Bangladesh trail by 184 runs with 7 wickets remaining in the 1st innings

India 243

Bangladesh 59/3 (17.0 ov)

Bangladesh trail by 184 runs with 7 wickets remaining in the 1st innings

Match delayed by bad weather - Day 3

• Bangladesh RR 3.47
• Last 10 ovs 25/3 RR 2.50

Refresh scorecard			Current time: 10:12 local, 04:12 GMT										Test career
	Batsmen	Runs	B	4s	6s	SR	This bowler				Last 10 ovs			Mat	Runs	HS	Ave
	*Mohammad Ashraful (rhb)	0	5	0	0	0.00	0 (1b)				0 (5b)			51	2149	158*	23.10
	Raqibul Hasan (rhb)	1	3	0	0	33.33	1 (3b)				1 (3b)			6	230	65	23.00
	Bowlers	O	M	R	W	Econ	0s		4s	6s	This spell			Mat	Wkts	BBI	Ave
	*Zaheer Khan (lfm)	9.0	1	32	2	3.55	42		6	0	9-1-32-2			69	222	5/29	33.80
	Ishant Sharma (rf)	5.0	1	14	1	2.80	25		3	0	5-1-14-1			20	55	5/118	34.05

Recent overs . . . 1 . 4 | . . . W . 4 | 1 W . . . . | . W . . 1 . Current partnership 1 runs, 0.4 overs, RR: 1.50 (Mohammad Ashraful 0, Raqibul Hasan 1) Last Bat Tamim Iqbal b Khan 31 (81m 45b 6x4 0x6) SR: 68.88 Fall of wicket: 58/3 (16.2 ov); Partnership: 0 runs, 1.0 overs, RR: 0.00 (Mohammad Ashraful 0, Tamim Iqbal 0)

