Indian domestic season 2005-06

[Arjun]

FOUR RESLTS......and ONE UPSET AMONG THEM!

Maharashtra have defeated group leaders Mumbai by 65 runs! Munaf Patel took 4 wickets, to add to his five in the first innings and 59 runs to make an impact in this match. Ramesh Powar also scored 78 in the first innings, but didn't last long this time. Bahutule took four wickets to mop up the tail. This has ended Maharashtra's inconsistent season on a high. They were on the verge of relegation, and now they've finished the tournament (they didn't make the semis) defeating the two-time champions and group leaders.

Baroda have defeated Hyderabad by 221 runs. Yusuf Pathan took five wickets, doing a star turn in the absence of Zaheer, Irfan, Rakesh Patel and Rajesh Pawar. This adds to his 3 wickets in the first innings and the 72 runs he scored. Other major contributors were Connor Williams (86) and Kiran Powar (94), and this was a major improvement over the match against Services.

Gujarat defeated Karnataka by 4 wickets, with Siddharth Trivedi taking 8 wickets in the matc being the only highlight.

Uttar Pradesh defeated Andhra by 10 wickets. Doing the star turn were leggie Piyush Chawla who took 5 wickets in he second innings. The outstanding performer, however, was Pravin Kumar, who smashed 72 in 57 balls an then took 5 wickets– he took 6 in all. They stand a good chance of making the semis.

 

[TIF]

FOUR RESLTS......and ONE UPSET AMONG THEM!

Maharashtra have defeated group leaders Mumbai by 65 runs! Munaf Patel took 4 wickets, to add to his five in the first innings and 59 runs to make an impact in this match. Ramesh Powar also scored 78 in the first innings, but didn't last long this time. Bahutule took four wickets to mop up the tail. This has ended Maharashtra's inconsistent season on a high. They were on the verge of relegation, and now they've finished the tournament (they didn't make the semis) defeating the two-time champions and group leaders.

Baroda have defeated Hyderabad by 221 runs. Yusuf Pathan took five wickets, doing a star turn in the absence of Zaheer, Irfan, Rakesh Patel and Rajesh Pawar. This adds to his 3 wickets in the first innings and the 72 runs he scored. Other major contributors were Connor Williams (86) and Kiran Powar (94), and this was a major improvement over the match against Services.

Gujarat defeated Karnataka by 4 wickets, with Siddharth Trivedi taking 8 wickets in the matc being the only highlight.

Uttar Pradesh defeated Andhra by 10 wickets. Doing the star turn were leggie Piyush Chawla who took 5 wickets in he second innings. The outstanding performer, however, was Pravin Kumar, who smashed 72 in 57 balls an then took 5 wickets– he took 6 in all. They stand a good chance of making the semis.

Wrong info about UP v Andhra match there.

Pravin Kumar, smashed 78 off 68 balls in the 1st innings with 4 6s and has taken 10 wickets in this match including 5/73 in the 1st innings and 5/87 in the 2nd innings. UP are 127/2 at lunch with once again Pravin Kumar cracking 57 off 58 balls with 2 6s. UP, still need another 24 runs with 8 wickets in hand.

 

[Arjun]

Hard luck, Haryana. Services ar at 258/5, at lunch on Day Four. Spinners Amit Mishra and Gaurav Vashisht have already taken 3 wickets. The newly promoted Northern team have finished well, but have to do better next season to make the semis. It's a good season for all-rounder Joginder Sharma, who's been a leading wicket-taker in this series, but after the semis, Ramesh Powar is most likely to overtake him.

 

[Arjun]

UP have won by 8 wickets. Not too tough, as Kaif and Raina hung on. Now, while all eyes were on Piyush Chawla, a certain Pravin Kumar stole the show, with bat and ball.

 

[Arjun]

What more does Munaf Patel have to do to make the Indian Test and ODI side? He's had a hand in Maharashtra's turnaround in fortunes this season and has been among the top bowlers so far. He's taken two five-wicket hauls, against Mumbai and Railways, no less. Being a strike bowler for his team, he is their sixth (or fifth) highest run-scorer, mostly in fours and sixes– and he's no Ramesh Powar, who slogs like crazy– he hits thm clean. His fitness has been a lot better since his transfer here from Mumbai. The Indians could do with a player like him, and Agarkar's performance so far (not to mention the absence of a third seamer and lack of power) has been a screaming cause for his inclusion in the national team. Rush him in!!! Hopefully we'll see this power player in the home series agains England. He can make a difference to this Indian team.

