*Official* Indian Domestic Season 2004/2005

[Arjun]

I hope u mean no comparison in quality wrt to batting, i hope... cos as a keeper he isn't that far ahead of his contemporaries.

Of course batting. Gilchrist isn't the best pure 'keeper around...

He may not be as good as his immediate predecessor, but he does the job very well behind the stumps. He takes every catch, completes every stumping and he can get a direct hit on the stumps repeatedly. He's better than every other keeper in that respect-

• Boucher- As good with the gloves, but not so good with the bat.
• Sangakkara- A little unstable behind the stumps- remember the 2003 World Cup.
• McCullum- Often drops that odd catch and is not the cleanest in action- he was not a regular keeper. Not so good a batsman.
• Jones- Weak link behind the stumps and far behind with the bat. England seem to have found a Rahul Dravid clone.
• Kamran- Average
• Browne- Average keeper, very far behind with the bat- he once dropped Steve Waugh, who made the Windies pay for their lapse.
• Parthiv- Raw, far from finished. A long way to go before he can even reach the class of Gilchrist in either skill
• Dravid- Obviously, he's no keeper, but it took the Indian captain and coach more than two years to realise that.

I believe that I have heard Gilly say something about how he is more relaxed when batting since it is not his primary job and how that helps him to go for his shots freely. I think guys like Dhoni and Kaarthik should do that as well, not because it will make them as good as Gilly, but because by atleast playing their natural game, they increase their chances of doing well.

But why do the wicketkeepers have to work so hard with the bat? In the process, they cannot concentrate on their keeping, and that's why India's best so-called wicketkeeper-batsmen are shaky behind the stumps. The best wicketkeeper in India has a batting average of 23, but has 8 FC half-centuries, but more importantly, he has the skills to keep to the frontline spinners.

Dinesh Karthik just has that one attacking innings in the U-19 World Cup and nothing more. He's been a defensive innings-builder, just like Parthiv, and he's been found out in Tests. His keeping is also suspect. He should concentrate on his keeping, and when he comes out to bat, he should just let rip.

 

[Arjun]

Now the Times of India say the pitches were not up to the mark. They were not laid on time, which is why the matches got over in three days. Tough call, given they were not the usual flat pitches that are always offered, but these venues were chosen at the last moment!

Sachin Tendulkar, Irfan Pathan and Agarkar are back for the Duleep match in Hyderabad.

 

[Arjun]

SOUTH ZONE SQUAD:

• Rowland Barrington
• Robin Uthappa
• Rahul Dravid (Captain)
• VVS Laxman
• S Sriram
• Y Venugopal Rao
• S Sharath
• Swapnil Asnodkar
• +Dinesh Karthik
• Anil Kumble
• R Jesuraj
• R Vinay Kumar
• L Balaji
• R Ramkumar
• MR Srinivas

Overflowing in batting, but weak in bowling. Was there really any need to pick eight batsmen? At least two of them are merely extras who are not likely to get a match.

Vidyut from TN has been in good form with bat and ball. Opening the innings, he has averaged over 45 and has bowled well enough for 22 per wicket, but he is left out. The Indian team badly needs all-rounders and this is one player in good all-round form, and he's out of the team! Do the selectors know whom they have picked? The selection of one batsman from Goa clearly indicates the presence of regionalism in selection. He may only be 20, but has he done enough to be picked among heavyweights like Sharath, Sriram, Dravid and Laxman? Not with an average of 32! One bowler is left out and they will feel the pinch against a superior West Zone bowling side.

The presence of national team regulars Laxman, Dravid and Kumble will still boost their chances in the coming match. Their opposition have not batted well against North, which gives South more advantage. A lot will depend on wicketkeeper Karthik's performance with the bat, but his keeping is more vital, since Kumble needs support from behind the stumps and the TN youngster has been shaky. On the other hand, Balaji must put his batting skills to good use and spot the four-balls and six-balls, then let rip. A higher position in the batting order will help him.

The pitch should be more even than the last two in Lucknow and Rajkot. They cannot afford to be playing on minefields or featherbeds before a crucial series.

 

[Arjun]

This is one of the few chances Irfan Pathan has for a big score. He's not going to get too man if he keeps playing out dot balls- he must take more singles and start hitting boundaries more seriously.

In the clash of the neighbours, East Zone should outperform the visiting Bangladesh side, and Dhoni will have a major part to play.