9.25am: No updates yet. Tausif, from Bangladesh: "It's normal for any port city to get rain interruptions, but losing almost an entire day because of fog is pretty bizarre. And it could be related to the fact that some parts of Bangladesh has recorded the coldest temperature in 100 years. Global cooling in effect?" JP: "Not even a meteorologist needed, just a couple of braincells!" Tom, from NZ: "Apparently, after the little master's 44th ton, sales of his shirts went up by 15% in Oceania. as if he wasn't a legend already." 9.00am: Good morning and welcome to the coverage of the third day in Chittagong. It's still quite foggy out there and not surprisingly, there will be yet another delay. We don't know the extent of the delay yet. The pitch is covered. If you remember back in 2007, the Chittagong Test between these two teams was also interrupted by weather, rain on that occasion. Not a drop of rain here but it's a dark room at the Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium. In fact, the umpires aren't yet at the ground. They will head to the ground shortly and have an inspection. So we can forget about starting anytime really soon. Sriram Veera, our man at the (hotel!), has confined himself to his room. He can afford to catch up on sleep. You must read his appreciation of Sachin Tendulkar after his century. It's worth a read, in case you missed it. I guess I gave some of you a scare by saying it was the fourth day. Sorry guys! Rick: "How about hiring a meteorologist to the ICC for scheduling of tournaments and avoiding all these frustrations of waiting?"
End of over 17 (1 run) Bangladesh 59/3 Mohammad Ashraful 0* (5b) Z Khan 9-1-32-2 Raqibul Hasan 1* (3b) I Sharma 5-1-14-1
16.40 The umpires are walking off. Called off. Play will start at 9am tomorrow. That brings to end, finally, a slow day. Hardly any cricket. The Nimbus crew probably took more wickets. See you all tomorrow. 16.35 Breaking news: Sreesanth is bowling left-arm spin to the Nimbus crew. In the words of one veteran Indian journalist on tour: "Its a tennis ball like thingy." Cryptic. Watch out for more earth shattering news. 16.20 The umpires in the middle, talking and talking. Billy was even on the walkie talkie. My guess is that they will call it off, perhaps waiting for the match referee. Not sure what the protocol is. FYI, a local Chittagong radio commentator says tomorrow bad light and rain is forecast. Totally 339 minutes lost in this Test, today itself 269 minutes lost so far till this minute. And the clock is ticking. 16.08 The officials have announced an inspection at 16.15. Thanks for the emails about the wrong time! 16.00 Nothing to report. Still the same. Word from the ground isn't encouraging. I know 2009 seems a while back, but check out our list of best bowling in Tests from the year gone by. Plenty of good stuff. Have you ever wondered more Indian cricketers aren't hairy, uncouth, beer-drinking, potty-mouthed swine? Krish Ashok has. 15.25 Still no movement from the ground. The fans are brave to be sitting there still. Maybe there are getting their money's worth watching the Nimbus crew playing cricket just beyond the boundary. Two men are standing next to the stumps. They are part of the admin staff, not umpires. And M Vijay is batting in one of the nets at the other end. 15.02 No sign of any action. 14.40 Tea has been taken. See you in 20 minutes. Hope we get some cricket. 14.30 Inspection on. They will decide now whether to take an early tea or not. 13.58 The light's faded again and the players are off the field. No hesitation from the Bangladesh batsman once they were approached by the umpires. Big turnaround for India, taking three wickets for six runs. Bangladesh took their foot off the pedal after a strong start. Now, they'll have to start all over again. Raqibul's proved himself in these situations. We'll keep you updated. Tea's supposed to be taken at 3.10 so let's hope we can squeeze in some play before that.
16.6	Khan to Mohammad Ashraful, no run, lands it just a shade outside off, he thrusts his pad out and shoulders arms
16.5	Khan to Raqibul Hasan, 1 run, directs it on the body and he clips him down to the on side
16.4	Khan to Raqibul Hasan, no run, hits a good length and allows the ball to sail through to the keeper, well left again
16.3	Khan to Raqibul Hasan, no run, bangs it in short and gets Raqibul to sway back to evade it
Here's Raqibul
16.2	Khan to Tamim Iqbal, OUT, the off stump gets jolted from its slumber! The ball lands outside off and nips back in, Tamim was a little lazy on the shot and misjudged the bounce which was lower than expected, the stump goes flying back a few yards
	Tamim Iqbal b Khan 31 (81m 45b 6x4 0x6) SR: 68.88
16.1	Khan to Tamim Iqbal, no run, kicks up a bit and he fends it off to the off side
End of over 16 (1 run) Bangladesh 58/2 Mohammad Ashraful 0* (4b) I Sharma 5-1-14-1 Tamim Iqbal 31* (43b 6x4) Z Khan 8-1-31-1
15.6	Sharma to Mohammad Ashraful, no run, full on middle and leg, he turns his wrists and he clips it to midwicket
15.5	Sharma to Mohammad Ashraful, no run, tries to defend but gets a thick inside edge onto his pads
15.4	Sharma to Mohammad Ashraful, no run, keeps it on the off stump and he pushes it back to the bowler with soft hands
15.3	Sharma to Mohammad Ashraful, no run, makes him play straightaway, clipped towards midwicket and thinks of a single
That will come as a big relief for India. Ashraful walks in
15.2	Sharma to Shahriar Nafees, OUT, double-strike for India! Lovely good length delivery on middle stump, Shahriar should have been playing straight but he angled his bat and squared himself up, thick edge goes to Laxman at second slip
	Shahriar Nafees c Laxman b Sharma 4 (5m 3b 1x4 0x6) SR: 133.33
15.1	Sharma to Tamim Iqbal, 1 run, full and wide outside off and slashed away but sweeper cover's there
End of over 15 (4 runs) Bangladesh 57/1 Shahriar Nafees 4* (2b 1x4) Z Khan 8-1-31-1 Tamim Iqbal 30* (42b 6x4) I Sharma 4-1-13-0
14.6	Khan to Shahriar Nafees, FOUR, he wants to get into business straightaway, he swivels to club a short delivery towards the body, wasn't in full control of the hook but well clear of any fielder, it rolls to deep square leg
14.5	Khan to Shahriar Nafees, no run, on target, on middle and off and he gets bat on ball
Shahriar Nafees walks in, he has a ponytail these days
14.4	Khan to Imrul Kayes, OUT, this time he gets the target, Zaheer pitches it fuller and gets it to angle inwards, Kayes repeats the shot from two balls before - trying to whip it across the line - and the ball hits his pads in line with leg stump, no doubt for Bowden this time
	Imrul Kayes lbw b Khan 23 (69m 46b 5x4 0x6) SR: 50.00
14.3	Khan to Imrul Kayes, no run, comes back in and he leaves it alone
14.2	Khan to Imrul Kayes, no run, appeal for a leg before! Gets forward to work it across the line and the ball hits the back leg, perhaps outside the line of off stump, Bowden shakes his head
14.1	Khan to Imrul Kayes, no run, good delivery, lands on the off stump and moves away slightly, beats the forward prod
End of over 14 (5 runs) Bangladesh 53/0 Tamim Iqbal 30* (42b 6x4) I Sharma 4-1-13-0 Imrul Kayes 23* (42b 5x4) Z Khan 7-1-27-0
Srinivasan: "I feel no shame in rooting for Bangladesh despite being an Indian. Arrogance (even if it was meant to be frankness by a person known for his direct-ness) never pays. It is not beyond Bangladesh to impose their own Tony Greig "We will make them grovel" moment on Virender Sehwag's supercilious side. Go Tigers. Make the Indians fight."
13.6	Sharma to Tamim Iqbal, FOUR, cracks that away, that sounded good, lands it short and gets it to angle across further, rolls his wrists and whacks it wide of point, that's the 50 stand
13.5	Sharma to Tamim Iqbal, no run, keeps it outside the off stump and gets away movement to the keeper, well left again
13.4	Sharma to Imrul Kayes, 1 run, drifts on the pads and he clips him wide of square leg
13.3	Sharma to Imrul Kayes, no run, keeps it on a good length outside off and he gets his front pad across and lets it go
13.2	Sharma to Imrul Kayes, no run, comes over the wicket, lands outside the off stump and he safely lets it go
13.1	Sharma to Imrul Kayes, no run, gets across and taps him to the off side

