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[keep-it-cool]

I'm very curious to see how the following players perform:

Rohit Sharma
Ambatti Rayudu
Cheteshwar Pujara
Pragyan Ohja
S Sreesanth

[sudzz]

Barring Ojha and Santh, the others even if they perform really well will find it very difficult to break into the side all are middle order players and we have a lot of them.

[keep-it-cool]

You never know how far we are from a couple of retirements or Yuvi losing form or any injuries (M Vijay got to play, didnt he?). It doesnt matter if they are selected a couple of years down the line.

[ganavk]

Incidentally RD is playing against UP in Meerat and captaining the Karnataka side. Kaif captaining UP.

[ganavk]

anji Trophy Super League 2009-10

Eye on Ranji - 4

Cricinfo staff

November 2, 2009
Text size: A | A

The Ranji Trophy, India's premier domestic competition, is moving into its 76th year and it will be interesting to see whether this age-old competition manages to hold relevance in the era of the IPL and Champion League Twenty20. In a four-part preview series, Cricinfo profiles the Super League teams.

Karnataka

   Robin Uthappa punches the ball down the ground, Karnataka v Saurashtra , Ranji Super League quarter-final, Mumbai, 1st day, December 26, 2008
For Robin Uthappa, this season is probably mightily crucial for him to get back into national reckoning. © Cricinfo Ltd
Related Links
Preview : Eye on Ranji - 3
Preview : Eye on Ranji - 2
Preview : Eye on Ranji - 1
Series/Tournaments: Ranji Trophy Super League | India Domestic Season
Teams: Bengal | India | Karnataka | Maharashtra | Mysore

Karnataka has had an eventful off-season. The potentially trendsetting Karnataka Premier League had a promising debut season, while the state selectors (including former internationals Syed Kirmani and Raghuram Bhat) quit after their integrity was questioned by the state association's president when they named the squad for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in September (subsequently their resignations were taken back ten days ago) . Further, there is still no clarity over who will be Karnataka's full-time captain once Rahul Dravid departs for national duty.

On the field, the Ranji Trophy title has proved elusive for a full decade after a period of dominance in the late 90s. Last season, the batting was too dependent on Robin Uthappa (Dravid was rarely available) as the other batsmen showed little consistency. It was a similar story in the bowling where veteran left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi, now nearly 40, and fast bowler Vinay Kumar had little support.

New coach Sanath Kumar, who takes over from Vijay Bharadwaj, needs to get promising young batsmen - Manish Pandey, KB Pawan, M Gautam and Ryan Ninan (who played for Goa last season) - to raise their game. Fast bowler NC Aiyappa has been axed after a poor season (six matches, ten wickets at 40.40), giving the likes of S Aravind and Abhimanyu Mithun a chance to shine.

One of Karnataka's strengths is that they have a lot of allrounders, adding plenty of depth to the batting. Joshi, C Raghu and Stuart Binny - back after quitting the ICL - are bonafide allrounders while bowlers Vinay and B Akhil have also proved handy with the bat. Another positive is that they have Dravid leading the side for the first two matches, which are against possibly the strongest teams in Karnataka's group - Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. With their conquerors from the previous season, Saurashtra, and Bengal, who have just made it back to the Super League, also in their pool Karnataka have to be at their best to make it to the quarter-finals.

What they did last year

It was, at best, a satisfactory season for Karnataka. Things seemed to be going well in the quarter-final against Saurashtra when they gained a big first-innings cushion, but they were undone by the old-hand and young-gun combination of *anshu Kotak and Cheteshwar Pujara, who orchestrated a tough chase of 325.

Before that reverse, though, they were unbeaten. They opened the campaign with a couple of unconvincing draws against Railways and Tamil Nadu, conceding the crucial first-innings lead in both matches. They got back on track with an easy win against lightweights Andhra in Mysore, and a resounding ten-wicket victory against Baroda. The game against Uttar Pradesh was the only time they crossed the 400-mark, but that was not enough to gain first-innings point as the match petered out into a high-scoring draw. A 155-run win against Maharashtra secured a place in the quarter-finals, beyond which they couldn't progress.

