Build-up to Indian Domestic Season 2008-09

[Arjun]

Pujara gets another 300. What are your thoughts on him? Is it time we blood him on the International scene?

And disappointed to see Praveen Kumar missing out in the ODIs.

He's made a habit of scoring triple centuries. He scored two in a row for his club and now this. Like most other batsmen, he needs to play more FC cricket and finish a season with India A before getting an India cap. An India A team with Vijay and Pujara looks strong. He's got all the right raw material for a national prospect.

 

[Arjun]

RT Update

Mumbai thrash Gujarat by an innings and 239 runs.
Scorecard Gujarat following on, was all out for a mere 44. Agarkar, Kulkarni, Powar all took 3 wickets as only one of the Gujarat batsmen managed to get to double figures.

Delicious, if you're a Mumbai supporter. A scratchy win against weak Rajasthan followed by this is a huge step up.

Punjab beat Rajasthan by 9 wickets
Scorecard

Not very interesting, with no international prospects except probably Gagandeep, Gony and Pankaj. Rajasthan still struggle. Surely they need some overseas players, sooner than later. Punjab's lesser players are having a good time out there. Sunny Sohal is scoring over 83 with two centuries already.

 

[Arjun]

other matches?

Baroda vs UP: Cracker of a match. UP gain a lead with a lower-order 50 from Praveen Kumar. Irfan takes one more, so it's six in the match. Chawla has been patchy, but with Praveen Kumar off during his third over, who knows what's next.

TN vs Karnataka: Hungry for runs? Read the first innings of the scorecard. Weird.

Hyderabad vs Delhi: Strangely, nothing registered on the scorecard.

 

[Arjun]

Hungry for an all-round performance and overwhelming innings win? Saurashtra crush Orissa. Cheteshwar Pujara scores a triple century, as we found out then. Ravindra Jadeja scores a double century and then takes a wicket cheaply, then runs through the batting with five wickets. What does Niranjan Shah Jr get? Merely 11 runs!

Baroda vs UP: Looked interesting, and then ended in a tame draw. It was a good match for Irfan and Praveen Kumar, as also the less-fancied Rajesh Pawar, among the all-rounders. No big scores by any batsman, but they all add up to big team scores.

The rest have been boring draws. Will update a little later, if you want. These were the more interesting ones.

 

[Manee]

Alas, judging by the scorecards, it would seem Praveen and Nehra are injured.

 

[Arjun]

Alas, judging by the scorecards, it would seem Praveen and Nehra are injured.

Ouch!!

Anyway, the fully-fit Bhandari opted out of the Delhi squad when he wasn't picked in the last match played. In this article, he complains that he's been humiliated and treated with no respect, despite his seniority in the team. Chief Selector for Delhi, Chetan Chauhan, says he wasn't needed then and would recall him if necessary.

Elsewhere, Rajasthan Cricket Association have dropped their coach Ian Frazer (remember him? apparently a biomechanist for the Indian team in the Chappell era) after two huge defeats. They've appointed a local curator as their coach. These rich boards (Maharashtra being another) have no clue of how to spend their money.

 

[Precambrian]

haha Chappell curse.

 

[Arjun]

Matches to follow for tomorrow:

Delhi vs Mumbai in Delhi:

Once upon a time this was a big rivalry in domestic cricket. Mumbai had dominated this contest [three outright wins and two first-innings lead in five matches] over the last ten years, but their clash last season was different.

In 2007-08, the two played out an interesting game. Delhi shot Mumbai out for 166, but could manage only an 85-run lead. Mumbai came back strongly, scoring 471 in the second innings, and then Delhi batted out more than a day to hang on to the three points they had gained through a first-innings lead. This time, the last two champions could bring the Ranji Trophy to life if they manage a close contest.

Coming into the match, Delhi haven't been playing like defending champions. After having secured three points against Punjab at home, Delhi went to Hyderabad and conceded the first-innings lead to an average side. Fitness problems have affected them, too: comeback man Ashish Nehra strained a hamstring during the second match. They have also dropped Amit Bhandari.

Mumbai have had a superb start to the season. In Dhawal Kulkarni they have found a promising medium-pacer. In Ajit Agarkar and Ramesh Powar, Kulkarni has found ample support. Mumbai have thumped Rajasthan and Gujarat already, and in such form they are a tough team to stop.

Saurashtra v Punjab in Rajkot:

These are two teams on an upswing after disappointing starts to their seasons. In the first round, Saurashtra lost by an innings to Gujarat, and Punjab managed one point against Delhi. In the second, Saurashtra won by an innings against Orissa, and Punjab beat Rajasthan by nine wickets. Now these are two teams who are equal in terms of trends, and in terms of points - tied at six.

Uttar Pradesh v Tamil Nadu in Ghaziabad

This is the top-of-the-table clash in Group B. Both teams have got six points each, courtesy two draws. Numerically they might be in a similar position, but Tamil Nadu have been far more impressive in the early stages. Twice they have enforced follow-ons after huge first-innings scores, but on both occasions they ran out of time - against Maharashtra and Karnataka. Their batting seems to be in superb health, and if their bowlers can work a way to get 20 wickets on a regular basis, they could be a force in the Ranji Trophy again.

UP, on the other hand, have just about hung on, despite an indifferent start to the season. Their batting remains their weak point, and with Suresh Raina gone, Mohammad Kaif and Tanmay Srivastava will have to continue carrying the batting on their shoulders. UP's bowling, with Praveen Kumar, Sudeep Tyagi and Piyush Chawla in the side, versus TN's batting should be a good contest.

Railways v Baroda in Delhi

Both the teams have played only one game each so far, and Railways have had a better start in that one match. They played the one-innings game well, against Karnataka, and went back with three points. But Baroda, semi-finalists for three years in a row, are not a team to be underestimated.