 

[Jungle Jumbo]

Pratyush told me about Jhunjhunwala a few weeks back - looks a good talent, and got 130 odd to get Bengal into the semis today (they chased 303 to be Railways).

Anyone got any proper info on him? (other than cricinfo)

 

[Pratters]

Jhunjhunwala sparkling at club level which may have propelled him to state selection -
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050523/asp/sports/story_4774902.asp

 

[adharcric]

What more does Munaf Patel have to do to make the Indian Test and ODI side? He's had a hand in Maharashtra's turnaround in fortunes this season and has been among the top bowlers so far. He's taken two five-wicket hauls, against Mumbai and Railways, no less. Being a strike bowler for his team, he is their sixth (or fifth) highest run-scorer, mostly in fours and sixes– and he's no Ramesh Powar, who slogs like crazy– he hits thm clean. His fitness has been a lot better since his transfer here from Mumbai. The Indians could do with a player like him, and Agarkar's performance so far (not to mention the absence of a third seamer and lack of power) has been a screaming cause for his inclusion in the national team. Rush him in!!! Hopefully we'll see this power player in the home series agains England. He can make a difference to this Indian team.

The way the first day of play went, hopefully we'll see him against pakistan itself, in the one-dayers.

 

[Arjun]

Ranji One-dayer schedule

Central Zone League

10 Feb Madhya Pradesh v Rajasthan Jaipur
10 Feb Railways v Vidarbha Jaipur
11 Feb Railways v Rajasthan Jaipur
11 Feb Uttar Pradesh v Vidarbha Jaipur
12 Feb Rajasthan v Vidarbha Jaipur
12 Feb Madhya Pradesh v Uttar Pradesh Jaipur
14 Feb Railways v Madhya Pradesh Jaipur
14 Feb Rajasthan v Uttar Pradesh Jaipur
15 Feb Madhya Pradesh v Vidarbha Jaipur
15 Feb Railways v Uttar Pradesh Jaipur

East Zone League

11 Feb Bengal v Tripura Jamshedpur
11 Feb Jharkhand v Orissa Jamshedpur
13 Feb Bengal v Jharkhand Jamshedpur
13 Feb Assam v Tripura Jamshedpur
15 Feb Assam v Orrisa Jamshedpur
15 Feb Jharkhand v Tripura Jamshedpur
17 Feb Assam v Bengal Jamshedpur
17 Feb Orissa v Tripura Jamshedpur
19 Feb Bengal v Orissa Jamshedpur
19 Feb Assam v Jharkhand Jamshedpur

North Zone League

10 Feb Haryana v Punjab Delhi
10 Feb Himchal Pradesh v Services Delhi
10 Feb Delhi v Jammu & Kashmir Delhi
12 Feb Delhi v Punjab Delhi
12 Feb Haryana v Himachal Pradesh Delhi
12 Feb Jammu & Kashmir v Services Delhi
14 Feb Delhi v Himchal Pradesh Delhi
14 Feb Jammu & Kashmi v Punjab Delhi
14 Feb Haryana v Services Delhi
16 Feb Himchal Pradesh v Jammu & Kashmir Delhi
16 Feb Delhi v Haryana Delhi
16 Feb Punjab v Services Delhi
18 Feb Himchal Pradesh v Punjab Delhi
18 Feb Haryana v Jammu & Kashmir Delhi
18 Feb Delhi v Services Delhi

