**Official** Indian Domestic Season 2013/14

[Arjun]

A strong case exists for Ishank Jaggi and Saurabh Tiwary to play ODIs for India, going by their scores in this OD. Jaggi, opening the innings, scored a rapid 141, while Tiwary, at four, narrowly missed his fifty.

Now both are out. Jharkhand, chasing Karnataka's 323, are at 260/4, all of their top four back in the hut. Eight overs left, 63 to win. Edit: Nine runs later, Vinay Kumar takes two more in his tenth over.

 

[Arjun]

Now the other match is coming close to innings break. May be sooner, as the Railways bowlers are choking Bengal- currently at 185/9. Yes, I know Eden is now a seamers' paradise, but Railways' in-form bowler, Anureet, isn't gobbling up too many wickets. I suspect poor batting from Bengal. Railways can win this one with some ease, unless they throw their wickets away as loosely.

Neither of these semis will decide the winner before the finals. All four teams are equally competitive. Already Karnataka vs Jharkhand, on a flat Kolkata pitch and likely on a tiny ground, is already a close game going all the way to the final over.

 

[Arjun]

It's a Karnataka-Railways final. Nobody from Railways figures in the top ten run-scorers chart, and they have only Anureet Singh in the top ten wickets, who's still way behind Vinay Kumar. However, most of their success has been in the day-nighters at Eden Gardens, when the pitch is slow and sticky, or loaded for seamers. They often succeed in low-scoring encounters, and have taken down some relatively strong batting sides, but Karnataka have had much better batting figures across the event, so this will be a match worth watching. Then again, they have played a lot on flat decks, which explains their dire bowling figures beyond Vinay Kumar and Mithun. Strangely, Sharath, who was very nippy and productive in Ranji, has been reduced to a containing bowler here- with a poor return of three wickets in five games, apart from a decent economy.

Catch the live on the STAR Sports Network- sadly, it has been priced out of reach here. I find their prices ridiculously excessive.

In another pitch, Robin Uthappa should open for India in ODIs, based on his statistics in the last three years- 34 matches, 1734 runs, average of 54, eight centuries, five fifties. Seriously good figures.

 

[karan316]

In another pitch, Robin Uthappa should open for India in ODIs, based on his statistics in the last three years- 34 matches, 1734 runs, average of 54, eight centuries, five fifties. Seriously good figures.

You can ask this to MSD n co.
"Are you worried that Uthappa will score runs so that your favourites who are not consistent might have to make way?"

 

[Arjun]

Karnataka all the way. Bowled Railways out for 157, not without partnerships formed by Jonathan with the lower order. Off to a rapid start in the chase.

Not. Already five down for 61, with an attempt by Vinay Kumar at pinch-hitting not coming off. Karnataka the team to root for. They've got actual India prospects in their ranks.

You can ask this to MSD n co.
"Are you worried that Uthappa will score runs so that your favourites who are not consistent might have to make way?"

Dhoni's answer will simply be "Uthappa doesn't somehow fit in the scheme of things in the Indian side", much like "Pandey is a little too raw to play for India".

 

[karan316]

Dhoni's answer will simply be "Uthappa doesn't somehow fit in the scheme of things in the Indian side", much like "Pandey is a little too raw to play for India".

Uthappa's record under Dravid:
13 innings , 409 runs at a strike rate of 103.28 and an average of 34.08(usually opened the innings and was tried at number 7/6 a couple of times to see if he fits)

Uthappa's record under Dhoni:
22 innings, 377 runs at a strike rate of 82.13 and an average of 22.17

Changes in his batting position under Dhoni:
3,3,6,5,7,5,6,7,6,3,7,7,7,3,7,1,1,1,6,2,7.

Why don't we see such things happen to a Raina or Rohit? They play at a particular position for a long time and get enough chances. In fact MSD even insisted that Raina should be batting higher up the order so that he gets "more time" in the middle. Raina is not known for playing big innings, and is pretty useful down the order, he is able to score those vital 30-40 runs in quick time. But MSD wants to make him bat higher to provided him an even better opportunity despite of no consistent big scores from Raina.

I have no doubt over Raina's talent, or even Rohit. But when you pick a youngster, he deserves a few consistent chances to actually judge how good he is. There is a difference in a way a few youngsters(MSD's favorites/friends) are treated as compared to others.

Ishwar Pandey didn't get a game despite of so many occasions where he could have been tested. Pujara is been deliberately ignored for ODIs, if he does well, no slot will be left for Raina who is axed from the ODI side(and will be back in no time). Rasool also didn't get a game, he is a threat to Jadeja and Ashwin in the ODI side. Some players are shielded, given all the opportunities and stuck with while some are ignored or not handled well.

 

[Prince EWS]

The thing is, I think India are actually pretty well-served for top 3 ODI options. Rohit's kind of frustrating sometimes but he's done well overall, and Dhawan/Kohli aren't under any pressure. Beyond that there's Pujara as well. What India are lacking are some blokes who can bat in the middle order to replace the dropped Raina and Yuvraj - looking at #4-6 - and Uthappa doesn't quite fit that. Kohli could bat four at a pinch but it'd take a brave man to actually move him from where he is.

 

[karan316]

The thing is, I think India are actually pretty well-served for top 3 ODI options. Rohit's kind of frustrating sometimes but he's done well overall, and Dhawan/Kohli aren't under any pressure. Beyond that there's Pujara as well. What India are lacking are some blokes who can bat in the middle order to replace the dropped Raina and Yuvraj - looking at #4-6 - and Uthappa doesn't quite fit that. Kohli could bat four at a pinch but it'd take a brave man to actually move him from where he is.