Men to watch

As in the previous season, Uthappa will get plenty of attention as he tries to force his way back into the national reckoning. The spotlight will also be on two other upcoming players who have proved their worth mainly in Twenty20s so far: Pandey and the ICL returnee Binny. A first-class average of 27 with no centuries isn't a great record, but that hasn't stopped Pandey from becoming something of a household name after his exploits in the IPL. This season will test whether he can translate his form from slam-bang cricket to the four-day game. As for Binny, he was one of the most impressive Indian cricketers in the ICL, and that has now earned him a contract with the Mumbai Indians. He has done little of note in his 18 first-class matches, though. How he fares over the next few months will determine whether he will be pigeonholed as a Twenty20 specialist or not.

Bengal

   Wriddhiman Saha, Bengal's wicketkeeper, on Ranji debut, Bengal v Hyderabad , Ranji Trophy Super League, Group B, 1st round, 3rd day, Eden Gardens, November 6, 2007
Wriddhiman Saha has impressed both behind and in front of the stumps. So much so that the selectors nearly made him the captain for this season © Cricinfo Ltd

Drama thy name is Bengal. A return to the top flight after one season in the lower division has not been without its share of controversies. The contentious issue of Laxmi Ratan Shukla being retained as captain this season pales in comparison to the difference of opinions between the selectors while choosing the best available talent. After the selection meeting last Tuesday was postponed due to personality clash between the selectors, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president Jagmohan Dalmiya held sway at the sitting the following day to bring about a consensus.

Little wonder then that the CAB has named a 15-member Bengal squad for just the first game against Maharashtra in Pune. And with every player being handed over a sheet containing contact numbers of their team-mates to improve communication among themselves, the message is loud and clear after their horrendous performance in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

They took a step in the right direction by entering the finals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy earlier this year. Also, the ICL players have returned, there is a new coach in Roger Binny and a new chairman of selectors in Sambaran Banerjee. Will Bengal recapture their lost glory?

What they did last season

With three wins and two draws, Bengal established their supremacy at the top of Group B in the Plate League. Their biggest triumph was the innings-and-226-run demolition of Services in Kolkata. Ranadeb Bose's six-wicket haul gave Bengal the first-innings lead against Goa in the Plate League semi-final, which was enough to ensure a Super League quarter-final berth. But Tamil Nadu were always going to be formidable opponents, and despite a first-innings lead courtesy Manoj Tiwary's century, they lost by eight wickets.

Men to watch

Wriddhiman Saha has made the most of the opportunity with Bengal after Deep Dasgupta's exodus to the ICL. The journey that began in November 27 is heading in the right direction, even as Dasgupta makes his return following the BCCI's amnesty offer. Saha was Bengal's top scorer in the Plate League last year with 428 runs from six matches at 53.50 that included a brilliant 159 against Vidarbha. The performances had even led the selectors to flirt with the possibility of naming him the captain this season. His talent has been endorsed by John Buchanan, Ricky Ponting and the state's own Sourav Ganguly, who reckons that Saha is the next big thing in Bengal cricket. A successful stint in the IPL with the Kolkata Knight Riders was followed by an India A call-up and the 25-year-old from Shaktigarh, Burdwan is one to watch out for in the future.

Behind Saha, with 308 runs at 38.50 in the last year's campaign, was Tiwary, who is perhaps Bengal's most consistent batsman in recent years. He was also the fourth-highest run-getter in the Ranji Trophy one-dayers last season, scoring 373 runs at 74.60. Bengal will certainly hope that this season turns out to be like the one he had a couple of years ago, when he averaged over 90.

Bose and Ashok Dinda continue to toil hard for Bengal, despite their spat during the Vijay Hazare Trophy, when Dinda was fined Rs 10,000 by the CAB. Bose and Dinda shared 61 wickets to become the third and fourth-highest wicket-takers in the Plate League last season and were the biggest factor in Bengal's quick return to the top division.

Saurashtra

   Cheteshwar Pujara and *anshu Kotak look on as the ball sails to the boundary, Karnataka v Saurashtra, 2nd quarter-final, Mumbai, Ranji Trophy Super League, 4th day, December 29, 2008
*anshu Kotak and Cheteshwar Pujara will be, yet again, the backbone of Saurashtra's batting © Cricinfo Ltd

"No one used to bother about Saurashtra in the past," says *anshu Kotak, their most senior player. "Now they sit up and take notice, they think this team can beat us. It feels great."