Shafiul Islam included for India Tests

	The rookie Shafiul Islam has been included for the two Tests against India at home © Associated Press
Related Links Players/Officials: Mashrafe Mortaza | Shafiul Islam | Shahriar Nafees | Shakib Al Hasan Series/Tournaments: India tour of Bangladesh Teams: Bangladesh

Shakib Al Hasan will continue to lead the Bangladesh Test side for the two-match series against India in the absence of Mashrafe Mortaza, who still has not recovered from a knee injury. Mortaza had also missed the ongoing tri-series despite being named in the preliminary squad.

There were no major surprises in the 14-man squad for the series as the selectors opted for nearly the same set of players who toured the West Indies last July and swept the series 2-0. Fast bowler Shafiul Islam, who made his international debut in the ongoing tri-series, is the only player in the squad without Test experience.

Besides Mortaza, allrounder Mehrab Hossain jnr and reserve wicketkeeper Saghir Hossain were left out from the squad which had gone to the West Indies. Opener Shahriar Nafees earned a Test recall after quitting ties with the Indian Cricket League. Nafees is the fourth opener in the squad besides Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes and Junaid Siddique.

The first Test starts on January 17 in Chittagong.

Squad: Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Mushfiqur Rahim (vice-capt/wk), Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Junaid Siddique, Mohammad Ashraful, Raqibul Hasan, Mahmudullah, Shahriar Nafees, Shahadat Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Enamul Haque jnr, Mahbubul Alam, Shafiul Islam.

MS Dhoni hits back at Ian Chappell's comments

	India's bowling was lukewarm in the tri-series, not least during the final which they surrendered to Sri Lanka © Associated Press
Related Links News : MS Dhoni eyes more Tests to maintain supremacy Players/Officials: Ian Chappell | MS Dhoni | Kumar Sangakkara Series/Tournaments: India tour of Bangladesh Teams: India

MS Dhoni has hit back at the comments of Ian Chappell, who this week said that India do not have the resources to retain their No.1 spot in the ICC Test rankings for a long enough period to emulate Australia and the great West Indies teams of the past. Chappell, the former Australian captain and leading commentator, had said on Time Out, Cricinfo's new fortnightly audio show, that India's batting alone will not sustain them and to do so they will have to unearth a couple of champion bowlers.

Dhoni, however, termed Chappell's assessment an unfair and unnecessarily harsh one. "It is not a fair statement. I agree that our bowlers are struggling now. But we have become the Test number one also because of the bowlers and not only due to our batting," he said after India's loss to Sri Lanka in the final of the recent tri-series in Bangladesh.

"Sometimes batsmen struggle and sometimes bowlers. It is not fair to say that we don't have good bowlers. We will prove it [that we can sustain the No. 1 Test ranking]."

Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara echoed Dhoni's views on India's pace attack. "India has top-class bowlers. Zaheer [Khan] is one of the best fast bowlers in the world and Harbhajan [Singh] is top class," he said. "Even Sreesanth can bowl reverse swing. There are always critics and doubters but it is your job to prove them wrong."