 

[viktor]

SOUTH ZONE SQUAD:

• Rowland Barrington
• Robin Uthappa
• Rahul Dravid (Captain)
• VVS Laxman
• S Sriram
• Y Venugopal Rao
• S Sharath
• Swapnil Asnodkar
• +Dinesh Karthik
• Anil Kumble
• R Jesuraj
• R Vinay Kumar
• L Balaji
• R Ramkumar
• MR Srinivas

Overflowing in batting, but weak in bowling. Was there really any need to pick eight batsmen? At least two of them are merely extras who are not likely to get a match.

Vidyut from TN has been in good form with bat and ball. Opening the innings, he has averaged over 45 and has bowled well enough for 22 per wicket, but he is left out. The Indian team badly needs all-rounders and this is one player in good all-round form, and he's out of the team!

On the other hand, Balaji must put his batting skills to good use and spot the four-balls and six-balls, then let rip. A higher position in the batting order will help him.

Vidyut should have been picked...he seems a good prospect and deserves more opportunities.
Re: Balaji, I would happy if he can get his bowling right first, same with Pathan.
Ofcourse, being a member of the AAAS, I hope AA outperforms both with bat & ball.

 

[Arjun]

Re: Balaji, I would happy if he can get his bowling right first, same with Pathan.

Balaji is a bowler of limited ability, while Pathan's bowling is good enough as it is and he can't do far better. If they improve their batting (they have a lot of potential with the bat), particularly their six-hitting, they can be more useful to the team.

Look at Sanjib Sanyal- he's nowhere as good as these two with the ball, but he has improved his batting a great deal. He has a century, over 3 50's and an average of 32. If he can do it, why not Balaji and Pathan?

Moreover, with the likes of Gagandeep, RP Singh and SS Paul in good form with the ball and a certain JP Yadav playing the role of strike bowler and hard-hitter upsetting the apple-cart, the young India regulars need to score more runs to stay in the side. The selectors can then pick wicketkeepers who know how to keep and not half-baked excuses who can bat a bit.

 

[biased indian]

is bangladesh playing in duleep trophy or in some other domestic competition

 

[crickmate]

Yes, Bangladesh (BCB 11) is playing on Duleep trophy. But its not the test team. From the current test team only 5 members are playing: Mohammad Ashraful, Rajin Saleh, Nafis Iqbal, Aftab Ahmed and Manjarul Islam Rana. Rest of the players are not even from A team , as A team is playing on Zimbabwe.

is bangladesh playing in duleep trophy or in some other domestic competition

 

[adharcric]

btw, these are only my predicted squads:
West Zone XI
D.Jadhav, W.Jaffer/S.Parab, V.Indulkar, S.Tendulkar, N.Patel, R.Pawar, P.Patel, R.Powar, A.Agarkar, I.Pathan, Z.Khan

South Zone XI
R.Barrington, R.Uthappa, R.Dravid, V.Laxman, V.Rao, S.Sriram, D.Karthik, A.Kumble, L.Balaji, R.Jesuraj, R.Ramkumar

West Zone are clearly the favourites in this match, as they certainly have a stronger bowling attack, and possibly a stronger batting attack as well considering Pathan is batting at #10 and this team is full of all-rounders.

key players to watch:
*Jadhav - on the brink of test selection, may be tough with the return of Tendulkar, but still needs to prove himself as the #1 replacement for Gambhir and Sehwag
*Tendulkar - looks like he will be playing, hopefully he is back at his best and not bothered much by the elbow
*Powar - good consideration for both the one-day and test squad, needs to perform well
*Agarkar - needs to perform with bat and ball (more importantly) to get the one-day nod
*Pathan - will need to prove that he is at full-strength and ready to lead the pace attack
*Khan - has performed decently as of late, needs to keep bowling with pace and accuracy to ward off Nehra, Agarkar, Balaji, Bhandari and others
*Dravid - in blazing form recently, will look to remain hot for the pak series
*Laxman - getting in the one-day squad shouldn't be a problem, but he needs to be in form and prove himself as a regular to the selectors
*Rao - bright prospect, not much of a chance for this series with the return of Tendulkar
*Sriram - could have a distant chance at the one-day squad if he performs well here
*Kumble - will be key to India's success along with Harbhajan, needs to establish his dominance against the formidable west zone lineup
*Balaji - really needs to impress here and bowl with good line and pace (according to his standards) to stand a chance for test or one-day selection

 

[Arjun]

Spies must be reading this page. Balaji scored 35 in 60- way too slow, but he's got one foura and a six, so it's not too bad. It could not save South from crashing to 187 all out, with Powar taking 7 wickets.