Saurashtra, one of the unfancied teams in the circuit, surprised many by reaching the semi-finals in the last two years. Their 2007-08 campaign gave them the belief that they no longer need to fear the good teams and the last year's efforts showed everybody else that Saurashtra are here to stay. They will face a big hurdle this year with the absence of Ravindra Jadeja, away playing for India, as he shone with both bat and ball last season.

What they did last year

Their batsmen, led by Cheteshwar Pujara, came to the party on home grounds in Saurashtra to take them to the knock-out stage. In the quarterfinal against Karnataka, who had Rahul Dravid, they looked down and out after yielding 114-run lead in the first innings. But Sandeep Jobanputra and Ravindra Jadeja, the seam-spin combo, bundled out Karnataka for 208 in the second innings before Pujara (112) and Kotak (87) helped them chased down 325. However, Wasim Jaffer hit a triple century in the semi-final to help take Mumbai the first-innings lead and to end Saurashtra's campaign.

Men to watch

Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja led with the bat, amassing 906 and 739 runs and were well supported by Kotak and the two openers Chirag Pathak and Bhushan Chauhan. Ravindra Jadeja led their bowling with 42 wickets at 19.92 but he will be missing this season due to India duty. In his absence, Jobanputra and Balkrishna Jadeja will have to share the burden in the bowling department.

Maharashtra

This could be the year of consolidation for this young squad, whose average age is 21 and features only two 25-plus players. Last year Maharashtra appointed a new coach in the Australian Shaun Williams and gave berths to ten uncapped players in the squad. Twelve months on both the coach and team have a better understanding about the goals and challenges ahead and how best to capture them.

Willams is unwilling to stick the 'inexperienced' tag up his players' sleeves anymore and instead wants them to step up to the next level. The players seem to have read their coach's message clearly as they bounced back strongly in the West Zone leg of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in October. Having lost the first game against Gujarat, Maharashtra hit back strongly by beating three formidable opponents - Baroda, Mumbai and Saurashtra - to advance into the knockout round. The challenge now is to come up with strong, solid and consistent performances.

Even if their success came in a Twenty20 format it still is an encouraging sign and a pointer to the progress being made. Maharashtra continue to be a developing team whose nucleus remains the quartet of Kedar Jadhav, Amey Shrikhande, Harshad Khadiwale (in the batting department) and Samad Fallah leading the bowling attack. Last year Maharashtra suffered the absence of a quality spinner despite the presence of the Bangladeshi left-armer Enamul Haq jnr, who failed to live up to the expectations. Kiran Adhav, another left-armer, and Ganesh Gaikwad, an offspinner, have done well in the pre-season games and could play a key role considering the fact that four of the six league matches will be held in Pune, the team's home base.

Maharashtra did not have an off season as they played home-and-away encounters against emerging squads in Bangladesh and Australia. Players, having gained vital exposure against quality opposition, would now be looking forward to push Maharashtra to the next level.

What they did last year

Nothing spectacular. In fact, they were only in the news when the Tamil Nadu opening pair of Abhinav Mukund and M Vijay fell short of breaking the Ranji Trophy record for the opening partnership against them. Their 462 was two runs short of Ravi Sehgal and Raman Lamba's 464 which came in the clash between Delhi and Himachal Pradesh in 1994-95.

Men to watch

Jadhav, Shrikhande, Khadiwale and Fallah remain the catalysts. Jadhav is the pivot in the middle order and was the ninth highest run-getter in the Super League (651 runs in 6 matches) and Shrikhande was No. 13 (571 runs in 6 matches). Fallah, a left-arm swing bowler, is of average build, not particularly tall but his strength lies in his ability to move the ball in the air. Last season he was the highest wicket-taker in West Zone at the end of the league phase with four five-fors the highest number by any bowler till Dhawal Kulkarni equalled his mark in the final. In the final count Fallah stood No. 8 on the wickets' list with 33 victims. Khadiwale, 20, is a hard-hitting opening batsman and got a half-century in the Challenger Trophy for Indian Red.

http://www.cricinfo.com/ranjisuperleague2009/content/story/432463.html

[ramshorns]

The dawn of the Ranji season always brings in a fresh air of anticipation.