India stay on in Bangladesh to contest a two-Test series against the hosts starting January 17 in Chittagong. India bagged the top ranking from Australia after beating Sri Lanka 2-0 in the three-Test series at home last month. India jumped from No. 3 to No.1 for first time since the rankings came into place in May 2001.

India hit back on truncated day

Stumps Bangladesh 59 for 3 (Zaheer 2-32, Ishant 1-14) trail India 243 (Tendulkar 105*, Sehwag 52, Shakib 5-62, Shahadat 5-71) by 184 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

In his 266th Test innings - a world record - Sachin Tendulkar registered his 44th hundred © Associated Press

Related Links News : Siddons slams Bangladesh batting response Analysis : When familiarity breeds respect Bulletin : 1st day bulletin Analysis : Guess who is ordinary now? News : The game is not over yet - Tendulkar Players/Officials: Shahadat Hossain | Shakib Al Hasan | Sachin Tendulkar Matches: Bangladesh v India at Chittagong Series/Tournaments: India tour of Bangladesh Teams: Bangladesh | India

Bangladesh's collapse, like India's, started in the 15th over. India lost three wickets for six runs, Bangladesh lost three for five. India had 79 runs on the board before their collapse, Bangladesh 59. India continued collapsing, bad light granted Bangladesh stay orders. In fact the murky conditions allowed only 24.5 overs of play in the whole day, which means 90.1 overs have been lost on the first two days.

After Sachin Tendulkar reached his 44th Test century, scoring 29 of India's 30 runs on the second day, Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes provided Bangladesh a solid and quick start, reaching 38 in eight overs. The coming together of Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma reduced scoring opportunities, the batsmen started playing and missing, surviving lbw shouts, and two runs in three overs resulted in Kayes slashing outside off, a shot that told the bowlers they were not far off a wicket.

One more close lbw shout against Kayes later, Zaheer got one full and straight enough, and caught him on the crease. Shahriar Nafees, coming back from the ICL, top-edged a pull second ball, and then found Ishant to be too good for him. The ball landed on middle, back of a length, and then nipped away. Nafees had to play at it, and the movement squared him up, taking a healthy edge. In the next over, Zaheer, by now frustrated at missing the edge repeatedly, got one to nip in, squeeze under Tamim's bat, and take the off stump.

In 11 balls, Bangladesh had gone from hoping to dominate India to hoping for a Tendulkar-like stay to carry their fledgling innings. Tendulkar it was who added some respectability to India's total, scoring 105 runs out of the 164 scored since he came to the crease. Resuming on 76 on the second morning, he manoeuvred the strike well and scored his 89th international century. Shakib Al Hasan and Shahadat Hossain reached five-fors - for Shakib, a sixth five-wicket haul in 15 Tests.

Bangladesh came in with the mindset of attacking Nos 10 and 11, and hoping that Tendulkar wouldn't cause irreversible damage in the meantime. In the first four overs, Tendulkar let Ishant play just six balls, only one of which troubled him. And during those four overs, with the field coming up for the last two balls, Tendulkar hit 2, 4, 1, 4, and 6 to get into the 90s. Shahadat then moved round the stumps and the change of angle proved to be too much for Ishant to handle, who edged a delivery going across.

Sreesanth got a single first ball, and Tendulkar reached his century off the last two balls of that Shahadat over - Shakib was seen applauding Tendulkar's effort. At the other end, Sreesanth didn't look overly comfortable against Shakib who got alarming turn, but somehow saw off one over. Shahadat did his bit by bowling a wide yorker and keeping Tendulkar at his end. In the next over, Shakib got a leading edge that ended India's innings.

Sidharth Monga is a staff writer at Cricinfo

Tour matches can be squeezed in between the Tests

Sunil Gavaskar

After the thrilling Test matches in the southern hemisphere in the first week of the new year there has been a bit of a lull. Modern day tours have plenty of rest days so as to avoid burnout so we are told. Two back to back Tests means that for nearly a week after that there will be no cricket played by the touring team before the next Test match. This is hard on those in the touring party who are in the reserves and want to show that they should be in the Test eleven as they get no opportunity to show their form.

Even for those out of form, there is no chance of trying to regain it by playing a first class match and so it becomes increasingly difficult for the team that is already down to raise the level of its game without any hard match practice. There is not even a two-day game which can be used by the touring team to get back into the groove somewhat so all that they do is have net practice for the days before the next game starts and that is hardly the ideal preparation for a Test match.

