Indian domestic season 2006-07

[Arjun]

Sri Lanka A have proved to be a worthy team to be invited to the Duleep Trophy. They've looked far superior to England A (an academy side) and the Association (not frontline) teams sent by Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. They may win the tournament, given their form. South Zone lack the versatility that this team has, so the Lankans are the favourites there. North against East will be an interesting battle.

 

[Dravid]

Who is going into the final btw? What is the scenario for the last two games?

 

[Arjun]

Who is going into the final btw? What is the scenario for the last two games?

Among fans, I have no idea who's going, since they're being played in little-known venues in the East. The most likely finalists are Sri Lanka A and North Zone.

 

[Jungle Jumbo]

Here's an interesting article on Duleep Trophy. Worth a read. I agree on nearly everything mentioned here.

Seems a bit of am obvious argument. Why have India totally abandoned Muzumdar though - he's only 31 (I think) and could still do a job in the Test side. He might play yet for another six or seven years.

 

[adharcric]

Seems a bit of am obvious argument. Why have India totally abandoned Muzumdar though - he's only 31 (I think) and could still do a job in the Test side. He might play yet for another six or seven years.

I really doubt he has any role to play in the test side. Apart from the established world-class cricketers like Dravid, Tendulkar, Laxman and Kumble, the only 28+ guys who have a chance are the ones that are either performing extremely well, the ones who bat in a spot where the team is doing very poorly or the ones who are exceptional fielders. Being a middle-order batsman, Muzumdar has no chance really.
After Dravid, Tendulkar and Laxman, the potential successors are already in place:

Yuvraj, Kaif, Raina, Rao, Badrinath, Sharma

A new crop of talented youth emerge each year so there really isn't hope for the older domestic stalwarts.

 

[adharcric]

Who is going into the final btw? What is the scenario for the last two games?

The winner of South Zone-Sri Lanka A versus the winner of North Zone-East Zone.
I'll predict a South Zone vs North Zone encounter in the final.
The first of the two matchups should be a great contest - two talented teams that look to be in good form.

 

[adharcric]

Hoping Gambhir can get a 100 tomorrow, so he can be considered for the Test squad against South Africa. Would be a tough battle between Jaffer and Gambhir fighting for a spot in the Test squad.

Jaffer will definitely find a place in the test squad. Gambhir will be the reserve opener if selected.

 

[adharcric]

The SL seamer Ganegama ripped through the South Zone top-order, with both Rao and Rayudu falling for ducks. Badrinath continued his consistent run with a resilient 48. With Yuvraj doubtful for the test series as well, there may be place for a reserve batsman and Badrinath may give Raina and Gambhir good competition for that spot. Yadav provided support and remained unbeaten alongside Sreesanth, who surprisingly has put on 19, at lunch. South Zone are 117 for 6.

In the other match, Mohanty claimed Chopra early on but Gambhir and Ricky have put on a 50-run stand at lunch. Gambhir should go on for a big one and further strengthen his already strong case for a trip to South Africa. Dinda was a pleasant surprise in the previous match, but this East Zone attack seems pretty toothless IMO. Let's see if they can contain the North batsmen.

 

[Dravid]

Gambhir currently scoring with a S/R of 31...

 

[adharcric]

Don't worry about Gambhir. If he bats long enough, that SR will shoot up.

I don't understand why VRV Singh and Anil Kumble aren't playing in these matches.
Kumble already proved himself match-fit in the last match so perhaps that's why he was given the match off.
VRV, on the other hand, really needed this opportunity to strike form ahead of the tour of South Africa.

 

[adharcric]

Thanks to a fine century from Arjun Yadav and handy support from the tail, South Zone have recovered from a dreadful start. Sreesanth and co. should have a decent score to defend now. Elsewhere, Gambhir is approaching his century and upping the ante (his last 31 from 39 balls) while Yashpal is also going after the East Zone attack. I expect North Zone to at least wrap up the two points for a first-innings lead.

 

[adharcric]

Oh dear, Gambhir gone for 86.

