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Bangladesh 320 for 8 ( Shakib 104, Tamim 79) beat Zimbabwe 271 (Williams 71, Coventry 61) by 49 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outShakib Al Hasan scored his third one-day hundred•Associated Press

Shakib Al Hasan starred with a delightfully aggressive ton as Bangladesh recorded their second straight win in the five-match series against Zimbabwe. Tamim Iqbal laid the platform with a patient half-century before Shakib took over to propel Bangladesh to their highest ODI score. Zimbabwe put up a fight, courtesy fine half-centuries from Charles Coventry and Sean Williams, but the target proved beyond their reach.Bangladesh’s strategy in the field was simple: keep a tight line and wait for the pressure of the steep target to start telling on the batsmen. And it worked. Coventry provided some momentum to the chase by counterattacking after the early wickets. There was a very skillful hit over extra-cover against Syed Rasel and a couple of big sixes against the offspinner Naeem Islam but he fell trying to keep pace with the asking rate.Post Coventry’s exit, Williams played a gem of a cameo, filled with improvisations, but he too became a victim of the run-rate. He notched up his highest ODI score and not only used his feet well against the spinners but also repeatedly put the reverse sweep to good effect to upset the rhythm of the bowlers. He ran hard between the wickets and kept picking singles and twos to keep the scorecard moving. Near the end of the chase, he took more risks, charging out to the seamers as well. He sashayed down the track and heaved Nazmul Hossain to the cowcorner and slapped him over covers but fell while failing to clear long-on. Elton Chigumbura biffed around in the end to raise the home side’s hopes but could only succeed in reducing the margin of the loss.Bangladesh’s win was set up by their batsmen led by Shakib, who provided momentum with an imposing knock. Bangladesh were 108 for 1 in 25 overs but Shakib ensured that they finished strongly.The feature of his innings was his skill in repeatedly picking the gaps: there were quite a few hits over extra cover, a few to the straight boundary and many swings to midwicket. He started carefully, dealing in singles and twos to reach 15, before breaking free with two pulled boundaries. The explosion started in the 38th over, bowled by the part-time spinner Williams, with Shakib, who was denied the services of a runner just prior to the over, swinging twice over midwicket boundary. He went on to crash Ray Price to the straight boundary before lifting Prosper Utseya over long-off and twice over extra-cover as he made full use of the batting Powerplay.He was aided by some poor fielding and was dropped twice in the inner circle: when he was on 59, Stuart Matsikenyeri spilled a sitter at midwicket off an attempted reverse-sweep against Utseya and when he was on 71, Price dropped another off a top-edged paddle-sweep.Shakib went on the rampage after the twin drops. He looted 19 runs, with the help of three boundaries that included a stunning six over long-off, off the 44th over bowled by Chamu Chibhaba. He brought up the hundred in 63 balls and celebrated it with a cheeky scoop shot off Ed Rainsford before he was run out going for the third run after Mushfiqur Rahim had slashed to deep point. Rahim sought to make amends for his mistake with some big hitting in the end to push Bangladesh well past 300.The platform was laid earlier in the day by Tamim, who forged a more staid partnership with Junaid Siddique at the top of the order. Only four fours came in the first fifteen overs and only one boundary was hit in the air. It not only reflected the intent of the batsmen but also the disciplined lines and length of the new-ball bowlers Elton Chigumbura and Rainsford. If there was to be any criticism, it has to be said that they perhaps strayed to the middle and leg line a touch too often against Tamim, which shows up in his wagon wheel: Tamim picked 48 runs on the on side.For their part, the batsmen were absolutely focused on playing themselves in before going for their shots. Things were looking good when Siddique was run out. He pushed Utseya, who brought himself on in the 11th over, to the left of short midwicket, was caught in a yes-no situation with Tamim and couldn’t get back to his crease in time. Tamim, himself, was run out soon in a comical fashion. He had missed to connect a leg-side delivery but was stranded in the middle due to a faulty call from Shakib and was easily run out by the keeper. However, it didn’t prove to be a major set back as Shakib set the stadium ablaze with his power-hitting.

