NEWS
OTHER SPORTS
DIARY
PEOPLE
MATCH REPORTS
SLIDE SHOW
ARCHIVES

First innings will prove crucial in Asian Test Championship

The three teams -- India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka -- in the inaugural Asian Test Championship, starting in Calcutta next Tuesday, will net a maximum of 20 points from each of their two league matches, of which 12 will be for a win and the rest as bonuses. There will be no points for a draw, but bonus points will be added.

If the final Test is drawn, the team with a better scorecard of bonus points will be declared the champion.

According to the format drawn up by a committee comprising Sunil Gavaskar (India), Majid Khan (Pakistan) and Ranjit Fernando (Sri Lanka), four batting points will be allotted for 350 or more runs in the first innings, three points for 300, two for 225, and one for 150, provided these targets are achieved in 100 overs.

Similarly, the team claiming nine to ten wickets, seven to eight wickets, five to six wickets and three to four wickets in the first 100 overs of the first innings will be richer by four, three, two and one point respectively.

The two teams with the better points tally will clash in the final at Dhaka from March 12 to 16.

If at the end of the three league matches -- India versus Pakistan at Calcutta from February 16, Pakistan vs Sri Lanka at Lahore from March 4, and India vs Sri Lanka at Colombo from February 24 -- the teams are level on points, the teams with better run-rates in the first 100 overs of the first innings of their two matches will enter the final.

If the teams are level on run-rate as well, the teams that claimed the most wickets in the first 100 overs of the first innings will qualify.

If there is still no clear indication, the teams with better net run-rates in the first innings in the league matches will qualify.

If the final Test is drawn, but both teams have completed their first innings, the team with more bonus points in the match will win. If they are level on points, the team with the better run-rate in the first 100 overs of the first innings will win. If that does not help, the result will be decided by the number of wickets claimed in the first 100 overs of the first innings. It that too fails, the team with the better net run rate in the first 100 overs of the first innings will win.

All else failing, there will be a toss for the winner of the Coca-Cola Cup.

If the final is drawn without the first innings being completed, the winner will be determined by the number of points, both in terms of bonuses and wins, accumulated from the league phase.

The second innings and individual performances will have no significance.

UNI