Bangladesh an 'ordinary' test side, says Sehwag

2010-01-16 14:00:50 Last Updated: 2010-01-16 15:47:56

Chittagong: Bangladesh can produce upsets in one-day cricket but they are an ordinary test side that are unlikely to trouble India, said the tourists' vice captain Virender Sehwag. India, the world's top ranked test side, face Bangladesh in a two-test series, the first of which starts in Chittagong on Sunday. Sehwag could not see the hosts springing a surprise victory over India. "I don't think so. In one-day (cricket) they can surprise anybody but not in test matches. It's an ordinary side," Sehwag said at a news conference ahead of first test. Abhinav Bindra wants to quit shooting "It's difficult for Bangladesh to take 20 Indian wickets. The kind of batting line up we have, I don't think so. Even Sri Lanka can't do that. So it's very very difficult for Bangladesh." Bangladesh have won only three of their 61 tests, drawing six matches and losing 52 since they gained test status in June 2000. They have lost all but one of their previous test matches against India. The only time India failed to win was a rain-forced draw in Chittagong in May 2007. The tourists climbed to the top of the test rankings for the first time in December after winning a three-test series against Sri Lanka 2-0. Smith hits century puts South Africa in command India are scheduled to play only four test matches in 11 months, which means their stay at the top of the rankings could be a short one. Sehwag said the team were focused on the test match, not their world ranking. "We are not thinking that we are number one, number two or number three," he added. "We have to play well, we have to give our individual performances and our job is to play well."

Australia v Pakistan 2009/10

Australia 8 for 519 dec and 1 for 59 lead Pakistan 301 (Butt 102, Malik 58, Katich 3-34, Hauritz 3-96) by 277 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

	Salman Butt made 102 as Pakistan fought hard, but they are well behind after three days © Getty Images
Related Links News : Australia wonder when to declare Analysis : Butt continues to walk a crooked path Bulletin : 2nd day bulletin Players/Officials: Simon Katich | Salman Butt | Shoaib Malik Matches: Australia v Pakistan at Hobart Series/Tournaments: Pakistan tour of Australia Teams: Australia | Pakistan

Salman Butt's third Test century and Ricky Ponting's decision not to enforce the follow-on should ensure the Hobart Test goes for the full five days, although Australia remain in control with a 277-run advantage. After the second day's play, Ponting talked up the likelihood of making Pakistan bat again straight away, but his mind was changed when it took the bowlers 105.4 overs to dismiss them the first time.

Eventually, after a 60-minute last-wicket partnership between Umar Gul and Mohammad Asif that spanned both sides of the tea break, Nathan Hauritz finished off Pakistan for 301, leaving them 218 short of Australia's total. But Ponting wanted a break for his fast men and, despite the expected showers over the next two days, will set Pakistan a fourth-innings target.

Australia reached 1 for 59 at stumps with Simon Katich on 33 and Ponting on 25 after Shane Watson departed in the second over for 1. Watson skied a catch when he miscued Mohammad Aamer and it was the first time since the summer-opening Gabba Test match that he had failed to post a half-century in either innings.

Batting wasn't difficult on the good surface, as demonstrated by the inability of Australia's fast men to break through with the second new ball when they were trying to prise out Gul and Asif. Peter Siddle, Doug Bollinger and Mitchell Johnson didn't help their cause by abandoning the key principle of new-ball bowling - pitching up to allow swing - and banged it in far too short against the tailenders.

The pair added 53 for the final wicket and provided some entertaining highlights, including three powerful sixes from Gul, who finished unbeaten on 38. Asif posted 29, his highest Test score, before he skied a catch to mid-on off Hauritz, who ended up with 3 for 96. The tail-end pluck only served to highlight how disappointing much of Pakistan's batting effort was, with the exception of Butt and Shoaib Malik.

Their fighting three-hour stand that lasted until after lunch was characterised by concentration and patience, two traits that Pakistan's batsmen have so often lacked on this trip. Butt was strong off the back foot through the off side and Malik put in a good audition to permanently return to the Test line-up before the part-time spin of Katich split the pair up.