South Zone League

10 Feb Tamil Nadu v Kerala Hyderabad
10 Feb Hyderabad v Karnataka Hyderabad
10 Feb Andhra v Goa Hyderabad
11 Feb Goa v Tamil Nadu Hyderabad
11 Feb Andhra v Hyderabad Hyderabad
11 Feb Karnataka v Kerala Hyderabad
13 Feb Goa v Kerala Hyderabad
13 Feb Hyderabad v Tamil Nadu Hyderabad
13 Feb Andhra v Karnataka Hyderabad
14 Feb Andhra v Tamil Nadu Hyderabad
14 Feb Karnataka v Goa Hyderabad
14 Feb Kerala v Hyderabad Hyderabad
16 Feb Andhra v Kerala Hyderabad `
16 Feb Karnataka v Tamil Nadu Hyderabad
16 Feb Goa v Hyderabad Hyderabad

West Zone League

10 Feb Baroda v Mumbai Baroda
10 Feb Gujarat v Maharashtra Baroda
12 Feb Maharashtra v Saurashtra Baroda
12 Feb Gujarat v Mumbai Baroda
14 Feb Mumbai v Saurashtra Baroda
14 Feb Baroda v Gujarat Baroda
16 Feb Baroda v Saurashtra Baroda
16 Feb Maharashtra v Mumbai Baroda
18 Feb Baroda v Maharashtra Baroda
18 Feb Gujarat v Saurashtra Baroda

 

[honestbharani]

Pratyush told me about Jhunjhunwala a few weeks back - looks a good talent, and got 130 odd to get Bengal into the semis today (they chased 303 to be Railways).

Anyone got any proper info on him? (other than cricinfo)

I say let us select him for the Indian side. Let us see if that takes away the "Ganguly infatuation"

 

[adharcric]

In my opinion, this is the ideal one-day squad for India by the end of this year and for the 2007 World Cup.

Rahul Dravid*
Virender Sehwag
Sachin Tendulkar
Gautam Gambhir
Mohammad Kaif
Yuvraj Singh
Suresh Raina
Mahendra Singh Dhoni+
Joginder Sharma / Jai Prakash Yadav
Irfan Pathan
Munaf Patel
Vikram Rajvir Singh
Rudra Pratap Singh
Harbhajan Singh
Piyush Chawla / Amit Mishra / Ramesh Powar

This is a very balanced side. Sehwag and Tendulkar should continue as the regular openers in the playing XI. From there onwards, Chappell and Dravid should persist with the flexible-order policy but a regular batting lineup can be established. Kaif will be a mainstay in the one-day side and he should be given an opportunity to make the #3 spot his own. Dravid should come in at #4 but he can easily shift up or down the order depending upon the situation at hand. Yuvraj should come in at #5 and Dhoni at #6.

Irfan Pathan should come in at #7 or #8 and spearhead the bowling attack. Opening the bowling with him should be either VR Singh or Munaf Patel. Harbhajan Singh should be the first-choice spinner and obviously a tailender. If the pitch suits spinners, Chawla/Mishra/Powar should be included as all are regular leg-spinners who can contribute with the bat as well. In this case, the first-change bowler should be either RP Singh, whichever of Munaf/VRV isn't opening or Sharma/Yadav. If the pitch suits seamers more, the first-change bowler should be either RP Singh or Munaf/VRV. Sharma/Yadav will be included as the 4th seamer and occupy the #7 spot in this case.

The supersub should be Gautam Gambhir or Suresh Raina, both of whom are excellent fielders and batsmen with expansive strokeplay. Your thoughts??

 

[Arjun]

Irfan Pathan should come in at #7 or #8 and spearhead the bowling attack. Opening the bowling with him should be either VR Singh or Munaf Patel..... In this case, the first-change bowler should be either RP Singh, whichever of Munaf/VRV isn't opening or Sharma/Yadav. If the pitch suits seamers more, the first-change bowler should be either RP Singh or Munaf/VRV. Sharma/Yadav will be included as the 4th seamer and occupy the #7 spot in this case.

Actually, Munaf sould be grouped alongside JP Yadav and Joginder Sharma. He's a very under-rated batsman, and fans/experts who have seen him in action say that he hits the big shots clean and hard, unlike tailenders and wicketkeepers. Given his build and the way he bats, he could be India's answer to Justin Kemp. Joginder Sharma has old-ball issues and would be a waste coming in first-change or second-change. He's a very good outswing bowler, so it makes sense to play him as an opening bowler. All three of them are worth a try as full-time stock bowlers and lower middle-order batsmen or hitters. Sreesanth should also be considered, unless you're serious about the backup all-rounder. Otherwise, that's a good squad you've picked, and they will be very effective on the field.

