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Karnataka placed themselves in a position of considerable strength atthe end of the first day’s play against Goa in the KSCA Coca Cola Cup(under-25) tournament at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore onWednesday. After dismissing Goa for 158 runs, the hosts replied with61 for no loss at stumps.Winning the toss and opting to bat, Goa ran into trouble early whenopening bowler Sunil Kumar dismissed both openers Nilosh Mulkar (0)and H Nityananand (19). with only 38 runs scored. Kapil Angle (33) andAmit Jadhav (21) then shared a third wicket partnership of 36 runs off8.3 overs. Both fell in quick succession and Goa were again shakilyplaced at 78 for four. Gourish Phadte (42) and S Prasanth (13) revivedtheir hopes somewhat with a fifth wicket stand of 31 runs off 17.2overs. But the later order succumbed meekly before the bowling of GVRavi, who finished with five for 36 off 20.4 overs. Phadte, who topscored, faced 129 balls and hit five of them to the ropes. Coming inat 74 for three, he was ninth out at 151.Karnataka openers V Pramod (39) and Shyam Ponappa (19) consolidatedthe good work done by the bowlers as Karnataka raced to within 97 runsof the Goa total by stumsps off 18 overs. Pramod, much the dominantpartner, has hit six boundaries while Ponappa has hit two.

The South African cricketers selected by the eight Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises willlose part of their treasure chest after they decided to fly back home atthe conclusion of the ongoing Test series to take part in the final stagesof the Standard Bank Pro20.The likes of Jacques Kallis, Graeme Smith, Mark Boucher, Dale Steyn and Makhaya Ntini will now be available for the semi-finals and finals of the domestic competition, and will enter the IPLfray only after April 25. As a result, most of them will miss four games.The news comes three days after Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, said the members of the Cobras side would stay back in India for the start of the IPL. He said the Titans players could also follow suit.However, Gerald Majola, the chief executive of Cricket South Africa (CSA), confirmed to Cricinfo that the South Africans would be available for IPL only after the first week of the tournament. “That was always the arrangement,” Majola said.Charu Sharma, the chief executive of the Bangalore Royal Challengers, told Cricinfo that the franchise was yet to receive any official information. Bangalore, who play their first match on April 18, have Kallis, Boucher and Steyn and will be the most affected. The Chennai Super Kings will lose Makhaya Ntini and Albie Morkel but VB Chandreshekar, who oversees cricket operations, said the team was always expecting this situation, especially after Majola’s visit to Chennai last month.The decision, made in consultation with Majola, was taken on Wednesday night, and the players will now fly home, via Dubai, at the conclusion of the Kanpur Test.Under the terms of their contracts, the players could end up forfeitingmore than 25 percent of what they would otherwise have earned during theIPL season. Kallis, signed by the Royal Challengers for $900,000stands to lose more than $200,000. As things stand, he and Smith, who areteam-mates at the Cape Cobras, will now miss their first head-to-headconfrontation, when the Royal Challengers take on the Rajasthan Royals atthe Chinnaswamy Stadium on April 26.

Scorecard

Justin Langer has batted for the final time for Western Australia, but his team-mates have given him the best chance of bowing out a winner against Tasmania. The Warriors lost three wickets once they dismissed the Tigers after tea for 207 and hold a 284-run buffer entering the third day.Langer went for 23 when he hit Brett Geeves to point and the bowler switched ends to remove Shaun Marsh for 4 three overs later. Chris Rogers picked up 41 before nicking Luke Butterworth to first slip, leaving Marcus North (23) and Luke Pomersbach (24) to make it 3 for 119 at stumps.North did not enforce the follow-on when Tasmania were dismissed 16 short of the mark after a strong performance from Brett Dorey. He picked up 4 for 45 while Mathew Inness, who will also step down after this game, and Ben Edmondson captured three wickets each.Tasmania relied on Michael Di Venuto, who top scored with 64 while playing his final contest for the state, and Daniel Marsh (51), but there was not much help from the rest and the innings finished when they lost 3 for 2 in 10 balls. Both teams are out of the race for the finals.