Katich had Butt caught at slip for 102, which was his first Test century for four years and a much-needed one after he was responsible for running out Mohammad Yousuf and Umar Akmal on the second afternoon. It was enough for Yousuf to brand Butt a "lazy" runner and although the captain wasn't spotted cheering Butt's century, he must surely have been pleased that his opener took on the extra responsibility after his lapses.

The loss of Butt led to a collapse of 5 for 35 as Katich ran through the lower middle-order and finished with 3 for 34, his second-best Test figures. Katich tossed one up across the body of the right-hander Sarfraz Ahmed, who edged to slip for 1, and then drew Aamer into an exotic slog-sweep that flew high in the air and was swallowed by Watson at cover.

In between, Hauritz had chipped in with the key wicket of Malik, who by then was Pakistan's best hope of avoiding the follow-on. He threw his innings away with a lusty aerial drive that was taken at mid-on, and Hauritz followed with Danish Kaneria, caught at cover.

Then came the last-wicket stand, which was Pakistan's best in Tests for three years. Together with the efforts of Butt and Malik, it was enough to make Ponting think twice about the follow-on and the next two days will reveal if it was enough to save the match.

Brydon Coverdale is a staff writer at Cricinfo

Boucher and de Villiers lift South Africa

Lunch South Africa 324 for 5 (Boucher 51*, de Villiers 43*) lead England 180 (Collingwood 47, Steyn 5-51) by 144 runs
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

	England struck hard in the first hour but were thwarted thereafter © Getty Images
Related Links Players/Officials: Mark Boucher | AB de Villiers Matches: South Africa v England at Johannesburg Series/Tournaments: England tour of South Africa Teams: England | South Africa

England's bowlers claimed three vital wickets in a gripping first hour of the third morning at Johannesburg before AB de Villiers and Mark Boucher responded with an urgent sixth-wicket stand of 89, as South Africa overcame a testing spell against the second new ball to extend their overnight lead to 144 with five wickets still remaining.

By lunch, the match situation was intriguingly poised. With the threat of more bad weather looming, South Africa know that their best chance of forcing a series-squaring victory is to put as many runs as possible on the board in their first innings, and trust their seam attack, led by Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn, to cut through England second-time around as they had done so ruthlessly on the first morning.

To that end, de Villiers and Boucher's alliance suited their requirements perfectly, as they clicked along at almost four runs an over to dent England's momentum after they had produced arguably their most committed spell in the field since the decisive fourth day in Durban. With tight bowling backed up by tigerish fielding, they reduced South Africa from 208 for 2 overnight to a ropey 235 for 5, only for their UDRS jinx to return with a vengeance before lunch.

The man who had the most of the luck on offer was de Villiers, who batted with typical confidence for his unbeaten 43, but nevertheless successfully overturned two upheld appeals from Graeme Swann, the first of which - a gloved sweep-shot - appeared from later replays to be too close to call with a "high degree of confidence", as per the ICC's guidelines. De Villiers then survived an apparent inside-edge off Ryan Sidebottom that England would surely have reviewed, had they not just wasted their final lifeline on a speculative and slightly desperate lbw appeal against Boucher.

In a further pair of ironies, the Sidebottom caught-behind appeal came only moments after the ECB announced that they had formally asked the ICC to reinstate the review that they had lost during the controversy involving Graeme Smith on the second morning. And what is more, Boucher would already have fallen lbw to Swann, and England would consequently still have had that extra chance up their sleeve, had England used their final lifeline in his previous over, when a seemingly innocuous appeal was shown by the Hawkeye replay to have been heading straight into leg stump.

All the UDRS kerfuffle overshadowed a magnificent session of cricket that was completed when Boucher tucked Sidebottom through the leg side to bring up his half-century from 67 balls, a fantastic fighting performance from a man who can always be relied upon to bat according to the needs of his team.

The same, however, has not always been said of Jacques Kallis, who was memorably ponderous in a similar rain-threatened scenario at Centurion on England's last tour in 2004-05, in another match that South Africa had to win to square the series. This time, however, he was one of two wickets to fall in the space of the first 16 balls of the day, as England hurtled out of the blocks in an explosive first hour.

First to go was Hashim Amla, who had partnered Smith superbly on the second day, but was able to add only two runs to his overnight 73. Broad, who resumed with an excellent full length allied to late swing, drew him into a drive outside off, and Prior behind the stumps launched himself in front of first slip to cling onto a superb one-handed catch.