 

[Arjun]

A few stray observations:

• South Zone are in trouble here. A score of 252 is way too small for this bowling attack to defend, unless Sreesanth bowls out of his skins and picks up pace.
• Yes, it's surprising that Kumble is left out, because he didn't even figure in the Champions Trophy. One can only hope he's not taking it easy, now that he's made the ODI side for South Africa.
• Dravid should have played this match. The Indians were knocked out early and it's only fitting that he played the match. Likewise Dhoni.
• VRV Singh must be injured yet again.
• How Amit Mishra missed out, we don't know. He's clearly better than both spinners playing for North right now.
• Ganguly seems to have run out of steam. He's only bowled five overs, while the main bowlers have done as much as 19 or 23.
• National recall for Ganegama? Wait and watch.

And finally, do you expect the Five Fools to look in shock and disbelief? That may just happen, since Gambhir crossed 50 yet again, and as I type, looks set for a century.

 

[adharcric]

Is Ganegama really that good? I've only seen him in action once and that was in the Eurasia Cup in UAE. To be honest, he looked like crap to me but maybe I saw his bad side.

 

[Arjun]

Is Ganegama really that good? I've only seen him in action once and that was in the Eurasia Cup in UAE. To be honest, he looked like crap to me but maybe I saw his bad side.

Ganegama may make the team ahead of Ruchira Perera, but only on the bench. You mentioned that Eurasia cup, and there, he was bowling first-change or second-change to Wijekoon and Lokuhettige, both of them were bowling slower than him– in the 110's!

 

[adharcric]

Ganegama may make the team ahead of Ruchira Perera, but only on the bench. You mentioned that Eurasia cup, and there, he was bowling first-change or second-change to Wijekoon and Lokuhettige, both of them were bowling slower than him– in the 110's!

Yeah but I remember he was only in the 120s at best as well.

 

[rishi99]

Is Arjun Yadav for real?

In the Duleep Trophy match at Eden Gardens against Sri Lanka A, all the top South Zone batsmen fell cheaply (except Badrinath who scored 48). At one stage the score was 5 for 14. Then 6 for 80, when Badrinath as out. But one man changed all that. A. S. Yadav hit an incredible 133 - with 13 fours and 4 sixers. With some support from tail-enders, Yadav salvaged South's pride, taking the score to a respectable (though perhaps not adequate) 266 all out.

But does anybody anything about this guy? His full name is Arjun Yadav. He's the son of Shivlal Yadav. He's about 25 years old and has been seen as a fairly mediocre player till now. He bowls off-breaks and bats at the lower end of the middle order (No. 7 in this match).

Even his selection in the South Zone team was criticised my many, who felt that he was taken at the cost of Hemang Badani. His batting average was just about 20 last season. Allegations were freely levelled that his selection was based on his father's infuence. Some even said he was struggling to keep his place even in the Hyderabad First Eleven.

Well, his 133 today (November 4, 2006) will silence some of his critics. The Lankan A squad has some very decent bowlers - Upal Chandana for one. And Ganegama scalped Uthappa, Venugopal Rao, Rayudu and Very Very Special Laxman - for innings figures of 4 for 71. So scoring such a solid century amidst the ruins is quite creditable on the part of Arjun Yadav.

So does anybody have any more information about this player? If he's really got qualities of head and heart (and batting skills to match that), should he have been slammed by all and sundry? Or is this perfomace just a flash in the pan?

 

[Arjun]

Arjun Yadav (a.k.a. Shivlal Yadav Jr.) was once a Challenger Trophy player, turning out for India B. His role in the team is not clear, even when he is captain. He bats at six or seven in nearly every match and bowls only occasionally, but doesn't support the strike bowlers much. One may say he's in the South Zone side (if bold enough, the Hyderabad team) because he's a star-son. That's an exceptional innings he played today, but after a very, very long time. He'll silence his critics only by more consistent performances with the bat and regularly bowling for his State/Zone side.

 

[Arjun]

Then there's Yashpal's 50. Notice how many runs were scored in fours and sixes? As many as 48 out of 65 that he scored, which means he played a very large chunk (nearly 80%) of dot balls! Stand, hit and watch! That's lazy. He may average over 50 in both forms of the game but this lethargy is not something you want in an India prospect.

 

[Dravid]

He finished off getting 86 in 300 mins with a S/R of 42 lol. Not much improvement.