But.......we have yet to see what Sreesanth, Abid Nabi and Pravin Kumar can do. A good show by any of them can add more options for the selectors.

 

[adharcric]

Actually, Munaf sould be grouped alongside JP Yadav and Joginder Sharma. He's a very under-rated batsman, and fans/experts who have seen him in action say that he hits the big shots clean and hard, unlike tailenders and wicketkeepers. Given his build and the way he bats, he could be India's answer to Justin Kemp. Joginder Sharma has old-ball issues and would be a waste coming in first-change or second-change. He's a very good outswing bowler, so it makes sense to play him as an opening bowler. All three of them are worth a try as full-time stock bowlers and lower middle-order batsmen or hitters. Sreesanth should also be considered, unless you're serious about the backup all-rounder. Otherwise, that's a good squad you've picked, and they will be very effective on the field.

But.......we have yet to see what Sreesanth, Abid Nabi and Pravin Kumar can do. A good show by any of them can add more options for the selectors.

But Pathan will open and so will VRV Singh (being a speedster) right? If VRV doesn't open, you'd want Munaf opening. Then are Joginder and JP not viable options simply because they might not be opening the attack for the national team?

 

[Arjun]

But Pathan will open and so will VRV Singh (being a speedster) right? If VRV doesn't open, you'd want Munaf opening. Then are Joginder and JP not viable options simply because they might not be opening the attack for the national team?

Munaf has done well as a change bowler, but his best performances have come opening the bowling. That said, you pick an attack of Irfan, VRV and Munaf, as well as RP Singh as fourth seamer, and you would have a multi-functional pace attack. Not too bad. Here's what yu have:

• Irfan– Swing bowler who can move the ball into the batsman. But what happened to his pace? Useful with the new ball, struggles when it gets old.[*]Munaf Patel– Pace bowler with more pace than the usual contender for the Indian side. Can be used to get a little movement off the pitch, which will be quite a handful when coming in at extra pace. Use in short bursts.[*]VR Singh– The cannon or battering ram act in this bowling attack. Bowling with pace, he should try to (literally) wreck a batting lineup. A fight-everything-with-fire option.[*]Joginder Sharma– He got six wickets recently, bowling second-change. Then again, it was a Zimbabwe Reserve team. Still, we need to see how he performs in the ROD series starting in the second week of February, but he'll still open the bowling. He's an outswing bowler, but bowls a lot straighter than Balaji, who was a regular in the Indian ODI side recently. Needs a little more pace.[*]JP Yadav– Tries all sorts of tricks with the ball. Swings it both ways, and also moves it off the pitch. He uses more than a few variations, and doesn't stray in line and length much– not as much as Irfan or Agarkar or Zaheer. There is a problem– he lacks pace. Then again, so do all pacers currently playing for India. The biomech team will have a job to do.[*]Sreesnath– He's very flexible, but not built like a Mr. India contestant. Bowls fast and moves it off the pitch a little. Yorkers are quite effective. Can come useful in the final overs. Watches his step, as well as line and length, but a bowler of his style will get hit for more than a few fours, so the extra wicket counts.[*]RP Singh– Not as fast, but decent pace. Bowls very well with the old ball. Watch out for wides, though. In good form in ODI's so far.

 

[Arjun]

You can also consider Yusuf Pathan as a leg-spinner and support bowler for Harbhajan, especially if you need variety in the attack. He's also a better batsman, with a style similar to Pietersen and Kemp, and not a half-slogger like Powar. His height can help extract bounce from the pitch, and he can turn the ball a little too– not too much, but Kumble himself wasn't one who turned the ball a great deal, and he's been one of India's best ODI bowlers. His fielding is quite good– he's not a Jonty Rhodes, but he's certainly no Kumble on the field. He's had an average of 40 (fifth highest for his team, with a strike rate of– believe it or not– 77.7) with two over 50, and taken 18 wickets (third-highest for his team) at an average of 31.5– not quite a world-beater, but a good stock bowler for ODI's. And a very hard hitter of the ball. That said, if you can have three right-arm seamers, why not two off-spinners?

