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Tim Bresnan, the England allrounder, has undergone elbow surgery but is expected to be fit for the start of the Test series against Pakistan in UAE in January.The operation was to remove a bone fragment which had started to cause Bresnan problems during the one-day series against India in October. After initially giving the injury time to settle the decision was taken that surgery was required.Bresnan has become a key part of England’s team in all three formats and was the senior pace bowler on the recent tour of India with Stuart Broad injured and James Anderson rested. Having played a vital role during the Ashes series victory in Australia, Bresnan then lost his place in the Test team due to a torn calf muscle at the start of the English summer.However another injury, this time to Chris Tremlett, opened the door for his return against India, at Trent Bridge, where he responded with a vital allround performance scoring 90 in England’s second innings then taking a career-best 5 for 48 to bowl out the visitors.After 10 Tests, all of which have been England victories, Bresnan is averaging 45.42 with the bat and 23.60 with the ball having claimed 41 wickets.With his ability to extract reverse swing Bresnan will have an important role to play in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, but if he suffers a delay in his recovery England have a strong collection of pace bowlers to call upon. Tremlett is hoping to force his way back into the line-up, Steven Finn was the stand-out performer in the one-dayers against India and Graham Onions is on the fringes of the national side again.

ScorecardZaheer Khan’s return to complete fitness was the most important development of the day, but Saurashtra took control of the game•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Mumbai have themselves to blame for getting distracted in the final half hour of the Saurashtra innings when the hosts’ tenth-wicket pairing of Sandip Maniar and Siddharth Trivedi looted 57 runs from seven overs, which frustrated and exhausted the visitors. Then, in a smart move, Saurashtra captain Jayadev Shah declared the innings, leaving Mumbai a tricky interval of six overs to negotiate before stumps. Mumbai duly lost two wickets in opener Sushant Marathe, and Abhishek Nayar, the best batsman so far this season, in the final over of the day, giving the hosts complete control.Saurashtra had put themselves under pressure after having scored at a run-rate of under three per over on the first day. But today, their batsmen, led by Jaydev, played with a combative spirit, scoring at a four-plus rate consistently. His 135-run alliance for the fourth wicket with Bhushan Chauhan, the overnight unbeaten batsman, ensured Mumbai toiled for a second successive day.Having already crossed the 500-run mark, Saurashtra’s lower order used the long handle fearlessly. Mumbai paid the price for taking the tail lightly as Maniar and Trivedi rubbed the salt openly. Trivedi charged Ramesh Powar confidently, lofting the offspinner for two sixes and three fours in an over. Surprisingly, Powar and Dhawal Kulkarni played into the opponents’ hands, failing to bowl a wicket-to-wicket line. Adding insult to injury were the Mumbai fielders, including senior players like Zaheer Khan, who failed to show the pro-activeness to convert the half chances.If the day ended on a promising note for Saurashtra, it had started in a similar vein for their opponents. Zaheer Khan angled his third delivery of the morning across the bat of a helpless Cheteshwar Pujara. The thin outside edge was snatched nicely by Marathe who did well to move to his right quickly before throwing himself head-on and latch on to the catch with his outstretched fingers. But even if Zaheer had instantly found his lengths and line, and was bowling at his desired pace, the pitch had not changed nature.Still the onus was on Saurashtra to set up a contest considering Mumbai were comfortably perched atop Group A with sixteen points, and were favourites to make the knockout stage. Saurashtra, with just eight points, had to force matters to gain the maximum points from this game.Once Zaheer finished his first spell of four overs, Chauhan and Jaydev understood the dangers had diminished drastically. Chauhan, who already had scored a Ranji century against Mumbai during his record 275-run opening stand with Chirag Pathak in 2008-09 season, scored his third first-class century, which he brought up with a lofted straight drive for four. He flashed his blade all across the empty Khanderi ground, the new base of the Saurashtra Cricket Association.It was the second time the opening pair of Pathak and Chauhan had got hundreds in the same innings against Mumbai. In fact it was the third occasion when two Saurashtra openers achieved that feat in a Ranji Trophy match. Pathak and Sagar Jogiyani had compiled centuries against Bengal last season.At the other end Jaydev, normally an aggressive batsman, was happy to snatch easy doubles and fours as the opposition bowlers failed to keep him in check. With runs ticking fast, Iqbal Abdulla started pitching behind Chauhan’s stumps. He did not mind the wides, considering his sole aim was to make Chauhan impatient. The strategy paid dividends at the stroke of lunch when Chauhan went for the paddle sweep, top-edged, and was caught easily by Suryakumar Yadav at short fine-leg.Six overs into the second session, Zaheer got the ball to reverse just that bit to hit Jaydev’s off stump and pick up his third wicket. That Zaheer was back to complete fitness was the only bit of good news for Mumbai, and a welcome development for the Indian squad and selectors.