Taken from the Cricinfo page

 

[Arjun]

Get your fresh 'n' hot Ranji scorecards here!!! Look for Nov 16.

 

[Precambrian]

Dravid 39 (90) bowled.

Otherwise eventless day, except for Uthappa who is continuing with his impressive domestic run.

 

[Arjun]

Dravid 39 (90) bowled.

Otherwise eventless day, except for Uthappa who is continuing with his impressive domestic run.

Good to see Irfan among the wickets, though. He's had an impressive run here, and a good season for Baroda and top of the wickets tally could see him back in the Indian Test team. Their spinner, Rajesh Pawar, should surely be in the reckoning for ODIs, if not Tests.

Chawla had a decent outing with the bat, though the rest collapsed around him. The rest? No Kaif, no Raina, not even Praveen Kumar!

Nehra injured, Bhandari opting out and Delhi struggling to take wickets. Rahane keeps it going...

 

[Precambrian]

Good to see Irfan among the wickets, though. He's had an impressive run here, and a good season for Baroda and top of the wickets tally could see him back in the Indian Test team. Their spinner, Rajesh Pawar, should surely be in the reckoning for ODIs, if not Tests.

Chawla had a decent outing with the bat, though the rest collapsed around him. The rest? No Kaif, no Raina, not even Praveen Kumar!

Nehra injured, Bhandari opting out and Delhi struggling to take wickets. Rahane keeps it going...

I don't know why, but I don't want Pathan to be anywhere near the whites. We've had enough of him I guess in the Chappel era. I agree he was MoM at Perth, but somehow him back in the team lends it a negative aura.

My opinions would change if he backs himself with solid performances consistently though

 

[Manee]

I'd be interested to see how he is getting his wickets.

 

[Precambrian]

Balaji , Badri too hopefully can get the first biggie of the season. at Piyush Chawla at No.7.

As for Pathan, typically 3 lbws in those 4 dismissals. Cashed in on a swinging surface I suppose.

"Warne's own" Jadeja continues his form with the ball, 3/49 to peg back Punjab. He is also an exciting talent from Saurashtra besides Pujara.

 

[Manee]

Had a FC strike rate over 100 going into this season, that has obviously taken quite the plunge. And he can bat two, as the double century at the other end of Pujara's triple, and his cameos in the IPL showed.

 

[Precambrian]

Certainly we can do with a hard hitting lower order batsman who can throw handy sla stuff every game in ODIs.

But it's Pujara am looking really forward to. He's been talked about ever since he made his debut, though now only he's getting garguantan scores to back him up. I truly hope his game has no "subcontinental" imperfections, like an awful back foot game etc. which has afflicted other prolific domestic scorers like Jaffer etc.

 

[Arjun]

I don't know why, but I don't want Pathan to be anywhere near the whites. We've had enough of him I guess in the Chappel era. I agree he was MoM at Perth, but somehow him back in the team lends it a negative aura.

My opinions would change if he backs himself with solid performances consistently though

I'd back Pathan for a Test recall on the back of good performances. Back then, he was touted as India's Wasim Akram, and ended up being strike bowler way too early for himself. He has a lot of potential, and he just has to perform, like he is here, and a return to the Test team will help both. In fact, the Test team looks incomplete without him, and will look less complete with a specialist batsman at six/seven. An in-form Irfan is better than no Irfan, any day.

Let's just forget about the Chappell years now, shall we? Too much chaos...

 

[Arjun]

I'd be interested to see how he is getting his wickets.

NEO Sports is covering international matches now, so no scope.

Balaji

We'd love to see him back as well.

@ Piyush Chawla at seven

That UP batting lineup looks weak without Kaif and Raina and even Kumar at nine, but Chawla is an under-rated batsman, and deserves is place at seven. Coming behind a solid top six, he'll be an asset to his team, though you need two such at seven and eight.

Had a FC strike rate over 100 going into this season, that has obviously taken quite the plunge. And he can bat two, as the double century at the other end of Pujara's triple, and his cameos in the IPL showed.

Will we now see him as a frontline spinner? No way! He's only had one good match with the ball, and so far his best performances are coming against relegation-threatened teams. Of course, he's the only all-rounder in Saurashtra, but he's a long way away from playing as one for India, even with the options they have up front. He can bat, but so can Sehwag, Gambhir, Yuvraj, Raina, Kohli and Rohit- and they have their places more or less set in the top six- and a much better pick in Yusuf Pathan is struggling to make that easily available spot.

Certainly we can do with a hard hitting lower order batsman who can throw handy sla stuff every game in ODIs.

Rajesh Pawar is an under-rated batsman and possibly the best left-arm spinner after Murali Kartik, and a lot more effective than Pragyan Ojha.

But it's Pujara am looking really forward to. He's been talked about ever since he made his debut, though now only he's getting garguantan scores to back him up. I truly hope his game has no "subcontinental" imperfections, like an awful back foot game etc. which has afflicted other prolific domestic scorers like Jaffer etc.

Did we catch him in the Challenger series? I've forgotten, and that may be a good thing with that series. Pujara is a much better batsman than has been assumed, but needs a little more time in reserve action before the frontline XI.

 

[honestbharani]

Nice to see Dinesh Karthik back in the runs too, after all that happened in Sri Lanka.. Against a pretty good attack to boot.

 

[Precambrian]

Pujara :

Another big hundred for him against Punjab. 189 off just 250 balls. This guy is screaming for Indian selection with his performances.

Balaji concludes an impressive match with a 9 wicket haul.

Dravid makes a 75 ball 50 in the Karnataka second innings of 171. The pitch is certainly bowler friendly as Saurashtra are 24-4 in the last innings already.