Let us see who will be the Pujara of this year.

Lots of intriguing possibilities.

Hope we get to see some of the promising careers take off and come to fruition.

This easily to me takes the center stage over the lacklustre ODI series presently going on which is being needlessly dragged.

[keep-it-cool]

I dont think the likes of VVS, RD, Gambhir etc should captain the Ranji sides. These guys will be in and out of the side as and when they play international cricket. The likes of VVS and RD are unlikely to captain India either going forward. It would be better to let others captain so that teams have one captain for the whole tournament.

[keep-it-cool]

Notable performances so far

Zaheer Khan - 3/40 v/s Punjab (some R Inder Singh is going strong on 84*)

Shikhar Dhawan - 77* v/s Baroda (Chopra falls cheaply)

Parthiv Patel - 83 v/s Orissa (domestic bully - meanwhile D Mohanty is still going strong!!!)

Ranadeb Bose - 5/47 v/s Maharashtra (living up to the other Bose's status - "The Forgotten Hero")

Ashok Dinda - 3/65

Sanjay Bangar - 61* v/s TN (157 balls - still the same - R Ashwin gets 2 wickets)

[keep-it-cool]

RD (78*) & Manish Pandey (114*) rescue Karnataka from 27/3 - on 233/3 at tea.

R P Singh gets 1/33 in 11 overs.

[broadbat]

Pandey must get a look in soon.

[keep-it-cool]

Dont know why Neo is not showing any match live. Yesterday that RK or whoever it is was saying that they will be showing Mum v/s Pun ...but no such luck.

[pzd]

Pandey must get a look in soon.

Pandey hits 194* in Karnataka's score of 361/5... I feel we should wait for 2 seasons before trying him.

[ramshorns]

Posted by Aakash Chopra at 5:00 AM in Ranji Trophy, 2009-10

Real stars, reality check

Hi guys

The first round of the Ranji Trophy features a lot of big names. Rahul Dravid will turn up for Karnataka against the Mohammad Kaif-led Uttar Pradesh, Zaheer Khan for Mumbai and VVS Laxman for Hyderabad among others. The mere presence of these names makes these matches very important.

Players in their respective teams get a first-hand account of what it takes to be an international cricketer. Dravid, for instance, is invariably the first man to get into the team bus, Laxman is ever so calm before going in to bat, Zaheer and Ashish Nehra spend countless hours working on their core muscles even while their team bats, and so on and so forth.

These guys maintain a very high standard of professionalism regardless of what they are playing and this professionalism rubs off to team-mates and opposition alike. How can you not be punctual when Dravid is on time, how can you not spend more time training when Zaheer is working on his fitness even after a hard day of cricket?

Another thing these guys ensure is that every other player keeps complacency at bay. You want to be at your best to compete against the best. In any case, a youngster wants to go that extra yard to leave an impression on the big guys.

Their showcasing of skills also works as a coaching manual of sorts. I vividly remember watching Laxman score a master-class century in a Duleep Trophy game against North Zone. His sense of timing and balance was a treat. Similarly, watching Zaheer or Nehra make the ball talk is a lesson for every budding pacer.

While some players enthusiastically turn up for their respective states, others find the domestic grind far too gruelling. The facilities on the domestic circuit are not a patch on those provided for internationals or even for the IPL. Some younger guys are quite unhappy about travelling to obscure places by “cattle class” or staying in “not-so-posh” hotels. One such cricketer, whose place is secure in India’s shorter format, made his unhappiness visible to all and sundry when he was told that his team’s next match was on the outskirts of Maharashtra.

Well, this attitude could possibly spur him on to perform exceptionally well and seal his place in Team India in all three formats, but frankly it had a detrimental effect on the rest. After all a first-class team invariably has players who are state greats but possibly never don India colours.
 
That’s when the presence, however occasional, of a Dravid or a Laxman becomes ever so important to keep things in perspective. It inspires players young and old to stay motivated, and of course helps Generation Next stay grounded.

http://blogs.cricinfo.com/beyondtheblues/archives/2009/11/real_stars_reality_check.php

[keep-it-cool]

RD run out for 97

[keep-it-cool]

Agarkar on another comeback mission. Takes 4-41

Make him the bowling coach without any further delay, I say!!!