Six balls later, and Kallis was gone as well, once again courtesy of some outstanding fielding. Sidebottom probed his defences with a series of full-length inswingers, before banging in a surprise bouncer which Kallis could only flap off the splice towards James Anderson in the gully, who hurtled forwards, stuck out his left hand, and clung onto a brilliant low chance.

With the new ball looming, England's seamers - even Paul Collingwood - were finding plenty assistance from a still-lively track, but it was their golden-armed spinner, Swann, who made the next incision, as he continued his remarkable habit of striking early in a spell. This time he didn't even need a sighter, as Duminy, whom he also bagged for a first-ball duck at Cape Town, propped forward to a sharp offspinner that bounced and turned, and Collingwood at slip did the rest.

South Africa's lead at that stage was a slender 55, but through the efforts of Boucher and de Villiers, they had hauled themselves back into the ascendancy by lunch. Nevertheless, with more violent storms brewing on the Highveld, they may yet want to be considering a bold declaration this afternoon, if they are to guarantee themselves enough time to claim the 20 wickets that have eluded them all series.

Andrew Miller is UK editor of Cricinfo

Indian Premier League 2009/10 / Fixtures

Date and Time	Match	Weather
Fri Mar 12 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	1st match - Deccan Chargers v Kolkata Knight Riders Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad	N/A
Sat Mar 13 10:30 GMT | 16:00 local 16:00 IST	2nd match - Mumbai Indians v Rajasthan Royals Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai	N/A
Sat Mar 13 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	3rd match - Kings XI Punjab v Delhi Daredevils Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh	N/A
Sun Mar 14 10:30 GMT | 16:00 local 16:00 IST	4th match - Kolkata Knight Riders v Royal Challengers Bangalore Eden Gardens, Kolkata	N/A
Sun Mar 14 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	5th match - Chennai Super Kings v Deccan Chargers MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai	N/A
Mon Mar 15 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	6th match - Rajasthan Royals v Delhi Daredevils Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad	N/A
Tue Mar 16 10:30 GMT | 16:00 local 16:00 IST	7th match - Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kings XI Punjab M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore	N/A
Tue Mar 16 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	8th match - Kolkata Knight Riders v Chennai Super Kings Eden Gardens, Kolkata	N/A
Wed Mar 17 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	9th match - Delhi Daredevils v Mumbai Indians Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi	N/A
Thu Mar 18 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	10th match - Royal Challengers Bangalore v Rajasthan Royals M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore	N/A
Fri Mar 19 10:30 GMT | 16:00 local 16:00 IST	11th match - Delhi Daredevils v Chennai Super Kings Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi	N/A
Fri Mar 19 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	12th match - Deccan Chargers v Kings XI Punjab Andhra Cricket Association-Visakhapatnam District Cricket Association Stadium, Visakhapatnam	N/A
Sat Mar 20 10:30 GMT | 16:00 local 16:00 IST	13th match - Rajasthan Royals v Kolkata Knight Riders Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad	N/A
Sat Mar 20 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	14th match - Mumbai Indians v Royal Challengers Bangalore Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai	N/A
Sun Mar 21 10:30 GMT | 16:00 local 16:00 IST	15th match - Deccan Chargers v Delhi Daredevils Andhra Cricket Association-Visakhapatnam District Cricket Association Stadium, Visakhapatnam	N/A
Sun Mar 21 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	16th match - Chennai Super Kings v Kings XI Punjab MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai	N/A
Mon Mar 22 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	17th match - Mumbai Indians v Kolkata Knight Riders Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai	N/A
Tue Mar 23 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	18th match - Royal Challengers Bangalore v Chennai Super Kings M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore	N/A
Wed Mar 24 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	19th match - Kings XI Punjab v Rajasthan Royals Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh	N/A
Thu Mar 25 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	20th match - Mumbai Indians v Chennai Super Kings Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai	N/A
Fri Mar 26 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	21st match - Rajasthan Royals v Deccan Chargers Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad	N/A
Sat Mar 27 10:30 GMT | 16:00 local 16:00 IST	22nd match - Kings XI Punjab v Kolkata Knight Riders Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh	N/A
Sat Mar 27 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	23rd match - Royal Challengers Bangalore v Delhi Daredevils M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore	N/A
Sun Mar 28 10:30 GMT | 16:00 local 16:00 IST	24th match - Rajasthan Royals v Chennai Super Kings Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad	N/A
Sun Mar 28 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	25th match - Deccan Chargers v Mumbai Indians Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad	N/A