Not quite the double century that wold have done wonders, but MS Dhoni has scored 51 in 71. Then there's Laxmiratan Shukla, who scored over 80, with as many as 5 sixes and a strike rate of 87. Right now, he's built a partnership of over 170 runs with skipper Ganguly. A pity he does not bowl anymore. At least Sanjib Sanyal is a first-change seamer, and hopefully he'll get a decent score really quick- he's next. East are at 302/4.

 

[Arjun]

West Zone are clearly the favourites in this match, as they certainly have a stronger bowling attack, and possibly a stronger batting attack as well considering Pathan is batting at #10 and this team is full of all-rounders.

Something does not make sense. Why are two openers (NK Patel ad Wasim 'unplayable' Jaffer) batting in the middle order? And why is a batsman with an average of less than 30 picked? Because he's from Saurashtra? Or because he's not likely to get a game?

The one who HAS TO SUCCEED with the bat is Irfan Pathan. He has good six-hitting technique, so as a late-order six-hittter, he can add power to the batting lineup. There is enough strength above him in the lineup so that he can hit sixes and fours freely- an innings such as that one in Chittagong or that other innings in Dambulla or Bangalore, convertd into a big one, will work wonders not just for West, but also the Indian team. Whether other bowlers/keeper get runs, it wil not matter, but he needs to score.

Balaji - really needs to impress here and bowl with good line and pace (according to his standards) to stand a chance for test or one-day selection

Pace? Right arm medium, maybe. He's got no pace! He needs to actually swing and move the ball off the pitch, not keep bowling short sliders diagonally.

 

[Arjun]

A worrying statistic from the West v/s South match shows that there were as many as 16 no-balls bowled by the West bowlers- Pathan, post-injury, bowled 9 (questions may be asked about his match-fitness) while Zaheer bowled 5, Agarkar and Powar bowling one each, with Pawar's stats being the cleanest. They're only medium-pace; they can't afford to bowl so many no-balls; that could cost them valuable wickets. In comparison, South have not bowled too many- just 4 so far.

The West Zone side have already lost SS Parab, Jaffer and night-watchman Rajesh Pawar, and are at 75/3. A lot will depend on Dheeraj Jadhav, who has got off to a start, having scored 30.

 

[Arjun]

ALERT!!!- For those staying in India- The West/South match is being shown on Doordarshan Saptagiri (Telugu) RIGHT NOW, complete with commentary, though the camera is only on one end.

Come to think of it, the match may be over when you read this.

 

[adharcric]

Based on his current amazing form with the ball, Ramesh Powar definitely warrants a spot in the Test Squad as the third specialist spinner. He can also bat and field well! Good to see Ganguly finally hitting a big knock, hopefully he can be of use in the test series.

 

[adharcric]

.

 

[adharcric]

oh darn, sachin bowled by kumble so early on the 2nd day ...

 

[honestbharani]

All of kaarthik's innings in the Ranji OD league had strike rates of better than run a ball. And he is an attacking player, if you had watched last year's Ranji final, you would know that. His strike rate was around 80+ in both of his 100s during the semis and the finals. Even his most recent knock in Ranji Trophy, he scored 55 off 66 deliveries, quite attacking when you consider the match was over in two days. He has been a patient innings builder in tests, perhaps because he was advised to bat that way by Gavaskar, the consultant at that time. Like I said, he seems unsure of how to play in test cricket, with time he would figure that out.


And BTW, there is nothing wrong with being an innings builder in tests. It is actually a very good thing.

 

[honestbharani]

A factor to be kept in mind while analyzing the Duleep matches is that the West/South match is happening on a bowler friendly wicket and the East/Bangladesh match is happening on a batter friendly wicket. Balaji has two wickets, looks like he is finding some bowling form. Kumble is doing great. Let us see if Powar, AGarkar and Pathan can do a rescue or act or if Kumble will run through the side.

 

[honestbharani]

BTW, Balaji made his 35 off 51 balls and not off 60. He was there for 60 minutes.

 

[honestbharani]

West are bowled out for 207.... The wicket has to be a real bowling beauty. Kumble got 4. Vinay got 4. Balaji got 2. I hope South do better this time.