Build-up to Indian Domestic Season 2008-09

[ramkumar_gr]

Please ignore the Challenger Trophy. That's merely a workout for the national team, but has been misused as a selection springboard. I wouldn't be surprised if he made the South Zone team, but not seeing him in the Chennai Super Kings team was surprising.

Ya he played duleep trophy.... yes, it was surprising to see Anirudha selected over M Vijay. Vijay had i think a couple of hunderes in the Ranji ODI trophy as well.....

 

[ramkumar_gr]

i will be looking forward towards my state haryana......
after kapil dev and ajay jadeja .....we hav good players after a long time....
it would be interesting to look at----Joginder Sharma ,Amit Mishra ,Mahesh Rawat....Sachin Rana.....
i don't know if they have contracted any foreign player till now......

we had Chetan Sharma :-)

 

[Jonty Lathwal]

we had Chetan Sharma :-)

yeah bro......was about write but just forgot .....

 

[Arjun]

i will be looking forward towards my state haryana......
after kapil dev and ajay jadeja .....we hav good players after a long time....
it would be interesting to look at----Joginder Sharma ,Amit Mishra ,Mahesh Rawat....Sachin Rana.....
i don't know if they have contracted any foreign player till now......

Haryana is a Plate team. Nothing to look forward to there, except that the Plate league is believed to be a lot more competitive. After all, who doesn't want to be in the Elite league out there?

Good picks, though Amit Mishra is a far more relevant option. He's the best leggie in India after Kumble, and can actually turn the ball. He's a lot better (maybe because he's more experienced) than Chawla, and has done very well for Delhi in IPL. He also adds value to his place by saving a lot of runs on the field and scoring a few from the lower order. Joginder has good stats backing him, which matter, but he'd be more useful as a batsman than as a bowler, and his batting form has deserted him lately. Sachin Rana is a mystery player, who also mysteriously disappeared from contention. Rawat is a half-decent wicketkeeper, and average with the bat, and far behind Ratra, now with Goa.

They need a top international batsman. Mohammed Yousuf will be ideal. He can save himself the legal hassles of the ICL-IPL clash and do well for himself and his team. Among locals, they can choose Akash Chopra, Niraj Patel and Amit Bhandari. Their batting will still look a little thin.

 

[Jonty Lathwal]

They need a top international batsman. Mohammed Yousuf will be ideal. He can save himself the legal hassles of the ICL-IPL clash and do well for himself and his team.

u mean haryana has signed Mohd. Yousuf ....really????

 

[Jonty Lathwal]

Haryana have talented batsman like Shafik Khan..Manish Rhedu .....Nitin Saini .......Sunny Singh.........but they are not consistent....

 

[Arjun]

u mean haryana has signed Mohd. Yousuf ....really????

Not official, but that's one recommended signing for them.

 

[Arjun]

Haryana have talented batsman like Shafik Khan..Manish Rhedu .....Nitin Saini .......Sunny Singh.........but they are not consistent....

Shafik Khan was once a regular, but doesn't play much for them now. I wonder, has he shifted to ICL? If not, it's a boost for them. I've never heard of Manish Rhedu, and Sunny Singh is a product of the U-19 team. Nitin Saini hasn't done anything of note, but I haven't seen him play. Then there's that opening pair from the 2003-04 season who played well to take Haryana to win the Plate league. Wonder where they went, as their replacements are no good.

 

[ramkumar_gr]

Shafik Khan was once a regular, but doesn't play much for them now. I wonder, has he shifted to ICL? If not, it's a boost for them. I've never heard of Manish Rhedu, and Sunny Singh is a product of the U-19 team. Nitin Saini hasn't done anything of note, but I haven't seen him play. Then there's that opening pair from the 2003-04 season who played well to take Haryana to win the Plate league. Wonder where they went, as their replacements are no good.

Shafiq Khan was very consistent at one point of time... faded away sadly... now he is confined to playing league/club cricket in Chennai..

 

[ramkumar_gr]

yeah bro......was about write but just forgot .....

i also rate Amarjeet Kaypee very highly , one of those unfortunate guys not to have played for India.. in the same league as Sharath, Bhaskar Pillai, Sugwekar..............

 

[Arjun]

A probable, Sachin-less ROI team to take the field?

