Pentangular Cup, 1st round, 3rd day

Federal Areas 383 and 37 for 3 trail Punjab 599 for 7 dec (Butt 290, Jamshed 108, Yousuf 56, Azam 3-133) by 179 runs

A power-packed performance from Punjab, propelled by Salman Butt's 290, put them in control of their match against Federal Areas at stumps on the third day. Punjab declared after amassing 599 for 7, and then reduced Federal Areas to 37 for 3.

Punjab carried their momentum from the previous day, when Butt and Mohammad Hafeez added a 191-run opening stand. Butt, who resumed on 135, combined well with No. 3 Nasir Jamshed to pile the misery for the Federal Areas bowlers, led by Shoaib Akhtar. The two added 290 runs for the second wicket - 262 of which came today - before Shehzad Azam dismissed them both. Jamshed, who scored fifties in his first two ODIs for Pakistan during the Zimbabwe series, made 108.

However, the star of the day was Butt, whose knock needed only 318 deliveries, and included an astounding 50 fours and and one six, perhaps a timely reminder to the selectors who dropped him during the Zimbabwe series. Mohammad Yousuf also helped himself to a fifty before Punjab declared on 599. Azam claimed three wickets, but he was carted for more than a run-a-ball in his 20 overs. The rest of the bowlers didn't impress either, with the likes of Shoaib Akhtar, Sohail Tanvir and Yasir Arafat conceding more than four an over.

Aizaz Cheema then removed both the Federal Areas openers cheaply, before left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman struck to leave the opposition struggling, still trailing by 179 runs.

Sind 149 and 130 for 0 (Manzoor 74*, Latif 56*) need another 179 runs to beat North West Frontier Province 203 and 254 (Younis 111, Kaneria 5-62, Ali 3-66)

Having conceding the first-innings lead to North West Frontier Province on the second day, Sind fought back strongly on the third day to still be in with a chance of victory.

Leading by 200 runs with seven wickets in hand in their second innings and captain Younis Khan still at the crease, NWFP were done in by Danish Kaneria's 5 for 62. Kaneria, who recently expressed his disappointment at not being handed a central contract by the Pakistan board, dismissed Nos 6 -10 as NWFP crumbled to 254 all out from 150 for 3 at the end of the second day.

Younis' 111 was the only substantial contribution, the next best was only 26. Shahid Afridi, the Sind captain, chipped in with the wicket of his opposition counterpart, while Anwar Ali ended with 3 for 66.

Needing the highest total of the match to win the game, Sind were off to a buoyant start. Khalid Latif and Khurram Manzoor, two others jostling for the opening slot in the Pakistan line-up, scored patient fifties as their team finished at 130 for no loss. Sind need another 179 with ten wickets left, but given the propensity of batting collapses in this match, it is still anybody's game.

PCB To Discuss Malik`s Deputy

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has confirmed a deputy to captain Shoaib Malik will be named after a board meeting on January 15.

The board decided to retain Malik as skipper despite the team's poor showing in India, but have opted to take more time in naming the vice-captain.

Salman Butt and Younis Khan have both shouldered the responsibility in recent times, but the board is keen to appoint someone on a permanent basis.

PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf told the Daily Times:

"The vice-captain will be named after the PCB's governing board meeting in Lahore on January 15.

"The PCB will select a 100% fit and mentally strong team member to meet the challenging responsibilities of captaincy in the absence of Shoaib Malik."

Misbah-ul-Haq, who was Pakistan's highest run-scorer in the Test series against India, is also believed to be in the running for the post, and the board chairman praised the recent efforts of the 33-year-old batsman.

"He played an excellent innings under pressure, when our top order had flopped against an experienced Indian bowling attack,"

said Ashraf.

"He has shown good temperament, and he is a well-educated and well-mannered member of the team."

The first test for the new vice-captain will come at the end of January, when Pakistan host Zimbabwe in a five-match one-day series.

Pakistan Vs India, 3rd Test, Bangalore, 3rd day

akistan 369 for 5 (Younis 80, Butt 68, Misbah 54*, Akmal 32*) trail India 626 by 257 runs

After their efforts that saved the Kolkata Test, Misbah-ul-Haq and Kamran Akmal staged another rearguard action that brightened Pakistan's chances of avoiding the follow-on in the final Test. Pakistan had slumped to 288 for 5 midway through the afternoon, but their unbeaten 81-run partnership righted the balance somewhat on a day when the Indian bowlers had to work exceptionally hard for little reward. The variable bounce challenged the batsmen, but also took its toll on the Indians, with 31 byes conceded in an astonishing tally of 70 extras.