Group A

KP Appanna produced the best first-class bowling performance of his fledgling career as Karnataka overwhelmed Railways by an innings and 51 runs at the Karnail Singh Stadium in Delhi. The 22-year-old left-arm spinner took 6 for 68 in the second innings to go with 5 for 39 in the first, giving him a career best 11 for 107 in the match. Railways had started the day on 33 for 2, still 180 runs behind. Their extended that to 66 for 2 before Appanna had Sanjay Bangar out lbw. A few overs later, Appanna ended Shivakant Shukla’s determined vigil, the opener having grafted to 34 in a shade under three hours. At that stage, the visitors were 87 for 4 and the rest of the batsmen succumbed at regular intervals as Railways collapsed for 162.Uttar Pradesh held the upper hand in their game against Saurashtra after taking an 81-run first-innings lead and then extending it to 256 runs with six wickets still in hand heading into the final day at the Cantonment Board Ground in Meerut. After UP had lost their last six wickets for 96, Saurashtra followed suit, losing their last six wickets for 67 runs. Having started the day on 208 for 6, the visitors folded for 281 despite Jaydev Shah’s 112. Five bowlers shared the wickets, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar taking 3 for 26. Unbeaten half-centuries from Mohammad Kaif and Arish Alam then took UP to 175 for 4 in their second-innings.Manpreet Gony and debutant Brainder Sran combined to give Punjab an unlikely eight-wicket win over Orissa at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali. Punjab had needed wicketkeeper Gitansh Khera to make an unbeaten 47 at No.9 just to scrape out a four-run first-innings lead, but then Gony and Sran took over and dismantled Orissa for 73 in their second-innings. Sran struck the first blow when he had opposing captain Natraj Behera caught for a duck. Gony then took two of the next three wickets, as Orissa slumped to 25 for 4. Sran then nipped out the middle order while Gony knocked over the tail to leave Punjab needing 70 runs for the win, a target they hunted down for the loss of two wickets. Gony had figures of 5 for 13 from 8.5 overs while Sran ended with 4 for 27 from 13 overs, giving him a total of seven wickets on debut. Harbhajan Singh, the India offspinner, took just one wicket in the game.

