and entertaining supporting roles were Manish Pandey and Robin Uthappa.

Graeme Swann bagged his first 10-wicket match haul as England finally broke through Bangladesh’s resistance to secure a 181-run victory at Chittagong, but not before Junaid Siddique and Mushfiqur Rahim had made them toil through another wicketless session. Siddique scored his first Test century as the sixth-wicket pair survived the morning, taking their stand to 167, before Swann ended the resistance.

The victory margin was convincing from England – and Alastair Cook will be satisfied with his first Test in charge – but Bangladesh’s fight during the second half of the game made them dig deeper than they would have imagined. The efforts of Siddique and Rahim should give the home side great heart and England were getting increasingly flustered before Siddique’s marathon 292-ball effort was ended in the second over after lunch.

A disciplined performance by the Delhi Daredevils bowlers and a blistering innings from Virender Sehwag inflicted on Rajasthan Royals their second defeat in as many games. A battling half-century from Abhishek Jhunjhunwala lent Rajasthan’s total some respectability but it was a woefully inadequate one to defend given Sehwag’s onslaught.

Rajasthan were made to regret their poor batting in the first over of the chase, as Sehwag blazed away, swinging Dimitri Mascarehnas over square leg and mid-on for two boundaries. The seamers bowled either too full or offered him the desired width to break free – Shaun Tait was cut fiercely through point, and Munaf Patel was dispatched over long-off for a six and past mid-on for a boundary in the third over.

Bangladesh are not going down without a fight as backs-to-the-wall resistance from Junaid Siddique and Mushfiqur Rahim ensured England will have to come back for a fifth day. When the home side were reduced to 110 for 5 shortly before tea the hard work had seemingly been done, but the sixth-wicket pair remained undefeated throughout the final session.

There has been a sense of inevitability about this whole match, but Bangladesh’s periods of resistance have made England dig deep in hot conditions. Siddique showed great determination after being worked over in the first innings and, barring the occasion lapse in judgement, was impressively solid during a four-and-a-half hour stay. He proved that Bangladesh batsmen are capable of occupying the crease without regularly finding the boundary and each time his concentration appeared to be wavering he refocused.

Match facts

Tuesday, March 16
Start time 2000 (1430GMT)

Big Picture

The irony is unmissable: It’s early days yet but Kolkata have two wins from two and are looking down at Chennai, who find themselves in the unfamiliar depths of the points table. As Chennai chase their first win Sourav Ganguly comes up against his spiritual heir MS Dhoni under the lights at Eden Gardens.

Kolkata have been here before; they won their first two games in the first season, only to fizzle out and finish sixth. They ended up last the next season but now look to have shrugged that off and stride to a new momentum.

New Zealand want to postpone their already rearranged tour of Zimbabwe until 2011 or play it in a neutral venue due to the security situation in the African country. The side was due to tour last year but rescheduled the trip for June 2010 and Justin Vaughan, New Zealand’s chief executive, said the situation had not improved.

“It is clear from our recent discussions that the government’s assessment of the security situation in Zimbabwe has not changed from that of a year ago, when the scheduled tour was postponed,” Vaughan said.

Michael Clarke has arrived in New Zealand to prepare for the two-Test series after taking a week off to deal with the breakdown of his engagement. Clarke did not speak to the media on his departure in Sydney on Monday morning or after landing in Wellington and was flanked by team officials and security at both ends of the trip.

Clarke, the vice-captain, was given time off by Cricket Australia to deal with his personal life but his team-mates are confident he will be in Test mode by the start of Friday’s opening game at the Basin Reserve. After missing the final three one-day internationals in the 3-2 series win over New Zealand, Clarke’s next step is to train with the squad on Tuesday.

Tillakaratne Dilshan the explosive Sri Lanka batsman, has signed with New South Wales for next summer’s Twenty20 domestic competition. New South Wales won the Champions League Twenty20 last year but did not requalify for the lucrative tournament and have wasted no time in securing a big name to partner the likes of David Warner and Phillip Hughes.

Dilshan is currently with the Delhi Daredevils in the IPL, is signed up with the English county Sussex, and has also played for New Zealand’s Northern Districts this season. Dave Gilbert, the New South Wales chief executive, said Dilshan was one of the world’s most destructive batsmen in the format.