Roger Telemachus, the former South African seamer, has been asked to quit cricket with immediate effect for medical reasons. He was sent for tests ahead of the upcoming domestic season and the Champions League in India, but his Cape Cobras coach Shukri Conrad confirmed that he wouldn’t be considered.”Obviously Roger has ‘retired’ a couple of times before, but we saw fit to bring him back for the Pro20 last summer and he did very well for us,” Conrad was quoted as saying in Sporting Life.”He was right up for selection having trained as hard as anyone in the winter months. But sadly he has a medical condition that has deteriorated over the years.”As recently as last Thursday we sent him for an angiogram and unfortunately the diagnosis was not particularly good. Roger was advised not to play any further competitive sport.”The Cobras have qualified for the Champions League Twenty20 tournament in India this October. Telemachus took six wickets in nine games in the Pro20 domestic tournament, which the Cobras won.”He’s naturally very disappointed. He played a huge part in getting us to this position of getting into the Champions League,” Conrad said.Telemachus played 37 ODIs for South Africa between 1998 and 2006, taking 56 wickets. He wasn’t able to cement his position in the team, due to badly timed injuries and the stiff competition for pace-bowling slots. He played no Tests, but managed three Twenty20 internationals for his country, the most recent one in February 2007 against Pakistan.

Richard Pybus has resigned as coach of the Titans after choosing not to renew his contract with the team franchise. Chris van Noordwyk, a former fast bowler who represented Northern Transvaal, has been named as his replacement.Pybus, who coached the Titans for four seasons, oversaw his team’s title-win in the MTN Domestic Championship for the past two seasons. He was formerly coach of Pakistan and Middlesex, and was recently named the CSA (Cricket South Africa) Coach of the Year.”It has been a challenging and rewarding four years and I have managed to achieve the goals I set out at the beginning of my tenure at SuperSport Park with the team and to get players through to the national level,” Pybus said following his decision. “I believe it is time for me to move on and allow someone else to take over the role; I wish the Titans and the boys the very best for the future.”Pybus’ successor, van Noordwyk, was, until this appointment, the Titans cricket co-ordinator in charge of overseeing the identification and development of talent within the Titans structure. He will take charge on August 1.