Group B

India opener Abhinav Mukund ground out a double-century and though none of the other Tamil Nadu batsmen made more than 37, they managed to take a 55-run first-innings lead over Haryana and secure three points at the MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai. Abhinav, who had already completed his century on day two, extended his partnership with KM Gandhi to 99 before the latter fell for 16, the start of a slide in which the hosts lost five wickets for 75 runs. No.8 Sunny Gupta then hung around to make 37, adding 70 for the eight wicket with Abhinav, to swing the momentum back Tamil Nadu’s way. Abhinav was eventually out for 204, having taken Tamil Nadu past Haryana, and No.9 Yo Mahesh, who made 30 not out, pushed their total to 403.Irfan Pathan, the India allrounder, ripped out the heart of the Madhya Pradesh batting line-up to leave Baroda needing just 54 for victory at the Moti Bagh Stadium in Vadodara. The Baroda openers knocked off 25 of those runs, before falling in quick succession. Rakesh Solanki and Ambati Rayudu then took them within six runs of the target before stumps.Having begun the day on 176 for 2, Naman Ohja and Devendra Bundela had gamely resisted everything the Baroda attack through at them in the first session, but Bhargav Bhatt broke through after lunch to dismiss Ohja for a painstaking 94 from 250 balls, and end a 104-run partnership. Irfan, armed with the second new ball, then removed Abbas Ali and Harpreet Singh in the same over, getting both to edge balls leaving the left-hander. Two overs later he had Bundela caught behind as well and it looked like Baroda might wrap up the game on the third day. However TP Sudhindra (49) and Ankit Sharma (42) added 77 for the eight wicket to deny the hosts an innings victory. Irfan completed his five wicket-haul with the wicket of Sudhindra, the last man to fall, giving him figures of 8 for 77 for the match.Gujarat forced Delhi to follow-on before picking up a further five wickets to close in on victory at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium in Valsad. Eighteen-year-old Unmukt Chand, who made 93, and Rajat Bhatia, with 45, were the only Delhi batsmen to put up much resistance as the visitors folded from 119 for 3 to 233 all out. Part-time seamer Priyank Panchal brought the curtain down swiftly on Delhi’s first innings by taking 3 wickets for no runs in 2.1 overs.The visitors got off to a terrible start in their second innings, losing Chand for 0 and Milind Kumar for 1 inside six overs, before Shikhar Dhawan and captain Mithun Manas added 91. While Manas dropped anchor, Dhawan took on the bowling, smashing 16 fours as he raced to 77 from 78 balls. However, Ishwar Chaudhary had Dhawan caught behind off the first ball of the 29th over and Delhi lost two more wickets to end the day on 170 for 5. Manas was still at the crease, having made exactly 50, but the visitors still trail by 117 and will be hard pressed to save the game.

Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) beat Sialkot by a whopping 258 runs at the Jinnah Stadium in Sialkot, courtesy a nine-wicket haul by left-arm medium pacer Mohammad Khalil. ZTBL began the final day needing six wickets to wrap up the game. Khalil got them the first five of those wickets, without facing much resistance. Faisal Khan, who was 73 not out overnight, edged behind on 99, and from there on wickets fell in quick succession. Khalil was denied a ten-for when No. 11 batsman Mohammad Imran was caught of Iftikhar Anjum, less than 20 overs into the day’s play.Faisalabad secured a first-innings lead of 19 against Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) in a drawn match at the Iqbal Stadium. In reply to PIA’s 396, Faisalabad began the fourth day on 374 for 5 in their first innings. Their overnight batsmen Faisal Bin Mubashir and Mohammad Salman took them past 400, but then they lost four wickets for 11 runs to finish on 415. Aqeel Ahmed had retired hurt and did not complete his innings. Ali Imran finished with 4 for 74 for PIA. Faisalabad’s new-ball attack of Abdur Rauf and Waqas Maqsood then cut through the PIA top order, reducing them to 41 for 4. They couldn’t complete the collapse, though, for Fahad Iqbal and Sarfraz Ahmed struck aggressive centuries to rule out the possibility of a dramatic Faisalabad victory. Iqbal made 105 off 127 balls and Sarfraz 152 off 147 as PIA ended on 315 for 6. Faisalabad ended up using nine bowlers.Water and Power Development Authority cruised to a comfortable six-wicket victory against Karachi Blues at the National Stadium. They began the day on 151 for 3, chasing 210, with Rafatullah Mohmand on 74 and Bilal Khilji on 59. Though Khilji fell on 67, the only wicket to fall on the final day, Mohmand went on to score an unbeaten 105 and lead his team to victory.State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) held on for a draw against Islamabad at the Diamond Club Ground in Islamabad. The hosts batted nine overs in the morning session, adding 35 runs to their overnight score, before declaring on 274 for 2. They looked set to take the match after their new-ball pair, Shehzad Azam and Nasrullah Khan, reduced SBP to 13 for 3, but the visitors’ lower middle order came good. Adnan Raees hit 40 and Rameez Alam made 61, while Nos. 7 and 8 made contributions in the 20s to deny Islamabad the win.Despite a brief period of resistance from overnight batsmen Zahid Mansoor and Mohammad Rameez, Habib Bank Limited (HBL) completed a comprehensive win against Rawalpindi at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. The visitors began the final day needing three wickets for victory, Rawalpindi tottering on 159 for 7 in pursuit of 330. It took them less than a session to get the wickets and claim six points.