Match facts

Saturday, January 2, 2016
Start time 1500 local (1100GMT)Noor Ali Zadran has formed a solid union with Mohammad Shahzad at the top of the order•AFP

Big Picture

After capsizing for 82 with a little less than 20 overs in the shed on Christmas Day, Zimbabwe showed spunk both with the bat and ball in the second ODI. Despite the marked improvement, they conceded a 2-0 lead to Afghanistan. This leaves Zimbabwe under so much pressure that unless they catch up, the series is dead. They will hope the arrival of the New Year will pave the route for a riposte.On Tuesday, Peter Moor and the returning Hamilton Masakadza found ways to keep the scorecard ticking with risk-free batting, and Craig Ervine plugged the Sean-Williams shaped hole in the middle order. Elton Chigumbura then inspired the defence of 253, but Mohammad Shahzad’s unbeaten 131 – the highest individual score by an Afghanistan batsman in ODIs – sealed the deal. From launching the helicopter shot to just acknowledge that he was a fan of MS Dhoni to being left out of the 2015 World Cup on fitness (or lack of fitness) grounds to becoming the rock at the top of the order, Shahzad’s metamorphosis has mirrored that of Afghanistan’s. On a night when his team suffered late hiccups, Afghanistan’s MS followed his hero’s theme, taking the game deep and calmly finishing it off. His opener partner Noor Ali Zadran is the second-highest run-scorer in the series, but the middle order is yet to be properly tested, an area which Zimbabwe will seek to exploit if they manage early inroads.In the spin face-up, however, Afghanistan have the clear edge. Amir Hamza has offered control with the new ball, while Mohammad Nabi has done the same in the middle overs. Rohan Barakzai, who was handed his debut in the second match, did not perform badly either. Afghanistan eased past Greame Cremer’s threat in the second game, but the legspinner could perhaps do well in harness with Tendai Chisoro.

Form guide

(Last five completed matches, most recent first)
Afghanistan WWWWL
Zimbabwe LLLLLL

In the spotlight

On a surface rolled out in favour of spinners, Dawlat Zadran‘s pace and reverse-swing has menaced the opposition. His yorkers have been bang on target, as they were during the series in Zimbabwe in October. In the 2015 World Cup, Dawlat busted Majid Haq’s bat during Afghanistan’s maiden World Cup win, in Dunedin.For somebody who features in the middle order for his domestic side Rhinos, Peter Moor has promised to fix Zimbabwe’s mess at the top of the order. Moor played a bright hand on Tuesday, stroking his maiden ODI half-century, but Zimbabwe will want more from him, given their dire state.

Team news

With Richmond Mutumbami having been dismissed cheaply in both ODIs, once in the middle order and the other time at the top, Zimbabwe would consider recalling allrounder Chamu Chibhabha and passing over the keeping gloves to Moor. They may also opt to go for left-arm spinner Chisoro in place of Wellington Masakadza in a like-for-like replacement.Zimbabwe (probable): 1 Peter Moor, 2 Richmond Mutumbami/Chamu Chibhabha, 3 Hamilton Masakadza, 4 Craig Ervine, 5 Elton Chigumbura (capt), 6 Sikandar Raza, 7 Malcolm Waller, 8Luke Jongwe, 9 Graeme Creaner, 10 Wellington Masakadza/Tendai Chisoro, 11 Turai MuzarabaniDespite some young talent waiting in the wings, Afghanistan may not experiment yet, considering the series is still not in their grasp.Afghanistan (probable): 1 Noor Ali Zadran, 2 Mohammad Shahzad, 3 Mohammad Nabi, 4 Nawroz Mangal, 5 Asghar Stanikzai, 6 Samiullah Shenwari, 7 Najibullah Zadran, 8 Mirwais Ashraf, 9 Dawlat Zadran, 10 Amir Hamza, 11 Rokhan Barakzai/Yamin Ahmadzai

Pitch and conditions

If the first two matches are anything to go by, the bat-first ploy should continue, with the ball doing more under lights. The old ball had also stopped a bit on the batsmen on Tuesday.