[12th_Man]

RD run out for 97

Whos fault was it. ?   

[ganavk]

is VVS not playing for Hyd ? Does not appear in the scorecard ?

[vincent]

It is good to see Pandey perform so well. By the way what happened to Pujara? Is he still around?

[broadbat]

Sreesanth wicket less on day 1 as captain.

[keep-it-cool]

RD run out for 97

Whos fault was it. ?   

you have two guesses

[keep-it-cool]

Wonder why VVS is not playing.

Rayudu run out for 1.

The much debated Abhinav Kumar saves Hyderabad the blushes with an unbeaten 70.

[keep-it-cool]

http://www.cricinfo.com/ranjisuperleague2009/content/current/story/432809.html

Sparkling Pandey kicks off season in style

Group B


Karnataka 372 for 5 (Pandey 194*, Dravid 97) v Uttar Pradesh

Manish Pandey kicked off the 2009-10 Ranji Trophy Super League in style with an unbeaten 194 off 238 deliveries, his maiden first-class century, against an Uttar Pradesh comprising RP Singh, Piyush Chawla and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. And it wasn't all fair going in Meerut: he joined Rahul Dravid in the 13th over of the day with Karnataka at 27 for 3. All three medium-pacers - RP, Bhuvneshwar and ICL returnee Shalabh Srivastava - had taken a wicket each by then, including Robin Uthappa's for zero.

That was the last piece of joy for a long time, though, as Dravid and Pandey punished UP with a 273-run fourth-wicket stand, Dravid contributing 97 before getting run out. Bhuvneshwar followed that wicket with another quick one but at 327 for 5 Pandey took charge again and saw the day through with an unbeaten 45-run stand with B Akhil off just 8.1 overs. One hundred and fourteen of Pandey's runs came in fours and a six. RP and Chawla had a disappointing day, managing just one wicket between them, for 146 runs in 32 overs.

Delhi 300 for 2 (Dhawan 122*, Bhatia 70*, Chabra 65) v Baroda

Shikhar Dhawan's patient unbeaten century in Vadodara took Delhi to a position of strength against an attack missing Irfan Pathan. Dhawan batted through the day and shared two important partnerships with half-centurions Gaurav Chabra and Rajat Bhatia to carry Delhi to 300. This was Dhawan's seventh first-class century, and Chabra's second half-century in his second first-class match.

After their captain Aakash Chopra fell for an uncharacteristic 18-ball 21, Dhawan and Chabra batted sensibly, adding 134 for the second wicket. Murtuja Vahora managed to break the partnership before tea but Bhatia and Dhawan would make sure that would be the last success for Baroda. At stumps, Bhatia looked set for what could be a 10th first-class century. - is it too late to look at him as a seam bowling all-rounder in ODIs?

Bengal 52 for 2 trail Maharashtra 179 (Ansari 52, Bose 5-67, Dinda 3-65) by 127 runs

A sensational opening burst followed by the wicket of the well-set Azhar Ansari gave Ranadeb Bose his 22nd first-class five-for, and gave Bengal an opportunity to push for a first-innings lead against Maharashtra and perhaps an outright victory.

In the morning session Bose ripped the heart out of Maharashtra's batting line-up, reducing them to 53 for 4. Ashok Dinda followed on those strikes to put Maharashtra in further trouble, at 110 for 7, but that's when Ansari, making his debut and batting at No. 8, started a comeback along with Kiran Adhav. Left-arm spinner Shibsagar Singh broke that 49-run partnership and Bose came back to dismiss Ansari and complete his five-for.

Bengal lost Deep Dasgupta, making his comeback from the ICL, in the second over. Ansari capped a good day with bowling figures of 7-5-7-1, the wicket being that of Arindam Das who scored 38 of Bengal's 52 runs. Wriddhiman Saha and Manoj Tiwary were in the middle at stumps.

Group A

Punjab 242 for 9 (Ravi Inder 104, Agarkar 4-41, Zaheer 3-45) v Mumbai

A defiant Ravi Inder Singh, with his fourth century in just 14 first-class matches, kept defending champions Mumbai, whose attack includes Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar and Ramesh Powar, at bay, although Mumbai would like to believe they have the upper hand having taken nine wickets on the opening day. Things could have been much worse but for Ravi Inder: the next best score was 30 not out by Manpreet Gony.