For a man who started the summer amid doubts about his aptitude for one-day cricket, Alastair Cook has enjoyed a pretty healthy first season as England’s full-time ODI captain.Two hard-fought series wins over Sri Lanka and India have been complemented by his own impressive returns with the bat, and with the final act looming in Cardiff on Friday, he has the opportunity to send India back home without so much as a single victory to salve their battered pride.”You get judged on the results and we’ve won both series,” Cook told reporters in Cardiff. “It’s an encouraging start but I think the good thing is, in the last two games we’ve not really played that well, but we managed to get the result which bodes well.”Most games, especially in tournaments, are very close. It’s good to get yourself used to those situations. If you dominate games it becomes less stressful. But we’ve made some good progress over the last couple of series.”England have a 2-0 lead with one match to play, following a wash-out in Durham and a rain-affected tie at Lord’s on Sunday. Whatever happens in the fifth and final ODI cannot affect the overall result, but England have enjoyed developing their winning habit this summer, and Cook does not believe any of their appetites have been sated just yet.”Andy [Flower] said it’s amazing how quickly sport can change,” said Cook. “The practice session today, you wouldn’t have known what had happened in the series from the way we’ve trained over the last two days. The hunger in the side is there, it should be there,but it’s good.”England’s dominance has, to a certain extent, been mitigated by the absence of so many of India’s frontline players, from their bowling spearhead Zaheer Khan to the man of the recent World Cup, Yuvraj Singh. Nevertheless, England have themselves had to make do without the likes of Kevin Pietersen, who has been rested, and Eoin Morgan, who has succumbed to a shoulder injury, but they’ve not let those absences affect their outlook.”What’s been encouraging is we’ve had no Eoin or Kevin and others have been given the chance and they’ve stepped up and taking their opportunities well – especially Ravi [Bopara],” said Cook. “We do need a squad and 15, 16, 17 players and people adapting to roles in the side and coming in to produce match-winning innings. The competition is there for places, and that can only be a good thing. We’re all pushing to get into that eleven andcompetition raises the standard.”Alastair Cook wants to finish his international season on a high•Getty Images

Despite Cook’s best efforts, which included a remarkable innings of 80 not out from 63 balls in a 23-over second ODI at the Rose Bowl, he has been unable to break into England’s Twenty20 plans, with Graeme Swann named as stand-in captain for the two matches against West Indies at The Oval next week.”I was disappointed,” Cook admitted. “You are when your name’s in the hat for selection and it doesn’t go your way. But it gives an opportunity for Graeme to do the job and I’ll think he’ll do a good job. The enthusiasm he has for the game will run off on people completely. He just loves it.”Swann’s default mentality is one that England as a squad appear to have adopted this summer, with the vibe within the team seemingly as good as it ever has been. “I think success bringshappiness,” said Cook. “It’s true when you are generally happy. When you’re notwinning, things start to grate on you a bit more than they would normally. Andthey wouldn’t be if you were winning. But having said that, when we lostin Perth [during the Ashes] our team spirit was still good.”As for India, their morale has been sagging for months, and with seven defeats and no victories in nine matches to date, there’s little succour on offer in this final fixture. While Cook shrugged that their struggles were “no concern to us”, he could at least empathise with the situation their squad now found themselves in.”It’s extremely tough because when we lost the Ashes 5-0, we found that hard,” said Cook. “It’s tough when you are working hard and become beaten by a betterside. It’s hard for morale and confidence. I’m pleased with the way we’ve not let them get back into their stride because we hit the ground running.”The whitewash tour of 2006-07 followed only 18 months after the highlight of England’s decade, the 2005 Ashes triumph – when the side looked capable of dominating all-comers, only to suffer a catastrophic loss of form and personnel. “We haven’t repeated [those mistakes] because we’ve got better,” said Cook. “We’ve taken huge steps forward as a set-up and as England players. And that’s why that’s not happened again.”In a contest that marks the end of India’s tour, there will be a more general farewell to be made, as Rahul Dravid prepares to play his 344th and final one-day international. “He’s an outstanding player,” said Cook. “He’s scored over 10,000 runs in both forms ofthe game. To be around as long as he has is incredible. He’s a great ofthe modern day, there’s no doubt about that.”