It wasn’t quite the way she would have imagined going, but Karen Rolton has played her last match as Australia captain, bowing out in the semi-finals of the World Twenty20 against England. “I would have loved to have finished my time [as captain] playing in the final at Lord’s but we weren’t quite good enough,” said Rolton immediately after the match.While nobody would pretend that her tenure has always been an easy one – she presided over Australia’s worst World Cup finish at home in March – Rolton’s record speaks for itself.Rolton, arguably Australia’s most accomplished batsman of all time and the world’s most consistent player, decided in May to hand over the captaincy she has held since 2006 to help the new generation. To this end, she will stay in the team to ensure a smooth transition for thenew leader, Jodie Fields, enabling them to access her wealth of knowledge.For many an international captain, resigning as skipper can be an emotional experience; fellow Australian Kim Hughes springs instantly to mind. But Rolton refuses to cry. “It was a big decision,” she says simply. “But I think the timing’s right.”There’s not a lot of women’s games between now and the next World Cup. The longer I do it, the less time to get into the role. I think Jodie’s going to do a fantastic job.”Was there extra pressure in wanting to do well in the World Twenty20 knowing it was the last time she would lead Australia? “I hadn’t even really thought about it. When someone mentions it you think about it but I just want to do well for the team.”But don’t mistake Rolton’s matter-of-fact demeanour for ambivalence. The quietly spoken captain – who hides a wicked sense of humour – merely wants the best for a country which she has served admirably. Rolton would play for Australia on her deathbed if she could.Since her debut in 1995 aged 20, Rolton has amassed an Australian-record 971 Test runs from 13 matches at 60.68, including an unbeaten double ton against England in 2001. With 130 more ODI runs – highly likely in the forthcoming England series – she could eclipse Belinda Clark as the all-time leading runscorer in ODIs (Rolton has 4715 runs). She was the first ICC Female Cricketer of the Year in 2006 but personal accolades come a clear second to team success.She even gave her knees for Australia. Before surgery on ligaments damaged through cricket, Rolton was one of the world’s premier allrounders with her medium-pacers, but these days she does not bowl. It has been Australia’s loss.The captaincy, naturally, has been a huge honour. She took over the reins following the departure of Clark and Lisa Keightley when there was little experience among the players apart from Lisa Sthalekar.Although unanimously regarded as the best person for the job from the start and with no doubting her playing credentials, current coach Richard McInnes says Rolton took her time to find her own captaincy groove.”She’s a quiet person,” says McInnes. “She doesn’t command the stage as some natural leaders do. She’s getting better and better all the time and really taking charge of the team.”Of course, England captain Mike Brearley was one such quiet person and he had the massive respect of his team through tactical brilliancy. Rolton, an astute thinker herself, has had the extra benefit of also being a role model in playing excellence which has won her fans among all international players, not just her own team.”She’s pretty unflappable and she gets on with the job,” says McInnes. “She understands the game and how people feel. She gives nothing away [about the team] and she doesn’t get fazed by anything.”He’s right. Ask Rolton how she feels playing in front of huge crowds, a rarity in the women’s game but something she experienced in the 1997-98 World Cup final aged 22, and she says simply, “You just have to enjoy the moment.”Not even scathing, unmerited tabloid criticism of her captaincy after this year’s doomed World Cup had much effect. “It’s done and dusted now… wasn’t one of our better ones. We didn’t play well. Whether it was pressure or we were playing at home, I’m not really sure.”Rolton wasn’t helped by the team chopping and changing before the tournament, but she will never say a bad word about any of her players or the choices of the selection committee. It is an admirable silence. In any other sports star you could easily believe this was media training in over-drive. But at 34, Rolton has seen everything, done everything and got the trophies.Though she has won the World Cup three times as a player – including a brilliant hundred in the 2005 final in South Africa – the title will ever elude her as a captain. The pain is not just for herself, however, but for everyone, not that she talks much about it. “To not make the final in your home country is disappointing,” she says. “But you can’t really change that now.”Although she captained during a period of changing sides and coaches, under her leadership Australia have won six ODI series, with two draws. Only the World Cup fourth place blotted the copy book.Australia won the first Test under her command, Rolton’s fifty helping to force India to follow on in 2006-07. They lost the other Test she led, although not owning the Ashes at the time meant her side had to go all out against England in the four days of the 2007-08 series that were ever available.Though you could spend a long time trying to puzzle out her inner complexities, the truth is deceptively straightforward – Rolton is not, in fact, a complicated character and has a vast array ofknowledge and experience upon which she calls clearheadedly, without fuss. As McInnes says: “It’s a pretty simple game and she keeps it pretty simple.” She demonstrates the same with her breathtaking batting.Rolton fans will be pleased to learn that surrendering the captaincy does not mean surrendering her career just yet. “I am not retiring!” says Rolton, who will stay on in England for the Ashes and ODIs. In fact, after intensive training in Brisbane, Rolton is fitter than she has been for a few years and in great form with the bat.There will be no envy nor regrets when she sees Fields leading the side, given she just wants the best for Australia. In typical fashion, Rolton smiles and says selflessly: “I hadn’t really thought about it.”And you know she is telling the truth.

