Delhi- The team's selection was marred by politics, but they performed beyond expectations, unlucky to miss out on a semifinal berth. Ajay Jadeja had an impressive season on his return to active cricket, averaging over 50 with a strike rate over 70. It was a season to forget for Akash Chopra, discarded from the national side, as he struggled to find form. His co-opener Gautam Gambhir performed a lot better, scoring quickly, making lots of runs, which earned him a national call-up. Young Shikhar Dhawan was also impressive, and so was Rajat Bhatia (who, according to Times journos, can also swing the ball). Pace bowlers Nehra and Bhandari bowled well, and so did one of the extra seamers, but for the rest, the season was passable. For offie Sarandeep Singh, the season was forgettable.
Punjab- For the first time, a Ranji side had a foreign coach, and it worked wonders. Intikhab Alam has made this flashy but inconsistent side into title contenders. He channelised their flair to win many a match, leading them to the final, which ended in a draw. Opener Ravneet Ricky had a good season, but Reetinder Sodhi struggled as an opener, except for one score over 50 and the massive 251 not out. Sodhi's bowling was a lot better, as he finished the season with an impressive average. Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Mongia, Ankur Kakkar and Pankaj Dharmani scored vital runs when it mattered. The bowling was impressive, led by swing bowler Gagandeep and fast bowler Vikram Singh, so Harbhajan's absence didn't matter. They only lost one match to Hyderabad, but obviously it had little effect as they defeated the title contenders Mumbai.
Railways- The winners of this year's Ranji, they too were in danger of relegation, but made an outstanding comeback. The way they won the title was far from encouraging, as they tried to bat Punjab out of the game without pushing for a win, just to defend a first-innings lead. Ex-India opener and medium-pacer Sanjay Bangar had a forgettable season, but came good in the semi-final and final with bat and ball. Old hands Amit Pagnis, Yere Goud, Raja Ali and Kulamani Parida impressed. Murali Karthik hardly got a match, but still got valuable wickets. They made tough selections, dropping the more experienced Shreyas Khanolkar and Sudhir W'hede, bringing in new rookies, but it paid off. Batsman Shankara Rao and spinner Madan Yadav were the new upcoming players, who had a good season. However, a lot of their success- with bat and ball- depended on one man- the charismatic Jai Prakash Yadav, who displayed phenomenal all-round form throughout the season, even as the Indian team struggles without an all-rounder. He was among the top bowling rankings and also got lots of runs.
Surprise packages- Gujarat gave Delhi and Railways a good shake-up and their key players were seamers Siddharth Trivedi and Lalit Patel and opener Niraj Patel. Uttar Pradesh, the best fielding side in the tournament, impressed in every match, particularly batsman Suresh Raina and seamer RP Singh, but they lacked a genuine all-rounder to carry them forward. Maharastra were promoted to the Elite league this season and their batsmen (notably Dheeraj Jadhav and Hrishikesh Kanitkar, as well as some newcomers) came good in nearly every match, but their bowling lacked power. Ranjit Khirid had a decent all-round season.
The new teams- Services were lucky to make the Elite league by the toss of a coin, with too little play to decide the outcome of their semifinal clash against the impressive HP. They won't last too long- they had won just one match in their league! Haryana had a very young side, captained by their keeper Ajay Ratra, who was still fast and aggressive behind the stumps. They played well as a team and supported their key players Shafiq Khan and Sunny Singh, who got runs consistently. The bowling was impressive, led by spinners Amit Mishra and Gaurav Vashisht. However, the key player for the side was Joginder Sharma, with two centuries and regular scoers of over 30, as well as consistent bowling in every match, including some phenomenal performances. They even ot past Jharkhand ith the rampaging MS Dhoni, with a little help from the rain. They will be the team to watch next season.