Scorecard
Martin Guptill made sure there were no slip-ups as Derbyshire put themselves in the promotion frame with a seven-wicket win over Gloucestershire in the Championship match at Derby. The home side went into the fourth day as strong favourites to wrap up victory needing 80 more runs with eight wickets in hand and they lost only Wes Durston before crossing the line.Guptill added an unbeaten 66 to his first-innings century and struck the winning boundary after just 53 minutes on the fourth morning.Gloucestershire’s only chance of turning the match on its head was to take early wickets to sow some seeds of doubt in the Derbyshire dressing room but, although there was still some life in the pitch, they managed only one.Guptill and Durston had taken the game away from the visitors on the first day with a stand of 266 and they batted for another 13 overs to take Derbyshire well down the road to victory.There were few alarms for the home supporters until Durston went for a big drive at Ian Saxelby in the eighth over of the day and was caught by Alex Gidman at first slip for 14. Another wicket then might have caused some jitters and Saxelby nearly delivered it in the same over when Greg Smith got an edge that went just past second slip to the boundary.Guptill had rediscovered his form in the first innings after a lean run and he snuffed out Gloucestershire’s faint hopes with some glorious strokes against the pace bowlers. Jon Lewis was pulled through midwicket before the New Zealander drove Saxelby down the ground for another four.An on drive in the same over brought him his 10th four and his 50 from 63 balls and he celebrated by pulling the next delivery to the ropes when Saxelby dropped short. It was fitting that Guptill ended the game and he did it in style with a delicate late cut for four off Hamish Marshall to secure a 24-point victory which takes Derbyshire above Gloucestershire into third in Division Two.

Michael Lumb’s move from Hampshire to Nottinghamshire has been confirmed after the signing of a three-year deal at Trent Bridge.Lumb, who was part of England’s World Twenty20 winning team, will miss the rest of this season with injury but already has Twenty20 deals lined up with Sydney Sixers in Australia’s Big Bash and the Deccan Chargers at the IPL before joining his new county.”We’re delighted that Michael has agreed to join us and the meetings that we’ve had with him have been very constructive in terms of our respective ambitions and the role he sees himself playing in fulfilling them,” said Mick Newell, Nottinghamshire’s director of cricket. “We have been in the market for a proven batsman and we believe that he has the pedigree and the drive to improve our standing in all formats.”Lumb was recalled to England’s Twenty20 side to face Sri Lanka earlier this season has gained the reputation of a specialist in the shortest format.”I’ve enjoyed five great seasons with Hampshire and it has been a real pleasure to have won two limited-overs trophies,” he said. “However, I feel that now is the right time to make a fresh start at a new club and I’m pleased to be offered the opportunity to play for Nottinghamshire. It’s a challenge and one I’m looking forward to.”

ScorecardLydia Greenway’s half-century ensured England got off to a winning start in the quadrangular series•Getty Images

