Zimbabwe won by thrilling match between New Zealand

Zimbabwe's two big-hitting all-rounders, Elton Chigumbura and Malcolm Waller, finally came good, with a 112-run sixth-wicket partnership to end a 12-match losing streak across formats. On a flat pitch in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's batsmen, Waller in particular, showed immense character to chase a total of more than 300 for the first time in Zimbabwe's history, and stave off a clean sweep in the series.

Captain Brendan Taylor set them on the right track with an aggressive 75 off 65 balls before Tatenda Taibu's feisty fifty kept the momentum going. Waller and Chigumbura came together at the start of the 31st over, with 146 runs required to win and crafted a match-winning partnership. They batted themselves in, took on the spinners - Nathan McCullum and Rob Nicol - capitalised on anything on a length or too full and left New Zealand's bowlers wondering how many more runs they needed to work with.

The chase was punctuated with twists, and after Chigumbura and Waller brought the target down to less than a run a ball, Chigumbura was bowled by Jacob Oram, swinging down the wrong line. He left Waller to marshal the lower order, a task he completed with distinction.

Zimbabwe loosened their grip to allow Taylor and Jesse Ryder to rebuild. Ryder played with remarkable finesse and did well to work with Taylor through the middle period. He gave it away when he popped a leading edge back to Waller to fall three runs after reaching a gritty half-century.

Taylor had to consolidate with Williamson and, even when boundaries were rare, rotated strike well to avoid being tied down by Zimbabwe. The pair did not have to be patient for too long and were reprieved by all Zimbabwe's bowlers. When Meth offered the right length, the batsmen got under it; when Price bowled a full toss, they dispatched it; and even M'shangwe was punished when he erred. M'shangwe dropped Williamson when he was on 65, off his own bowling, an act that opened the floodgates at the end, allowing a deluge of runs during which both Taylor and Williamson brought up centuries.

Pakistan vs Sri lanka First match would be Drawn

Sri Lanka had a positive morning session against Pakistan on day five of the first Test of the three match series at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Saturday, October 22, 2011. The tourists have now gained an overall lead of 50 runs in the match and still have five wickets remaining. The star of the show for the team was veteran middle-order batsman Kumar Sangakkara, who remained unbeaten 185 runs before the session was called off.

Wicketkeeper batsman Prasanna Jayawardene also offered tremendous support to Sangakkara and was rock solid in the middle. He was not out on 66 runs at lunch.

Pakistan’s first innings lead of 314 runs looked quite impressive and the opposition had only one option to try and play defensive cricket for more than two days.

Sri Lanka needed a solid effort from one of their best three batsmen Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and skipper Tillakaratne Dilshan.

The latter two failed to make an impression and put the team under immense pressure. However, Sangakkara did not lose focus and batted with brilliance. He was a touch lucky, as a couple of catches went down when he was batting.
However, the star middle-order player made most of these chances and continued to hurt the Pakistan team badly. He will now be looking forward to completing a double century and continue his majestic knock.
Before start of play today, the former Sri Lankan captain had stated, “It would have been nice if I had I got it in the first innings but it was a tough fight and one of my better hundreds. But there is still work left and if we can get the first session through we can put some pressure on Pakistan.”
The veteran batsman certainly lived up to his word and continued his resistance against the opposition. His aim will now be to bat out the second session of the day as well, which will ensure a draw.

Pakistani Cricketers involved in the Spot fixing Matches

 It refers to allegations on Pakistan's Cricket team by a report of News of the World released during the Pakistani cricket team's tour of England. It was alleged in that report that three Pakistani players, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Amir and Salman Butt, had accepted bribes from agent and bookmaker Mazhar Majeed to purposely under-perform at certain times in the 4th Test match at Lord's Cricket Ground in London, England. Undercover reporters from News of the World led by Mazher Mahmood secretly video-taped Mazhar Majeed accepting money and informing the reporters that fast bowlers Asif and Amir would deliberately bowl no-balls at specific ball in an over. This information could be used by gamblers to make wagers with inside information (a process known as spot-fixing; compare with match fixing where the result of a whole match is predetermined).

 In response to these allegations, Scotland Yard arrested Majeed on the charge of match-fixing. The International Cricket Council (ICC) temporarily suspended the three players from playing in international cricket while investigation was carried out. The players denied the charges and maintained their innocence. A three-man tribunal was held in 2011, and the three players were suspended from all forms of cricket for terms of five to ten years.