• Jaffer
• Dravid
• Laxman
• Badrinath
• Kaif
• Dhoni (WK)
• Kumble (LBG)
• Harbhajan (OB)
• Zaheer (LFM)
• Munaf (RMF)
• Dinda (RFM)/Patel (opens the innings? Oh well)

There were not enough batsmen to pick anyway, so the tail looks a little long. The lack of an opener is a problem here, as also the lack of an all-rounder.

STRENGTHS:

• This is more or less a Test XI for India.
• Kumble, Harbhajan and Zaheer are the most accomplished bowlers for India and they play together here.
• A middle-order (to top?) of Dravid, Laxman and Badrinath is formidable.
• Dhoni has a point to prove as a Test batsman.

WEAKNESSES:

• The team is a little insecure on form.
• If they play four bowlers, they will struggle to take 20 wickets, and there's no batsman who'll fill in for the extra bowler.
• They don't have a second opener! The wicketkeeper is not much of an option.
• They're a little weak on the field.
• Their bowlers are not in good form with the bat, or can't bat at all- which is why they have to play one less.

OBJECTIVES:

• The strong middle-order returns to form.
• They score loads of runs even without Tendulkar, to wipe out the no-Tendulkar effect that often happens.
• If a fifth bowler appears, take 20 Delhi wickets at all costs.
• Kumble should get back to wicket-taking form.

 

[Arjun]

It's an easy guess what the Delhi team will look like, and ideally, it should be the same team from the Mohammad Nissar Trophy.

STRENGTHS:

• They have India's current top order, which has often scored well in Tests.
• They have a middle-order with Chopra and Kohli, in good form after the Mohammed Nissar Trophy match.
• A bowling combination of Nehra, Ishant and Sangwan is quite powerful.
• They are well-balanced with Rajat Bhatia bowling seam-up and wicketkeeper Bhisht scoring reasonably well.
• They're also good on the field, collectively.
• Their spinner may be a surprise package in a match.

WEAKNESSES:

• They're facing a virtual Test XI. Will they match them? Some players in this team are greenhorns, and a few more experienced players haven't played Test cricket at all, let alone lately.
• They too have a weak tail- their bottom four offer no run-scoring options, and Bhisht at seven isn't too productive.
• Sangwan may be taken for more than a few runs.
• Their reserves won't be expected to make any real impact on a match.

OBJECTIVES:

• This is a good bowling combination. They should make the most of it by taking 20 ROI wickets.
• Sehwag and Gambhir should put together a double-century partnership.
• They make the most of their superior fielding unit.
• Ishant takes five in an innings, or even ten in this match.

Much as we'd be relieved if ROI won as they'd be ready for action, I'd rather root for Delhi because they are a better-assembled team, and if they win, they'd show what the current Indian team lacks that they may have.

 

[Arjun]

Game on. Rest Of India bat first.

Rest Of India have picked five bowlers, and Dravid opens the innings. Decent stuff so far, though no runs.

Nehra was tight, giving little away. Ishant was initially a little loose, but got tighter a little later. The lack of pace is evident here. As also the red caps for the Delhi players.

Even as I type, Jaffer pushes gently to off-side to score two runs.

There's hardly any swing early on, especially on this wicket. They're bowling flat here.

 

[Arjun]

Ishant is wasting deliveries down the off side, even as he's getting faster with every delivery. Nehra is bowling tight, but still slow. It took a while for Dravid to get off the mark.

 

[Arjun]

Edgy running...Dravid was almost run-out in a mix-up, but a weak throw that was slow and off target saved him.

 

[gettingbetter]

From Cricinfo Bhatia is bowling around the 100kmph mark and that ball didn't bounce much, and this guy averages under 22.

 

[Dasa]

A really interesting interview with Aakash Chopra here.

Edit. Just noticed SS already posted it in the ***Official Australia in India*** thread.

 

[Arjun]

I'm watching highlights, and it's an uncomfortable experience with the boxy, draggy, three-frames-a-second signal.

Jaffer looked elegant and batted cleanly, and then he played a false shot to get out to Nanda. The batsmen looked a litle clueless against him, though he was inconsistent and struggled to maintain a line and length.

Dravid and Badri played a dogged, gritty innings. It may be another way to say they played out loads of dot balls. They picked Nanda quite well, but for no runs. I'm still watching, so I'll add more later.

 

[honestbharani]

Delhi bowled out for 170 odd..


Rest now rubbing it in at 92/1..

 

[Manee]

I told you guys Munaf Patel is a good bowler in the longer format, but did you listen?