When Faisal Iqbal's innings of 22 was ended by a nasty lifter from Ishant Sharma, India would have scented an opportunity to finish things off quickly. Sharma was impressive with the second new ball, bowling with good pace and extracting disconcerting bounce.

Misbah survived a couple of confident leg-before shouts, and luck was very much on his side on a day when Rudi Koertzen failed to spot a thin edge behind off Harbhajan Singh's bowling. Misbah was on one at the time, and his 151-ball half-century frustrated the Indians all afternoon.

He wasn't all stodge either, playing some lovely cuts and steers when the bowlers dropped short, but the aggressive intent was left to Kamran Akmal, who once again cut and drove beautifully against his favourite opposition. By stumps, Pakistan needed just 58 to ensure India bat again, a healthy position that appeared unlikely when their two main men fell in quick succession before tea.

After Salman Butt had fallen in the morning session, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf added 72 at a fair clip. Younis played a glorious cover-drive off Ishant Sharma, and once again showed his mastery of the reverse sweep with three off Harbhajan. With Yousuf driving Anil Kumble on the up over cover, some of the Indians must have been dreading another marathon partnership between two men who average over 80 together, and an astounding 171.50 against India.

Younis's predilection for the reverse sweep, though, changed the game. When Harbhajan came round the wicket, he went for it again, only to be undone by the low bounce. Soon after, an irked Yousuf walked up to Kumble at gully and exchanged words. He didn't appear to be mollified by the response, and the incident probably had a lot to do with his dismissal - a loose steer to point after Irfan Pathan had angled one well wide of off stump.

Pakistan had enjoyed the better of the morning session too. Butt eased a couple of lovely drives through the covers, though he was also extremely fortunate to survive a vociferous shout for leg before from Pathan. Younis played a superb straight drive off Sharma and a square drive off Pathan, but the inconsistent bounce kept both batsmen on their toes.

Sharma was bowling too many no-balls though, and Kumble turned to Sourav Ganguly to exert some pressure from one end. And the move paid off when Butt, who had been put down at short leg by Gautam Gambhir off Harbhajan, got a thin edge to a delivery that slanted away from him.

Both Younis and Yousuf were lucky to see outside edges fly past the lone slip, and with Kumble bringing himself on 20 minutes before lunch, it was apparent that there would be a serious examination by spin in the afternoon. Instead, it was gentle medium-pace that almost did the trick, but Simon Taufel failed to spot that Younis had glanced one down the leg side off Ganguly. Dinesh Karthik's lukewarm reaction probably made up his mind, and Ganguly was a far from happy chappie as he walked off the field for lunch. It just about summed up a day when India huffed and puffed without being able to blow the house down.

Third ODI, Pakistan Vs India, Kanpur, November 11, 2007

Led by Yuvraj Singh with bat, ball and in the field, India repelled a determined push from Salman Butt to pull off an ultimately comfortable 46-run win at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur. Butt's fourth ODI hundred intermittently threatened India's 294 but it was built without solid support and ultimately wasn't enough to prevent them taking a 2-1 series lead.

Yuvraj foiled Pakistan at key moments, first with an intelligent, elegant 77, then with a shining run out amid a gloomy fielding performance and finally with a vital wicket. The interventions were necessary for when Pakistan began the chase, their target appeared a stroll.

Perhaps it is the Kanpur air, but Pakistan's openers prosper here. Two years ago, Shahid Afridi terrorised India; today Butt gave them a fright. It had rained boundaries when India's openers were at the crease earlier, but with Butt, Afridi and Younis Khan there came a monsoon. Afridi set the tone from his first ball and though an ugly swish was his end - Irfan Pathan is on top in this battle of Pathans - the boundaries continued.

It wasn't surprising that Butt was in the mix, for against India, he generally is. He averages 45 against them, as compared to 33 overall and all his hundreds have been against them.

Of his initial strokes, not one would be out of place in a Test and if we're familiar with the wristy flourishes through off, his leg-side play was surprisingly prominent. An early pull wide of mid-on was an appetiser, a punch through midwicket in Zaheer Khan's first over, a grand main course and a clip between the two to bring up his fifty a zesty dessert.

But India soon wised up: Zaheer switched to round the wicket, the off side was tightened and Butt's cover drives made redundant. Boundaries vanished, runs slowed and wickets fell. For all their fielding comedy, India - or rather Yuvraj - managed to pull off a spectacular run out when it mattered, with Mohammad Yousuf being the lazy, familiar victim.