M not talking about the current scenario, m talking about the way Uthappa was handled by MSD, and even if you talk about the situation right now, I don't think Rohit Sharma is the best opener we have, whenever there is some help for the bowlers, he literally starts blocking and consumes too many deliveries and leaves a big mess for others, Rohit is better suited in the middle order. Uthappa is a lot better option for the opening slot.

 

[Arjun]

Uthappa-Dhawan-Kohli-Jadhav-Rohit/Jaggi is a strong top five in ODIs. Conserve Rahane and maybe Pujara for Tests, or play Pujara at three and move the rest down and conserve Rohit for Tests. Still a strong top five.

 

[karan316]

Uthappa-Dhawan-Kohli-Jadhav-Rohit/Jaggi is a strong top five in ODIs. Conserve Rahane and maybe Pujara for Tests, or play Pujara at three and move the rest down and conserve Rohit for Tests. Still a strong top five.

Rahane is not the best LO player out of the available options. He should definitely be in the test side, but there are better options for ODIs and T20s.

 

[Daemon]

Rayudu's not great but he hasn't done much wrong so far. Not sure why everyone is so keen to drop him.

 

[Arjun]

Rayudu has been rather poor in ODIs. Poor strike rate, poor conversion rate, and he's not even the best OD batsman in India. Compare Rayudu's OD figures with those of Pujara or Kedar Jadhav or Ishank Jaggi, or (the worst of the best) Saurabh Tiwary,and you'll get an idea. How he got as far as the Indian ODI team is a mystery.

               Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St
[b]Rayudu		76	70	7	2262	117	35.90			1	18			29	0[/b]
Pujara		68	68	14	2947	158*	54.57			9	18			28	0
Jadhav		48	47	9	1844	141	48.52	1754	105.13	4	12	185	38	22	0
Jaggi 		47	46	6	2140	159*	53.50	2625	81.52	6	12	212	26	14	0
SS Tiwary	47	45	9	1671	112*	46.41	2090	79.95	1	13	163	18	27	0

 

[Arjun]

Time for more Karnataka players to figure in the Indian team? Ranji Trophy win, Irani Trophy win, Hazare Trophy win, and possibly SMA Trophy win (but it's usually a mess), though no IPL title as they've been scattered all over the country, except in the Bangalore team.

We've already seen a case for Uthappa as an ODI/T20I opener. Vinay Kumar may seal his place as a limited-overs specialist, and can also score some quick lower-order runs. Mithun, though, I'm not so optimistic, although he's had a good last 32 ODs (includes a dire 2012-13 season), with 52 wickets at a decent average (28)/SR (32) combo. The others doing well (Ganesh Sathish, Rahul, Gopal, Karun Nair, Abrar Kazi) are a little too young, and will need more match experience, and India A spots are there for the taking. Not so sure about Roger Binny Jr, as though he's an all-rounder, he's not a strike bowler. Definitely the team to pick from, for a better Indian team.

 

[karan316]

Rayudu has been rather poor in ODIs. Poor strike rate, poor conversion rate, and he's not even the best OD batsman in India. Compare Rayudu's OD figures with those of Pujara or Kedar Jadhav or Ishank Jaggi, or (the worst of the best) Saurabh Tiwary,and you'll get an idea. How he got as far as the Indian ODI team is a mystery.

               Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St
[b]Rayudu		76	70	7	2262	117	35.90			1	18			29	0[/b]
Pujara		68	68	14	2947	158*	54.57			9	18			28	0
Jadhav		48	47	9	1844	141	48.52	1754	105.13	4	12	185	38	22	0
Jaggi 		47	46	6	2140	159*	53.50	2625	81.52	6	12	212	26	14	0
SS Tiwary	47	45	9	1671	112*	46.41	2090	79.95	1	13	163	18	27	0

Exactly, Rayudu has a very good temperament which is the best part about his batting, but his selection remains a mystery since he hasn't been so exceptional in domestic matches.

 

[Daemon]

Indian selectors rarely select anyone for limited overs cricket based on their domestic performances in the Vijay Hazare or SMAT. Could have been his strong IPL and Ranji season in 2013.

 

[Arjun]

Rayudu is not even in the top 20 in either the Ranji 2012-13 season (his one exceptionally good season) or the 2012 IPL. Plenty of other performers in both spaces (Mandeep Singh in IPL, Paras Dogra in Ranji) have been ignored. He's been just average, not converting starts into big scores, and not scoring quick enough to be useful in ODs. There must be something special in him that they're banking on, to come good, but when Rayudu's in the XI, it's not a full XI.

 

[Daemon]

Yeah I gotta agree actually. I thought he had been doing better domestically.

 

[Arjun]

He has been doing well (average of 60 in Ranji 2012, average of 37 and SR of 132 in IPL 2012), but not exceptionally well. I guess there's something that his supporters in the establishing are waiting for, to click.

 

[G.I.Joe]

A bit of insight into how Dhoni probably picks his bowling attack.

Newspaper says that he batted against Mishra in the nets a couple of days back and hit something crazy like 6 sixes and 4 fours in 10 balls.

One can only assume that he finds Ishant tough to face in the nets.

 

[Daemon]

How can you tell whether they were sixes or fours in the nets?