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ScorecardManoj Tiwary made his 20th first-class century•PTI

Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary and debutant Naved Ahmed saved Bengal with the help of rain to draw against Karnataka in Bangalore. The hosts were in a dominating position when the day started, with a lead of 167 runs and two Bengal batsmen dismissed, before Tiwary’s unbeaten century and Naved’s 95 ensured Bengal got one point. Rain interrupted play minutes before tea and the match was called off within an hour after that.

‘Our spinners could have bowled better’ – Vinay Kumar

On the pitch: “This time the wicket became very slow, we couldn’t trouble any batsmen. Maybe if we had played a five-day game it would have been better. It happened in the Irani Cup; on the fifth day it was very difficult to bat on.”
On Karnataka’s bowling: “Overall, we bowled well. Our spinners could have bowled better.”
On Bengal’s batting: “Manoj played really well. If we had got Manoj and Saha… we were just looking at those two wickets. If we’d got them, one end would have been open.”
On two draws in two games: “Compared to the last two years, this year the start has not been that great. But we conceded the first-innings lead in the first game and came back here. In the coming games, we will improve.”

Even if rain had not come down, Bengal were heading towards a comfortable position on a pitch that did not have much for bowlers. Tiwary and Naved saw through a watchful morning session and took their team into the lead when both were in the 90s with seven wickets in hand. Tiwary brought up his 20th first-class hundred, but Naved was soon run out five runs short of what would have been another century from a debutant this season.The most crucial part of the day was when Naved and Tiwary withstood the first session, as Karnataka started with a silly mid-off and short extra cover. The ball was fairly new and Sudip Chatterjee fell in the fifth over by going for an extravagant and unnecessary drive to be caught at second slip off Abhimanyu Mithun.At 65 for 3, Bengal’s deficit was still over 150 when Naved and Tiwary came together. The Karnataka bowlers persisted with a nagging and attacking line outside off.Naved relied on straight-bat shots to play the waiting game, and so did Tiwary by leaving more deliveries than his partner. Bengal were not looking for runs, they only had to play out most of the day and the two batsmen did exactly that by standing firm against Mithun’s first spell of 4-3-3-1.Tiwary allowed Naved to do the scoring early on to take the score past 100. Once the ball lost its shine, both batsmen scored freely. Tiwary started driving and punching comfortably and soon caught up with Naved. Vinay Kumar used all his bowlers with close-in fielders, but with no success and both batsmen reached their fifties before lunch.The story didn’t change after the break. Vinay brought himself on for another short yet unthreatening spell, and Tiwary started off by creaming a cover drive against Shreyas Gopal for four. Naved unleashed his firm drives as well and collected boundaries in consecutive overs to strengthen Bengal’s position further. Now that the partnership was appearing unbreakable, Karnataka’s only hope was the second new ball.Vinay took it as soon as it was available, 22 overs after lunch with Tiwary on 93 and Naved on 84, only to be flicked by the latter to the midwicket boundary, which gave Bengal the lead.The only thing left in the match was for the Bengal dressing room to applaud for the two centuries. Tiwary brought his up by nudging Vinay to the leg side but when he cut J Suchith to sweeper cover, Naved was late to react for the second run and an alert Vinay at slip caught Karun Nair’s throw to hit the stumps at the other end, finding Naved marginally short.When rain came down, Bengal were leading by 24 runs with six wickets in hand, and soon play was called off.Man-of-the-Match Tiwary said he was pleased with his team’s performance even though they got only one point in their opening match of the season. “We were looking for more [points], but happy to fight it out against the champion side after the situation we were in,” he said. “If there was no partnership between me and Naved, it would have been difficult for us.”This also shows that we’re heading in the right direction. There is a lot of improvement from last year. This type of effort from us was lacking the last couple of seasons.”

Liverpool are expecting to finalise an £8million deal for goalkeeper Simon Mignolet next week, according to the Daily Mail.

The Sunderland goalkeeper has impressed in the Premier League, after keeping 11 clean sheets for a side that finished just three points above the relegation zone.

And Brendan Rodgers is ready to bring in the Belgian, with current number one Pepe Reina being linked with a return to Barcelona.