Stats and Trivia

• There have been no century partnerships in the series so far, the highest being 98 between Ervine and Hamilton Masakadza
• Afghanistan played Zimbabwe in nine limited-overs matches in 2015, winning seven of them.

Quotes

“Our coach Inzamam-ul-Haq is a legendary cricket player and his presence in the team is outstanding and we are receiving tips and guidance for improving batting line. Now we felt the difference in our batting. Manoj Prabhakar is also helping a lot in bowling… It [Afghanistan’s rise] is because of guidance of these two coaches.”

If there’s a sense of brotherhood in the BBL final, then the equivalent fixture in the inaugural Women’s Big Bash League has a similar familial feel. It will take place at the MCG, but this is the Sydney derby. The players know each other well and many have enjoyed success together with NSW Breakers and the Southern Stars.This competition may have heralded a new dawn in Australian women’s cricket, but New South Wales’ status as the game’s powerhouse – despite South Australia winning the Women’s National Cricket League to break a ten-year NSW women’s streak – has merely been reaffirmed.Cricket Australia thought long and hard about whether to play the WBBL with six teams or eight. They opted for eight in order to replicate the BBL’s brands, which had the strung-on bonus that it created space for teenagers to play alongside seasoned internationals. While the Melbourne teams have struggled for depth – both Stars and Renegades failed to make it to the semi-finals – the Sydney teams have shone.”The fact that there are two Sydney teams in the final shows the depth in New South Wales,” said Thunder captain Alex Blackwell. “It was very disappointing for the Breakers to not get our eleventh consecutive victory [in the WNCL] but ten is pretty good; when you lose one you realise how tough it is to win one, and we won ten in a row. We’ll share it around but we’ve taken both spots in this game and whatever the result it’s good for New South Wales, but the Thunder are desperate to win this one.”Blackwell admitted that, having qualified for the final first by beating Perth Scorchers in Adelaide, the Thunder hoped to meet their crosstown rivals, who beat Hobart Hurricanes at the MCG on Friday. “I was hoping we would meet the Sixers,” she said. “It makes it a best of three contest. We took first honours in the opening round, them they beat us by about 20 runs at the SCG. Two quality matches and I know tomorrow is going to be no different. We have a lot of friendships between the teams but for the 40 overs it’s going to be a real contest out there.”While the Thunder have been consistent throughout the competition, Sixers have veered wildly. Since losing their first six games, they have won nine in a row to make the final, with strong batting from captain Ellyse Perry, Alyssa Healy, Ashleigh Gardner and Sara McGlashan, and outstanding seam bowling from Marizanne Kapp and Sarah Aley, while Lisa Sthalekar, who came out of retirement for the competition, has 13 wickets, including three in the semi-final victory.”After having lost six on the trot, it’s been really nice to have such a big turnaround and win nine in a row, it’s been a lot of fun,” said Perry. “Now we’ve got really tough competition in the Thunder and it’s nice to be playing our Sydney counterparts.”Asked what had caused the turnaround, Perry said: “We’ve been trying to put our finger on that, and I don’t think anything too dramatic changed. We got on a losing streak which was a bit of a bummer and something we wanted to rectify pretty quickly, but just winning that first game in Sydney against the Scorchers was the catalyst for a lot of things. We had a couple of weeks off over Christmas and New Year when we worked pretty hard at training. It just worked for us. The four games on the trot in Melbourne just after New Year, we managed to win them and momentum is a big thing and has helped us.”The final brings the curtain down on a highly successful tournament, and will be the latest game to be broadcast on Channel Ten, which is enough proof of how well the competition has been received. Now for a cracking finale.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out