Sports India

Sourav Ganguly’s miserable run with the willow continued and he made just two runs as Northamptonshire crumbled to 97 for six, chasing a target of 453 on the third day of the Division Two County Championship match against Surrey at Northampton.

Ganguly faced just three balls during his brief stay at the wicket and Northants stared defeat going into the final day with only four wickets in hand and 356 runs still to be made. The former Indian captain, however, gave a better performance with the ball as he took the wicket of Surrey’s century maker Jonathan Batty (133) in his 10 overs, which also included two maidens.

His figures read 10-2-29-1. Earlier, riding on the hundreds made by Batty and Mark Ramprakash (155) — the duo put up 281 runs — Surrey declared their innings at 424 for six. Northants reply got off to a disastrous start as they reeled at 20 for four with Azhar Mahmood and Mohammad Akram taking two wickets each for Surrey. Lance Klusener (42 not out) and Riki Wessels (45) were the only major contributors for Northants. First innings century maker Usman Afzaal was bowled for a duck.