Victor Valdes has just one year left on his contract at the Camp Nou, and Reina is one of a handful of keepers being mooted as Valdes’ replacement at Barcelona.

Rodgers therefore, has identified Mignolet as the best option for the Reds, as he looks to improve his squad.

“We need to build up the depth. I want to have people who might be disappointed because they’re not even on the bench. At the minute we don’t have that so it’s competition we want to get,” he said.

“I don’t want a massive group. We want a tight group with a real core of 17 or 18 players who feel they should always be playing and then supported by a few of our top young talents.

“We haven’t got that. We have one or two on the sidelines but we need more than that.”

Belgium goalkeeper Mignolet is anxious to raise his profile ahead of next year’s World Cup in Brazil, and a move to a top club like Liverpool could give him the opportunity to improve his World Cup hopes.

Will Mignolet be a good signing for Liverpool? Should Pepe Reina leave the Reds?

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

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Hyderabad were within touching distance of table-toppers Andhra after securing a 44-run win over Chhattisgarh in Valsad. Hyderabad, who wobbled in the in the second innings to be bowled out for 122, left their opponents a tantalising prospect of having to chase down 286 in little under three sessions to secure an outright win. Chhattisgarh fought, but were eventually bowled out for 241 in 84.1 overs to slump to their third loss this season.There was a ray of hope when Ashutosh Singh (67) and Amandeep Khare (44) resisted in the middle session, but their dismissal hastened Chhattisgarh’s collapse. Ravi Kiran, the medium pacer, took four wickets while Akash Bhandari, the legspinner, took three. This was Hyderabad’s third win in six matches.Services took three points from the draw against Himachal Pradesh, who ended the match with a score of 145 for 2 in pursuit of 401 in Surat. They started the last day on 197 for 4, with a lead of 302, and batted for another 27.1 overs during which Rahul Singh scored a half-century to help them score 295 for 9.Services lost Vikas Hathwala on the third ball of the day before Rahul scored 58 and Mayank Dagar finished with 4 for 61. Himachal saw an opening stand of 71 between Prashant Chopra (66) and Ankit Kalsi (23). While the openers fell by the 27th over, Himachal saw no more stutters and collected one point.Jammu & Kashmir were left to rue a delayed declaration as Tripura hung on to draw and salvage one point in Mumbai. Resuming on 198 for 3 after securing an 18-run lead, J&K were driven by Ian Dev Chauhan’s unbeaten 129 that swelled their lead past 300. Parvez Rasool, the captain, made 67 and Aditya Partap contributed 51 not out in the team’s total of 318 for 4. Chasing 337 in 59 overs, Tripura slipped and slid before finishing on 168 for 8 when play ended. That they starved off defeat was largely due to Rajat Dey’s unbeaten 53.Nitin Saini’s double century and sprightly lower-order contributions from Sanjay Pahal (58) and Harshal Patel (53) helped Haryana take the first-innings honours against Goa in Ghaziabad. After conceding a 155-run lead, Goa edged towards parity for the loss of five wickets when play ended. Amit Mishra, released from the Indian team during the second Test to feature in this game, picked up three second-innings wickets. Sumiran Amonkar, the opener, was unbeaten on 57 when both captains shook hands.Andhra, who took the first-innings lead, starved off Kerala’s challenge in Guwahati to walk away with three points and retain the top spot in the group standings. Set a target of 296 overs in 80 overs, they were well placed at 193 for 4 when both captains decided a result wouldn’t be possible. Hanuma Vihari, the captain, defied Kerala’s bowlers for 224 deliveries in his 53. Opener Srikar Bharat contributed 73. That Kerala, who conceded a six-run lead, were in a position to declare on 302 for 6 was thanks to Rohan Prem’s 89. Kerala, yet to record a win this season, are currently placed fifth in the nine-team pool.

Martin Suji, Kenya’s veteran fast bowler who has been suffering with a serious knee injury, has been asked to help the national squad prepare for their forthcoming ICC Intercontinental Cup and ODIs.Suji, 36, has not played a representative match for 19 months and there must now be serious doubts whether he will play again. But in the meantime, he will help Alfred Njuguna to coach the team until a long-term replacement for Roger Harper can be identified. He has some coaching experience with the title-winning Kanbis side.Samir Inamdar, Cricket Kenya’s chairman, told Cricinfo that Suji could bring much to the table in terms of his vast experience and that he had “plenty to give back to the game”.