Zaheer and Agarkar reduced Punjab to 133 for 5 before Ravi Inder rallied the tail around. He added 45 with the debutant Gaurav Gambhir for the sixth wicket, 22 for the seventh with Rahul Sharma and 33 for the eighth with Gony. Agarkar, though, had the final say, dismissing Ravi Inder and Harmeet Singh in quick succession, and handing Mumbai the ascendancy.

Railways 242 for 4 (Bangar 111*, Fazal 70) 242 for 4 v Tamil Nadu

Sanjay Bangar, with his 10th first-class century, and Faiz Fazal, who has moved from Vidarbha to Railways, kept Tamil Nadu joyless for a healthy part of the day at the Karnail Singh Stadium in Delhi. After an 80-run second-wicket stand, R Ashwin took two quick wickets to bring Railways down to 139 for 3 but the old firm of Bangar and Yere Goud thwarted the charge there itself.

Goud was his stubborn self, scoring 14 runs off 100 balls in a partnership of 76 runs. Meanwhile Bangar went along fluently, striking at more than 50 runs per 100 balls, and hitting 14 fours and two sixes in his innings. L Balaji stayed wicketless for 16 overs.

Gujarat 237 for 7 (Parthiv 83, Dhiraj Singh 4-88) v Orissa

Parthiv Patel rescued Gujarat from a precarious 89 for 4 with an attacking 83 but Gujarat went on to lose the initiative after Parthiv's wicket on a day that momentum shifted this way and that. Debasis Mohanty and Dhiraj Singh gave Orissa a perfect start before Parthiv counterattacked.

Along with Rujul Bhatt, Parthiv added 89 for the fifth wicket. Parthiv attacked and Bhatt consolidated as the game threatened to slip out of Orissa's hands. But in the final session, Dhiraj removed both the batsmen within 16 runs of each other. A run-out followed, and Gujarat were struggling at 203 for 7. To provide a final twist to the day, Ashraf Makda swung his bat merrily to end up on an unbeaten 31 off 23 balls, including four sixes.

Hyderabad 237 for 6 (Abhinav 70*, Malik 2-58) v Himachal Pradesh

An unbeaten 70 from wicketkeeper Abhinav Kumar lifted Hyderabad from 74 for 4 to a respectable score by the end of the first day in Ahmedabad. Swing bowlers Vikramjeet Malik and Ashok Thakur got Himachal off to a usual good start. Himachal were also helped by a run-out early on. Only T Suman managed to impress in the top order, falling short of fifty by five runs.

Abhinav and Arjun Yadav, though, wrested the momentum with a 47-run fifth-wicket stand. But it was the partnership between Abhinav and Syed Quadri that truly brought Hyderabad back into the contest. They added 77 for the sixth wicket, Quadri missing the half-century by three runs. Another stubborn stand for the seventh wicket followed: Abhinav and MP Arjun were yet to be separated and they added 39 runs in 21.4 overs.

[keep-it-cool]

WARNING. DANGER SIGNS. SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE ASAP

http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/59/2009110420091104030906671df380932/Getting-there.html

At the Sector 16 stadium, yesterday, when Mumbai captain Wasim Jaffer and his counterpart from Punjab Ankur Kakkar walked in for the toss, it was all quiet.

Apart from the members of the two teams and the match officials there was an interesting personality who parked himself under the pavilion, keeping a close eye on the proceedings. It was India coach Gary Kirsten who had jogged his way inside the stadium unnoticed.

The Indian team was scheduled to leave the city in the afternoon for Hyderabad, their next stop in the seven-match ODI series against Australia and it seemed that the former South African opener didn’t want to miss the opportunity to watch some domestic cricket, even if it were for a short while.

Kirsten, interestingly, was quite curious to know a few facts about the Mumbai side. For instance, he inquired about Ajit Agarkar’s age, the number of overs that Abhishek Nayar generally bowls in a Ranji game and who was the most successful bowler for them in the last season.

The fact that he had chosen to come to the ground jogging and sat alone speaks about his desire to remain away from the limelight and not indulge in a PR exercise.