Spinners took over in the 20th over and a wily choke slowly fell into view: spin, bounce, little flight, gaps not easy to pierce, hurried play. Butt struggled against Harbhajan Singh in particular: he hit ten fours in his first fifty, but didn't hit another for 56 balls. Yuvraj bogged Shoaib Malik down first, before dismissing him and in this passage the result was written, though not without another nearly-there innings by Misbah-ul-Haq.

Yuvraj's earlier intervention was as decisive, with a familiar partner in crime. Yuvraj and Dhoni spell trouble for Pakistan for today they put on their fourth century stand against them in seven innings (average 99.8), and like the others, this came when it mattered most and at terrifying pace.

Pakistan had just clawed some momentum back after a poor start. Old men might struggle with early mornings, but Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly were as sprightly as a pair of teens after being put in. Ganguly was blessed with a life off the first ball of the match when Kamran Akmal dropped him and it was just the boost he needed.

Duly, the pair punished Pakistan with boundaries. And just when another century stand awaited ODI cricket's greatest opening pair, Pakistan cut their losses along with their pace and brought in Sohail Tanvir. He responded with a wonderful, controlled spell, immediately finding the edge off Tendulkar, who thus fell, for the second match running, to cricket's unluckiest dismissal: caught Akmal.

A few run-light overs later, Ganguly too was gone and suddenly as Gautam Gambhir went, Pakistan strutted with collars upturned. But not for long. Yuvraj was dropped when still nervy, ironically by Butt. Dhoni and Yuvraj then took drinks, took stock and took control. Yuvraj made the first move, a spell of two runs in three overs broken by two sixes, swept and driven off Abdur Rehman. And when fun is to be had, Dhoni doesn't miss out. He matched his deputy next over, though where Yuvraj caressed balls with love, Dhoni fairly bludgeoned two sixes.

Shoaib Akhtar and Afridi were treated as one, clubbed for three boundaries in two overs. Yuvraj was choosier, sweeping Afridi for four to reach fifty and celebrating the next ball with six. Afridi the legspinner is at his peak, but Indian batsmen don't care: two wickets in three games at nearly six an over in this series is in line with a career bowling average of nearly 58 against India.

The pair brought up their century partnership in the 43rd over, and even though Dhoni went immediately after, India were set. Tanvir excelled again at the death, but was alone. Abdur Rehman was hidden for as long as possible, and when he couldn't be hidden any longer, India prospered. His last three overs went for 41, the misery of miseries for Malik being that they were the 45th, 47th and 49th of the innings. Yuvraj and the lower order picked him for sixes as a sniper might a sitting duck. In the final calculation, that period sealed it.

	India v Pakistan
Venue	Modi Stadium, Kanpur on 11th November 2007 (50-over match)
Toss	Pakistan won the toss and decided to field
Result	India won by 46 runs
Umpires	IJ Gould (England), AM Saheba
Third umpire	SL Shastri
Referee	RS Mahanama (Sri Lanka)
Man of the Match	Yuvraj Singh

---

India innings		Runs	Balls	4s	6s
SC Ganguly	b Sohail Tanvir	39	46	4	1
SR Tendulkar	c Kamran Akmal b Sohail Tanvir	29	27	5	-
G Gambhir	b Abdur Rehman	25	49	1	-
Yuvraj Singh	c Misbah-ul-Haq b Abdur Rehman	78	95	4	3
*+MS Dhoni	b Shoaib Akhtar	49	52	4	2
RV Uthappa	b Umar Gul	19	17	1	1
IK Pathan	not out	17	7	-	2
Harbhajan Singh	not out	10	10	-	-
M Kartik	did not bat
Z Khan	did not bat
RP Singh	did not bat
xtras	(6 b, 2 lb, 3 nb, 17 w)	28
Total	(6 wickets, innings closed, 50 overs)	294
Fall of wickets: 1-68 (Tendulkar, 10.4 ov), 2-82 (Ganguly, 14.1 ov), 3-129 (Gambhir, 27.6 ov), 4-229 (Dhoni, 43.1 ov), 5-260 (Yuvraj Singh, 46.3 ov), 6-265 (Uthappa, 47.2 ov)