 

[Deja moo]

The last thing we need is a support bowler for Harbhajan, Arjun, considering that Harbhajan himself seems to be playing the role of a purely containing bowler over the past year, bar a couple of occasions. Is Amit Mishra any good now ?

 

[Arjun]

Harbhajan is at his best when he's an attacking bowler. We've seen that in Tests and more than a few ODI's. He's had to be a containing bowler mostly because that gang of part-time pie chuckers and (often) one of the frontliners would end up conceding a few runs too many. He and Kumble bowl well in tandem, so playing a stock spinner who keeps an end dry will encourage him to attack a lot more often. Besides, it's a valid alternative to playing four seamers.

 

[adharcric]

You can also consider Yusuf Pathan as a leg-spinner and support bowler for Harbhajan, especially if you need variety in the attack. He's also a better batsman, with a style similar to Pietersen and Kemp, and not a half-slogger like Powar. His height can help extract bounce from the pitch, and he can turn the ball a little too– not too much, but Kumble himself wasn't one who turned the ball a great deal, and he's been one of India's best ODI bowlers. His fielding is quite good– he's not a Jonty Rhodes, but he's certainly no Kumble on the field. He's had an average of 40 (fifth highest for his team, with a strike rate of– believe it or not– 77.7) with two over 50, and taken 18 wickets (third-highest for his team) at an average of 31.5– not quite a world-beater, but a good stock bowler for ODI's. And a very hard hitter of the ball. That said, if you can have three right-arm seamers, why not two off-spinners?

Sure, that might be an option. I'd still prefer Chawla or Mishra or Powar, but you claim the latter is purely a slogger. If we include a 5th bowler (2nd spinner), he should be a big wicket-taking option. I'm not convinced Yusuf Pathan is that at the moment. The other three definitely are.

 

[Arjun]

Sure, that might be an option. I'd still prefer Chawla or Mishra or Powar, but you claim the latter is purely a slogger. If we include a 5th bowler (2nd spinner), he should be a big wicket-taking option. I'm not convinced Yusuf Pathan is that at the moment. The other three definitely are.

• Powar mat purely be a slogger, but that will work in the final overs. He still gets runs. Yusuf Pathan would be more effective with the bat, though.
• Chawla's not yet seasoned. No more Parthiv Patel types should get an India cap.
• Mishra's not much of a batsman– honest tailender, but not a run-scoring option.
• Justin Kemp himself is not a wicket-taking option for South Africa, but does his job well as a stock seamer– when he's asked to bowl, that is. Four other bowlers you pick– Irfan, VR Singh, RP Singh and Harbhajan– are definitely wicket-taking options, so the fifth is just a support bowler.
• The reason I mentioned Yusuf Pathan is that his batting has been effective for a long time, while Munaf Patel hasn't been used much as a batsman. Patel may be a better bowler, but he's as unproven as Yusuf Pathan so far. That said, he may just spring up a surprise in the Ranji semi-finals and finals with the bat!
• Watch out for Pravin Kumar. He's a change seamer for Uttar Pradesh and also a hard hitter of the ball. So far, he's averaged over 32 (with a strike rate of 78 and three over 50) with the bat and 26 with the ball (with a few five-wicket hauls and ten in one match), taking 27 wickets. He's among the runs for his team and their leading bowler, with Piyush Chawla. He's giving Joginder Sharma a good run for his money, but both have performed well, in the Elite– not Plate– division of Ranji

Keep a watch on the Mumbai v/s UP and Baroda v/s Bengal. One can expect Ramesh Powar, Amol Mazumdar, Connor Williams, Rakesh Patel, Yusuf Pathan and Rajesh Pawar to make an impact, but the dark horses will be Abhishek Nair, Swapnil Hazare, Mohammed Kaif, Suresh Raina, Piyush Chawla, Pravin Kumar and the rest of the UP side. Bengal are on a high, and they too can cause an upset here, facing Baroda.

 

[adharcric]

I really hope Kaif and Raina do well here. I get a feeling Raina will make a crucial contribution versus Pakistan in the ODIs, for some reason.