One thing he didn’t ask but we were quite sure he was thinking about was how well has Zaheer Khan recovered from the shoulder injury that has kept him out of action for more than four months now.

Kirsten was lucky to get first hand information as Punjab won the toss and chose to bat.

Long time coming

This is the first match in the longer-version of the game that Zaheer is playing since early April. Though he had taken part in the West Zone T20 championship at Pune in October, it is in this format - four-day - where his bowling and general fitness under duress will be tested.

There were early rewards for Zaheer and Kirsten’s efforts when the left-arm seamer induced an edge from opener Sunny Sohal in his third over of the day.

Milind Rege, former Mumbai selector, here as a commentator, said after the end of the day’s play, “He wasn’t as fast as he is known to get but the encouraging part is that he hit the length right away.”

It was clear to everyone watching that Zaheer wasn’t going full throttle. He did occasionally bowl a fast one but generally restricted himself to bowling in the right areas and was clearly looking to ease himself into big time cricket again.

He bowled 16 overs in the day, picking three wickets for 45 runs as Mumbai restricted Punjab to 242 for 9.

Agarkar picks four

Ajit Agarkar picked up four wickets for 41 in his 22 overs. For Punjab Ravi Inder Singh scored a resilient 104.

On Zaheer’s efforts, captain Wasim Jaffer said, “I think Zaheer still needs a bit of bowling under his belt. Today was also the day when he fielded the whole day after a long time. He is still far from being at his best but is getting there. I left the call on how many overs he wanted to bowl in a spell to him. Standing in the slips I thought that he always bowled in the good areas. If he plays more he will get back to where he was.”

Coach Praveen Amre too was impressed by Zaheer’s approach to the game yesterday. “His body needs the workload that he was getting in today’s game. He bowled 16 overs during for T20 games and today itself he had to bowl 16, so that’s important that he takes gradual steps towards making a comeback. He knows his body best. He is taking proper rest and following a schedule provided by the physiotherapist and we have to see that we don’t overuse him.”

Brief scores: Punjab 242 for 9 (Ravi Inder 104, Ajit Agarkar 4-41, Zaheer Khan 3-45, Dhaval Kulkarni 2-68)

[keep-it-cool]

Karnataka collapses to 405 all out. Pandey falls at his overnight score. B Kumar and S Srivasthava take 4 wickets each. No further joy for R P Singh.

[keep-it-cool]

Zaheer ends up with 4 wickets - Punjab 259 all out.

But fighting back nicely - Mumbai at 76/3 - Rohit Sharma falls for 25

[keep-it-cool]

http://www.cricinfo.com/ranjisuperleague2009/content/story/432683.html

Twelve hopeful men

Sidharth Monga and Sriram Veera

November 3, 2009
 

Sreesanth
The time has come for Sreesanth to shut up and bowl. Enough of interviews, enough of altercations, enough of tattoos, enough of new hairstyles, enough of warnings. Just shut up and bowl. Sorry, but that's how frustrating Sreesanth has been. When his mind is in the right place, he has it in him to be one of the best bowlers in the world. Yet he last represented India in April 2008. Injuries, embarrassing stories in tabloids and city supplements of serious papers, and then when he looked like coming back to form in the Irani Cup, another on-field argument, and the "final warning". If he wants to come back to the Indian team, he needs a season full of consistently good bowling and no more controversies. He will also need to show he can do it without too much of the spotlight, playing for Kerala. A natural talent is dying, and only he can save himself.

RP Singh
Controversy over his not being picked for India (MS Dhoni alleged threatened to resign over it), an ordinary Ranji Trophy and injury in the final, impressive performances in the IPL, an unimpressive showing on his international comeback, and then being dropped again after long persistence. That has been RP's year, and he won't want to wait till the next IPL to redeem himself. He has built himself a reputation of being a fine bowler in helpful conditions but ineffective on subcontinental tracks. But it was in India in 2004-05, with 42 wickets at 18.78, that RP first came into the reckoning. A season of that order won't do him any harm.