England got off to a winning start in the NatWest Women’s Quadrangular series, beating India by a comfortable six-wicket margin in Derby.Choosing to bowl, England began well, running out opener Anagha Deshpande for a duck before getting India’s premier batsman, Mithali Raj, to edge to the wicketkeeper, also for no score. Poonam Raut and Harmanpreet Kaur steadied India though, putting on a patient 83 for the third wicket. Kaur was trapped lbw by Holly Colvin for 41, attempting a heave across the line.Raut hung on for a bit longer, getting to 50 off 115 deliveries. Her resistance was also ended by Colvin, who found her short of her crease with an accurate throw from gully. The double-blow did not send India into a shell though. Debutant Veda Krishnamurthy built on the patient stand with an attacking knock of 51 off 57 balls that included eight fours and set India up for a competitive total. But a mini-collapse followed as India went from 162 for 4 in the 43rd over to 202 for 9 in 50.England’s innings followed a similar pattern. After two early wickets, the chase was rescued by Charlotte Edwards and Claire Taylor with a half-century third-wicket partnership. Lydia Greenway, who had Sarah Taylor for company, added the finishing touches with an unbeaten half-century and took England home with 28 balls to spare.Greenway, who was named Player of the Match, said England were not at their best in the field. “I was really pleased to get us over the line. Charlotte Edwards and Claire Taylor put in a good partnership and Sarah Taylor played positively at the end to get the run-rate up. We didn’t perform in the field but pulled it back with the bat.”We’ll be back training hard tomorrow and will set our plans as we look to hit our straps against New Zealand on Saturday.”

In Cardiff last week, England’s captain Andrew Strauss spoke of how his team had “created their own intensity” to snatch victory on the final day of a match that seemed to have been destined for a draw. Any hopes of a repeat performance in the second Test at Lord’s, however, were shattered – quite literally – by an incident involving Matt Prior, a pane of glass and an injured female spectator.There were other factors that contributed to the sedate finish, of course – not least the solidity of Sri Lanka’s batting, with Tharanga Paranavitana once again displaying his adhesive qualities at the top of the order. But as Strauss admitted at the close of play, the embarrassment of the incident, and the knowledge that it could have been more serious, scuppered any hopes England might have had of replicating the focus that proved so irresistible in the first Test.Prior, who made a century in England’s first innings, was annoyed after being run out for 4 second-time around, as his side chased quick runs before declaring on 335 for 7, a lead of 342. But as he returned to the England dressing-room, he took off his kit in a manner that led, apparently accidentally, to the breaking of one of the windows overlooking the benches in front of the pavilion, and a small cut on the ankle for a female spectator sitting below.The circumstances of the breakage, however, were shrouded in confusion. According to the original explanation from the ECB, Prior threw his batting gloves across the dressing-room towards his kit bag, but accidentally dislodged a row of bats that had been propped up in front of the window. Soon afterwards, however, the ECB admitted that there may have been some “misinformation”, and a subsequent statement, citing Andy Flower, who had been present in the dressing-room, explained that Prior had placed his bat on the ledge by the window, but the handle had bounced off the wall into the pane.As it happens, Strauss himself offered a third version of events when he spoke to the press after the match, when he said that Prior’s bat had bounced off another bat into the window. Small discrepancies, maybe, but it all helped contribute to a ridiculous scenario whereby England’s off-field behaviour was under more scrutiny than their on-field efforts to win the match.Strauss’s initial reaction to the incident, caught on Sky’s cameras, was one of visible disapproval as he shook his head in disgust, and though he later conceded it was a genuine accident, he wasn’t exactly pleased with what had gone on. “It’s not a great situation really,” he said. “I’m not going to be encouraging my players to be breaking windows in a hurry.”We’re always annoyed when we get out, especially when we get run out. But I don’t think that was the reason the window broke,” he added. “It was an unfortunate thing, and important that he apologised to the people down below – because it potentially could have been quite dangerous. But it wasn’t something that was intentional, and we hope we won’t see it again.”According to an eye-witness, the lady who suffered the injury was an MCC Associate member from Ireland, who was making her first visit to the pavilion. She was treated at the scene by the England doctor, and reportedly bore no grudge when Strauss accompanied Prior downstairs to issue the apology.The incident revived memories of Ricky Ponting’s fit of pique during the World Cup in Ahmedabad in March, when he broke a television screen following his run-out for 28 against Zimbabwe. Ponting’s excuse was that he had thrown his groin protector into his kit-bag, only for it to bounce up into the corner of the screen. He received a reprimand from the ICC as a result, but as far as England are concerned, this case is closed already.Nevertheless, the incident had the effect of cooling England’s ardour as they set about fielding for the final 58 overs of the match, with Prior himself – usually a vocal presence behind the stumps – understandably subdued afterwards. Four years ago against India, he was caught in the centre of a similar row involving jelly beans, a trivial incident on the face of it, but one from which his reputation took years to recover. There’s no suggestion that he will be similarly pilloried for this episode, but he would not be human if it wasn’t on his mind.”I think he felt pretty contrite about it,” said Strauss. “I don’t think he quite realised at the time that there were people below him. Then suddenly when it hit home and you think about what could happen it hits you pretty hard. He wanted to go down there and apologise – it was the right thing to do – and thankfully no one was seriously injured. I think they appreciated the fact that he apologised.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Domination personified•AFP