Darrell Hair: his security could not be guaranteed © Getty Images

After weeks of speculation, it has been confirmed that Darrell Hair will not stand in the Champions Trophy in India next month.”Darrell Hair will not umpire the ICC Champions Trophy on the basis of safety and security concerns,” Brian Murgatroyd, the ICC’s media manager, said. “An announcement on the appointment of officials for that tournament will be made in due course.”Asked if this was nothing more than a convenient get-out, Muragtroyd replied: “Not as far as I am aware”.Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, issued a press statement in which he said: “A decision has been made in consultation with the ICC president Percy Sonn, the ICC general manager of cricket David Richardson and myself that he will not umpire at the Champions Trophy amid concerns over his safety and security and also the safety and security of those around him during the tournament.”

Inzamam-ul-Haq: ‘They will face totally different conditions and it will be a hard series for them’ © Getty Images

Inzamam-ul-Haq has warned that England will find it tough to replicate their Ashes success when they tour Pakistan later this year for three Tests and five one-day internationals. England achieved a famous 2-1 series win against Australia, wresting back the Ashes after eight consecutive unsuccessful tries, but Inzamam insisted that the result wouldn’t count for much in Pakistan.”They have played very well to beat the Australians but they are not unbeatable and the conditions in Pakistan will not suit them,” he told Reuters. “They will face totally different conditions and it will be a hard series and tour for them, particularly their bowlers.”We are already preparing hard for England. Because we know they have a good combination but are not invincible and we have to work hard to beat them,” he said. “If our fast bowlers are not 100% fit, then attacking them with spin is an option because our conditions favour slow bowlers.” He also added that Mushtaq Ahmed, the 35-year-old legspinner, could be recalled to bolster the spin attack. Mushtaq has taken 185 wickets in 52 Tests, but the last time he played one was against South Africa in 2003.England’s bowling attack is currently built around their four fast bowlers, and while that might be a handicap in conditions not favourable to pace, in Andrew Flintoff and Simon Jones they have two bowlers who can reverse swing the ball, a skill which should be invaluable in Pakistan. The lack of a world-class spinner, though, has raised question-marks about whether they can beat Pakistan, a concern expressed most recently by Imran Khan.England have played seven three-Test series in Pakistan, and in those 21 matches, only four have produced results, with both teams sharing two wins each. England’s last win there came in near darkness in 2000-01, when Graham Thorpe starred in a victory which won them the series.

Surrey, Leicestershire, Glamorgan and Hampshire have been given home ties in the quarter-finals of the Twenty20 Cup, which will be played on Monday, July 19.Leicester will face Essex at Grace Road, Hampshire take on Lancashire at the Rose Bowl, Glamorgan play Warwickshire at Sophia Gardens and Surrey, the defending Twenty20 champions, meet Worcestershire at The Oval.The match between Hampshire and Lancashire will be shown live on Sky Sports.Twenty20 Cup quarter-final draw:
Sophia Gardens: Glamorgan Dragons v Warwickshire Bears
The Rose Bowl: Hampshire Hawks v Lancashire Lightning
Grace Road: Leicestershire Foxes v Essex Eagles
The Brit Oval: Surrey Lions v Worcestershire Royals

Hampshire Hawks lost out by a narrow margin to the Essex Eagles in the Twenty20 competition, as gloom descended over the Rose Bowl.John Crawley pulled out injured just before the start of the match, with Lawrence Prittipaul taking his place in the side. Wasim Akram taking over the roll of captain won the toss and invited the Eagles to bat.Man of the Match Zimbabwean Andy Flower dominated the early scoring hitting 8 fours and a six in his 44 ball stay, he found good support lower down the order from Mark Pettini, but the 155 did not seem a winnable total in their allocation. Wasim AKram was the pick of the bowlers taking 2-19 in his four over spell.James Hamblin fell for 22 with the score on 26, but Derek Kenway and Simon Katich put together 77 runs at a run a ball. Hampshire was always chasing the game, and despite only losing 3 wickets, struggled to catch up with some tight bowling.Requiring 12 to win off the last over, Wasim Akram and Katich could only muster 7 off Dakin, to send the visitors home happy, and the sizable Hampshire crowd sad.