Pakistan bowling	Overs	Mdns	Runs	Wkts	Wides	No-Balls
Shoaib Akhtar	10	1	41	1	4	2
Umar Gul	10	0	70	1	2	1
Sohail Tanvir	10	1	26	2	1	-
Shahid Afridi	7	0	57	0	2	-
Shoaib Malik	6	1	34	0	2	-
Abdur Rehman	7	0	58	2	2	-

---

Pakistan innings		Runs	Balls	4s	6s
Salman Butt	lbw b Harbhajan Singh	129	142	17	-
Shahid Afridi	b Pathan	12	7	2	-
Younis Khan	b RP Singh	21	21	4	-
Mohammad Yousuf	run out (Yuvraj Singh)	16	24	2	-
*Shoaib Malik	lbw b Yuvraj Singh	12	32	2	-
Misbah-ul-Haq	b Kartik	38	47	2	-
+Kamran Akmal	c Harbhajan Singh b RP Singh	2	2	-	-
Sohail Tanvir	run out (RP Singh)	0	0	-	-
Abdur Rehman	b RP Singh	2	5	-	-
Shoaib Akhtar	c sub (RG Sharma) b Khan	1	2	-	-
Umar Gul	not out	2	2	-	-
Extras	(1 lb, 12 w)	13
Total	(all out, 47.2 overs)	248
Fall of wickets: 1-27 (Shahid Afridi, 3.2 ov), 2-72 (Younis Khan, 8.6 ov), 3-104 (Mohammad Yousuf, 17.4 ov), 4-134 (Shoaib Malik, 27.3 ov), 5-214 (Misbah-ul-Haq, 41.6 ov), 6-226 (Kamran Akmal, 43.4 ov), 7-231 (Sohail Tanvir, 43.6 ov), 8-244 (Abdur Rehman, 45.6 ov), 9-246 (Salman Butt, 46.5 ov), 10-248 (Shoaib Akhtar, 47.2 ov)

India bowling	Overs	Mdns	Runs	Wkts	Wides	No-Balls
RP Singh	8	1	62	3	1	-
Pathan	10	0	61	1	1	-
Khan	7.2	2	25	1	1	-
Harbhajan Singh	10	0	32	1	3	-
Kartik	6	0	38	1	1	-
Yuvraj Singh	5	0	18	1	1	-
Tendulkar	1	0	11	0	-	-

Pakistan win practice match against Delhi

Pakistan made the most of their only warm-up game ahead of the five-match ODI series against India by easing to a seven-wicket win over Delhi at the Feroz Shah Kotla. Shoaib Malik's decision to exploit conditions suited for swing movement worked in his favour, as his bowlers, inspired by surprise package Younis Khan, restricted Delhi to 213 for 9. Salman Butt then led the chase with a stylishly brisk 83 before he retired hurt, but the middle order knocked off the runs with 44 balls remaining.

Umar Gul dealt the first blow when he had Gautam Gambhir caught in his crease in the second over, but it was Younis, bowling gentle slow-medium pace, who extracted good swing and shocked Delhi. Younis trapped opener Aakash Chopra leg-before for a 42-ball 16 and bowled captain Mithun Manhas first ball with one that pitched and came in. Imran Nazir ran out Virat Kohli for 8 and the hosts were 46 for 4.

Delhi rallied around a 91-run fifth-wicket partnership between Rajat Bhatia and Shikhar Dhawan but a slew of wickets down the order brought the visitors right back into the game. Dhawan was watchful but confident, and looked set for a big score when Younis hit back to run him out for 52 from 80 balls. From here the spinners, Fawad Alam and Shahid Afridi, nipped out the lower order. Bhatia played the fast bowlers well, hooking and cutting Shoaib Akhtar for powerful boundaries. He was run out going for a suicidal single to short third man and it was left to Gaurav Chabra's slogging to get the score above 200.

In reply, Nazir slammed 34 from 22 balls even as out-of-form wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal endured another poor score. After Nazir was removed by Amit Bhandari, the medium-pacer with national experience, Butt and Misbah-ul-Haq added 116. Butt, who did not play any of Pakistan's five ODIs against South Africa recently, was strong either side of the pitch. His cutting and driving were especially good, and he opened up with a flurry of boundaries against the medium-pacers.

He did not slow down much after his half-century but left the field when on 83 from 84 balls. With victory in sight Misbah drove Pradeep Sangwan towards mid-off, where Gambhir plucked off an excellent catch, diving backwards to his right as the ball was passing him. Yasir Hameed finished the affair with an unbeaten 30 as Pakistan cashed in on their only chance to acclimatise themselves before the first one-dayer in Guwahati on Monday.