Fielding effort of the day
Ramnaresh Sarwan lofted Ajantha Mendis towards the long-on boundary where Angelo Mathews tried to get into position to take the catch. As the ball began its descent, Mathews braced himself right on the boundary’s edge and caught the ball. He realised, however, that his momentum, and that of the ball, was going to take him over the rope and so he threw the ball in the air and then fell over outside the boundary. Looking up, he saw that the ball would land outside the boundary, resulting in a six, and so picked himself up, jumped desperately and was in the air as he slapped the ball over the rope and back into play. The jury was out on whether it should have been a six, but the West Indian batsmen only got the three runs they had run.Slower ball of the day
Andre Fletcher had just deposited Lasith Malinga’s fast ball into the stands at midwicket. As Malinga steamed in again, Fletcher wound up once more preparing to whack it again. He swung hard, connected with nothing, and swiveled around to see his leg stump flattened. Malinga had unleashed a deadly accurate slower full toss at only 120 kmh an hour, just like the one he had splayed Brad Haddin’s stumps with. The ball arrived well after Fletcher was through with the shot and crashed into leg stump, leaving the other two intact with the bail on top.Sloppy moments of the day
Sri Lanka had contributed 14 to West Indies’ total of 65 for 1 after the Powerplay overs. Malinga sprayed a ball so far down leg side that it sped wide of Kumar Sangakkara for five extras. The sickness spread, for Sanath Jayasuriya also drifted one past leg-stump and conceded five more. After those errors, Sangakkara was prepared and moved quickly to collect Isuru Udana’s first ball which was also well wide of leg stump. After the wides had stopped, Sri Lanka gave West Indies four more runs courtesy overthrows.Assault of the day
Fidel Edwards sprinted in, bounding to the crease gracefully before leaping athletically and letting a fast ball rip. Jayasuriya was prepared and drilled the first ball through cover for four. Edwards steamed in again but watched as the ball sped to the point and over the backward square leg boundary. Jayasuriya took 17 runs off Edwards’ first over but he wasn’t finished. When Edwards returned later in the innings, Jayasuriya was waiting and carved the first ball for six over point. He ended the over with two fours towards long leg and one to third man, ransacking 20 more from Edwards’ second over.Tillakaratne Dilshan gets innovative•Associated Press

Rattled bowler of the day …
… was Kieron Pollard. He watched in amazement as Tillakaratne Dilshan moved across to the off side, bent down on one knee, got under the ball, and scooped it over the wicketkeeper’s head for six. Dilshan attempted it again the very next ball but was beaten by a bit of extra bounce. A third attempt at a scoop was just too much for Pollard simply aborted his run-up as he approached delivery stride when he saw Dilshan crouch into position to send the ball over Ramdin once again. And when Pollard returned for his second spell, Dilshan reverse-swatted him to the long leg boundary.Wasted opportunity of the day
Jayasuriya had done all the early scoring for Sri Lanka, contributing 32 out of their first 40 runs. The trend continued with Jayasuriya scoring 72 out of Sri Lanka’s first 100. A rare Twenty20 century was there for the taking but he played one reverse-hit too many and was lbw for 81 off 47 balls. And it was only the 13th over of the innings.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Amit Singh, playing just his second Twenty20 game, took 4 for 19 to help Rajasthan Royals bowl out Royal Challengers Bangalore for 105•Associated Press

Rajasthan Royals moved to the top of the table with a convincing seven-wicket win over Bangalore Royal Challengers, who looked out of depth as they were bowled out for 105 – the tournament’s second lowest total – and conceded the win inside 15 overs. Naman Ojha scored his second consecutive half-century in the brief chase but the win was set up by Amit Singh and Ravindra Jadeja, who took seven Bangalore wickets to ensure a low target for their side.The difference lay in how the two sets of bowlers exploited the bounce offered by the Centurion pitch; Bangalore’s couldn’t, Rajasthan’s did to perfection. Bangalore used the short ball only after the strategy break, by which time the required run-rate was down to below five an over.Shane Warne won a good toss and chose to field on a new pitch that had received rain overnight. Unlike in the last few games where he opened with spin from one end, he chose to give his fast bowlers a chance to exploit the conditions. Like the spinners, though, the fast bowlers gave favourable returns in their first spells. Batsmen found it difficult to counter the bounce when they tried to cut or pull though poor shot selection accounted for two of the first three wickets.Amit struck first in the third over: Wasim Jaffer, who had been dropped by Amit in the previous over, drove a fuller delivery away from his body and popped a catch to cover. Jacques Kallis, after flicking a six off his pads from Munaf Patel, stepped out to a shorter delivery and top-edged a pull to Niraj Patel, who took the catch running from deep backward square leg to deep midwicket. Soon after, Rahul Dravid chased a Lee Carseldine delivery going down leg and gloved a catch behind for a duck.