Mike Burns hit a 112-ball century as Somerset ended an excellent season in style with an exciting 12-run victory over Northants at Taunton.The C&G Trophy winners and Championship runners-up began the day needing victory to be sure of avoiding relegation from the Norwich Union League First Division, but eventually finished in fourth place.They only knew they were safe when, with Northants 239-9, chasing 256 to win, it was announced that arch-rivals Gloucestershire had lost to condemn themselves to the third relegation place.That news lifted the atmosphere and when Steffan Jones shattered the stumps of last man Jason Brown to dismiss Northants for 243, hundreds of supporters poured on to the field to celebrate a memorable summer.After losing the toss, Somerset were given a solid start by skipper Jamie Cox, who cruised to his half-century off 53 balls, with eight fours and a six, before being inhibited by a hamstring strain and requiring a runner.Cox was brilliantly caught one-handed on the long-on boundary by Jason Brown off Jeff Cook for 68. And when Keith Parsons fell for a single Somerset were in some bother at 126-4.They were rescued by an unbroken stand of 129 between Burns and Rob Turner (41 not out). Burns reached his hundred off the last ball of the innings, having emerged from a watchful start to hit seven fours and one six. Cook was the pick of the Northants bowlers with 2-44 from his nine overs.The visitors looked the more likely winners when Mike Hussey (91) and Russell Warren (59) put on 112 for the second wicket in quick time to take the total to 158-1 in only the 25th over.But the introduction of spinners Keith Dutch (3-38) and Ian Blackwell (3-39) turned the game as both picked up wickets regularly and put a sharp brake on the scoring rate.Hussey hit 13 fours in his sparkling innings, while Warren’s runs came off just 56 balls, with three sixes. But after them the Northants batting folded abysmally and only Alec Swann with 31 not out offered any resistance.

Loughborough MCC University from England and Sri Lanka-based International College of Business and Technology stamped their credentials as strong title contenders as they crushed their opponents for the second-straight day at the Abhimanyu Cricket Academy in Dehradun on Tuesday.ICBT was put in to bat by their opponents, Jinnah Degree College from Karachi – during their Group B encounter – and they lost opener Hasan Perera in the fourth over for just four.Nipuna Arachchige fell two-overs later, as the team from Pakistan looked to make more enroads. But A Perera and Sadeera Samarawickrama dropped anchor thereafter and began rebuilding the innings.The duo added 93 runs for the third wicket and that brought ICBT back in to the contest. JDC rued their all-spin strategy, as ICBT made the most of the placid surface and drove home the advantage.Perera top scored for ICBT with a 37-ball 54. They posted 150 in their 20 overs. Their bowlers didn’t let their batsmen’s efforts go in vein and picked up wickets regularly. JDC lost two wickets in the first-five overs for just 28.Shahzar Khan and Saeed Moutabar were the only JDC batsmen amongst the runs. Khan scored 20, while Moutabar added 23.A middle-order collapse ended JDC’s chances of making a comeback, as they lost five wickets for just 24 runs. They eventually crumbled for 108 in 18.1 overs.Loughborough MCC University added to European University of Bangladesh’s woes as they thrashed them by seven wickets in their Group A clash.EUB were put in to bat first and their batsmen failed to find answers to LMCC’s new-ball attack. They lost two wickets in the first eight overs for just 29.Their middle order added 70 runs to their tally and that helped them post a respectable 118 in their 20 overs.LMCC lost opener Anish Patel in just the second over of their innings, but Irfan Karim and Nitish Kumar’s 91-run stand for the second wicket ended any hope of EUB finding their first win of the tournament.In the third match of the day, defending champions Assupol TUKS from South Africa thumped Dubai-based Heriot-Watt University by 109 runs to register their first win of the tournament.Murray Coetzee slammed the first ton of the tournament, which came off just 67 balls. Coetzee’s 160-run partnership with Gerald Pike, for the second wicket, helped TUKS post a massive 208 in their innings. HWU managed just 73 runs in reply.