Mon Mar 29 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	26th match - Delhi Daredevils v Kolkata Knight Riders Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi	N/A
Tue Mar 30 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	27th match - Mumbai Indians v Kings XI Punjab Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai	N/A
Wed Mar 31 10:30 GMT | 16:00 local 16:00 IST	28th match - Chennai Super Kings v Royal Challengers Bangalore MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai	N/A
Wed Mar 31 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	29th match - Delhi Daredevils v Rajasthan Royals Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi	N/A
Thu Apr 1 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	30th match - Kolkata Knight Riders v Deccan Chargers Eden Gardens, Kolkata	N/A
Fri Apr 2 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	31st match - Kings XI Punjab v Royal Challengers Bangalore Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh	N/A
Sat Apr 3 10:30 GMT | 16:00 local 16:00 IST	32nd match - Chennai Super Kings v Rajasthan Royals MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai	N/A
Sat Apr 3 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	33rd match - Mumbai Indians v Deccan Chargers Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground, Nagpur	N/A
Sun Apr 4 10:30 GMT | 16:00 local 16:00 IST	34th match - Kolkata Knight Riders v Kings XI Punjab Eden Gardens, Kolkata	N/A
Sun Apr 4 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	35th match - Delhi Daredevils v Royal Challengers Bangalore Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi	N/A
Mon Apr 5 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	36th match - Deccan Chargers v Rajasthan Royals Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad	N/A
Tue Apr 6 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	37th match - Chennai Super Kings v Mumbai Indians MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai	N/A
Wed Apr 7 10:30 GMT | 16:00 local 16:00 IST	38th match - Rajasthan Royals v Kings XI Punjab Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad	N/A
Wed Apr 7 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	39th match - Kolkata Knight Riders v Delhi Daredevils Eden Gardens, Kolkata	N/A
Thu Apr 8 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	40th match - Royal Challengers Bangalore v Deccan Chargers M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore	N/A
Fri Apr 9 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	41st match - Kings XI Punjab v Mumbai Indians Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh	N/A
Sat Apr 10 10:30 GMT | 16:00 local 16:00 IST	42nd match - Deccan Chargers v Chennai Super Kings Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad	N/A
Sat Apr 10 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	43rd match - Royal Challengers Bangalore v Kolkata Knight Riders M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore	N/A
Sun Apr 11 10:30 GMT | 16:00 local 16:00 IST	44th match - Delhi Daredevils v Kings XI Punjab Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi	N/A
Sun Apr 11 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	45th match - Rajasthan Royals v Mumbai Indians Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad	N/A
Mon Apr 12 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	46th match - Deccan Chargers v Royal Challengers Bangalore Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad	N/A
Tue Apr 13 10:30 GMT | 16:00 local 16:00 IST	47th match - Mumbai Indians v Delhi Daredevils Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground, Nagpur	N/A
Tue Apr 13 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	48th match - Chennai Super Kings v Kolkata Knight Riders MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai	N/A
Wed Apr 14 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	49th match - Rajasthan Royals v Royal Challengers Bangalore Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad	N/A
Thu Apr 15 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	50th match - Chennai Super Kings v Delhi Daredevils MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai	N/A
Fri Apr 16 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	51st match - Kings XI Punjab v Deccan Chargers Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharmasala	N/A
Sat Apr 17 10:30 GMT | 16:00 local 16:00 IST	52nd match - Royal Challengers Bangalore v Mumbai Indians M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore	N/A
Sat Apr 17 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	53rd match - Kolkata Knight Riders v Rajasthan Royals Eden Gardens, Kolkata	N/A
Sun Apr 18 10:30 GMT | 16:00 local 16:00 IST	54th match - Kings XI Punjab v Chennai Super Kings Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharmasala	N/A
Sun Apr 18 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	55th match - Delhi Daredevils v Deccan Chargers Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi	N/A
Mon Apr 19 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	56th match - Kolkata Knight Riders v Mumbai Indians Eden Gardens, Kolkata	N/A
Wed Apr 21 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	Semi-Final - TBC v TBC M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore	N/A
Thu Apr 22 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	Semi-Final - TBC v TBC M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore	N/A
Sat Apr 24 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	3rd Place Play-off - TBC v TBC Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, Mumbai	N/A
Sun Apr 25 14:30 GMT | 20:00 local 20:00 IST	Final - TBC v TBC Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, Mumbai	N/A