Once every two years Bangalore hosts Aero India, the country’s biggest air show, on the outskirts of the city. On Friday night, Chris Gayle took it upon himself to deliver a similar spectacle to the home crowd, which went ballistic while watching a flogging of a lifetime inflicted on Kings XI Punjab. As the deflated attack desperately sought mercy, Gayle celebrated his domination with a triumphant smile, propelling his team to a thumping fourth straight win with an unforgettable century that made a backyard out of the Chinnaswamy Stadium.Adam Gilchrist, cheery as ever, decided to field on a pitch that promised assistance to his four-pronged pace attack. While he met Gayle’s onslaught with a look of awe and admiration, his bowlers were what they looked – stunned into submission. The early movement and a spate of hits and misses in the first couple of overs were the few signs of encouragement in an otherwise dispiriting innings.Gayle targeted the straight boundary, rarely attempted any cross-bat heaves or slogs, and relied on brute strength, partly a consequence of what is known to be a fitness regime that’s ever the aspiration of the healthier than normal. Ryan Harris was the first recipient of Gayle’s treatment, as he clobbered two consecutive sixes over long-off and long-on in the fourth over.The Punjab bowlers erred in length, often doling out length deliveries, but most would have been unsettled by Gayle’s ruthless approach. His initial movement was to make room and, depending on the line, have a free swing in the same direction. Praveen Kumar’s skills with variations in pace were conspicuous by their absence as he dished out a series of length deliveries that Gayle was only happy to dig into. After launching him for two straight sixes, he cashed in on some misdirection to pick up two fours in an over that yielded 22.Gilchrist had to turn to spin and he found the expensive Piyush Chawla, whose figures this season took further beating with two monstrous sixes over midwicket off long hops. Virat Kohli, in a fortunate yet largely mature innings, was only too happy to cede floor to his partner. Gayle directed his attention to Love Ablish, whose pain of rejection was felt in three consecutive boundaries, one of which was a streaky edge past the diving Gilchrist.A half-tracker from Abhishek Nayar disappeared over square leg, and the returning Ryan McLaren, who had delivered Punjab their first breakthrough with the wicket of Tillakaratne Dilshan, was to bear first sight of Gayle’s celebration upon reaching his century. He was hammered over long-on, followed by a disdainful punch through mid-off that brought up the landmark off 46 balls, Gayle’s second this season.Relief came when Gayle holed out to deep midwicket off Chawla, and Kohli was bowled two balls later, but AB de Villiers kept the innings on track with a typically aggressive cameo to leave Punjab with a daunting task. Such was the manner in which Gayle imposed himself, anything else was destined to be a sideshow. Punjab’s innings turned out to be worse – it was a virtual non-event.The signs were there when Gilchrist was brilliantly run out first ball by Asad Pathan while attempting a quick single, and as is the case in games decided by individuals, it wasn’t long before Gayle stepped in. He cast aside his usually calm, sober self and reveled at every Punjab misfortune wrought by his offspin. Paul Valthaty spooned one to square leg, Dinesh Karthik was trapped in front and Chawla yorked. As Punjab limped towards a fourth defeat in a row, Gayle stood out amid the celebrations, fluttering curls, locomotive moves and all.