Pragyan Ojha
If Ojha is bemused watching the ODI series between India and Australia, he has every right to be. Including his debut ODI, in the Asia Cup in 2008, he has played nine ODIs, averaged 28 for his 12 wickets, and his 80 overs have gone at 4.2 each. Yet he finds himself out of the ODI side. Last year he could play just the one Ranji match, but this time he looks set for a prolonged first-class season. His main aim will be to upstage Amit Mishra as the second spinner, and also to not let Piyush Chawla get ahead of him in the pecking order.

Irfan Pathan
India's ODI side does not look big enough for both the Pathan brothers. When they did tried to fit both in, Irfan had to pull his weight as the third medium-pacer - a role he wasn't convincing in. Like Ojha, though, he will have had reasons to be displeased when Abhishek Nayar was chosen ahead of him as the seamer-allrounder. When it rained, it poured for Irfan. A shoulder injury made him miss both the Corporate Trophy and the Challenger Series. The captain of Baroda, he will miss the first match, but he expects to be back in time for the second round, and away from all the spotlight will get a chance to work on his bowling.

Yusuf Pathan
A string of failures at No. 7, and his captain's reluctance to use him excessively as a bowler have seen him out of the ODI side. But he is back to doing what must be second on his things-I-love-to-do list: murdering domestic attacks. Yusuf is the kind of batsman who can create a sudden impact and make the selectors take notice. He will also know he will be competing with his brother and team-mate when it comes to a national recall.

Sudeep Tyagi
A bumper debut season for Tyagi - 41 wickets at 21.63 in 2007-08 - took him from nowhere (he was ignored by the UP Under-22 selectors) to the national reckoning. Then came injury, which made him miss the inaugural IPL, followed by the second-season blues (five wickets in three matches at 56.6 in 2008-09). In the lead-up to his third first-class season Tyagi has forced his way into the ODI squad through strong showings in the IPL and the Challenger Series. But India will soon begin playing Tests against Sri Lanka, and that's when he will need to show, through performance in the Ranji Trophy, that he deserves the faith shown in him.

Piyush Chawla
Chawla was the first spinner in the current pack to play for India, but couldn't hold on to his place. The criticism was that he possessed just a googly and tended to overuse it in the absence of a genuine legbreak. He recently had a good time playing for Sussex, on the county circuit, and it's learnt that he has been working hard on his legbreaks. The likes of Mishra and Ojha have gone ahead of him in the pecking order, and this season offers Chawla the opportunity to force his way back into the reckoning.

Robin Uthappa
His detractors say that Uthappa, who last played for India in July 2008, wasted his opportunities at the top level. Some say that he was moved up and down the batting order without being given a regular position. The truth probably lies somewhere in between. By his own admission, some technical mistakes crept into his game and he has been working hard at the NCA in the recent times. He had a good domestic season last year, but not a great IPL. He has started this season with more purpose, starring in the Corporate Cup and managing a couple of good outings in the Champions League. Uthappa opens for Karnataka but it's still not clear, to outsiders, whether the national selectors view him as an opening candidate or as a middle-order batsman.

Rohit Sharma
No one doubted his talent but he hasn't so far been able to translate it into scores at the highest level. He averages a paltry 24.82 from 41 ODIs and his commitment has come under the scanner too. He has done well in the IPL, showing a fine temperament under pressure, but somehow he has failed to get going while playing for India. His chief competitor for the middle-order spot is Suresh Raina, who has had problems with short balls and has also failed at times to deliver under pressure. If Rohit can make this domestic season count, and if Raina continues to flounder, Rohit can force his way back into the Indian team.

Manoj Tiwary
Two years ago Tiwary was the chief fringe player for India before an injury pushed the likes of Raina, Rohit and Virat Kohli ahead in the queue. In 2007, just before the start of the ODI series against Bangladesh, he injured his shoulder in a fielding session and was out of the tour. In 2008 he was rushed in to replace Yuvraj Singh in an ODI series in Australia, but received the perfect yorker from Brett Lee. He hasn't played for India since. He recovered from the setbacks, but hasn't set domestic cricket on fire with his performances. Luckily, for him, Bengal have qualified for the Super League this season, and his performances will be closely monitored. Does he still have it in him?

Cheteshwar Pujara
What more does he need to do to get a call-up? For the last few years, he has been the standout performer in domestic cricket, but it hasn't helped him get into the Indian team. His critics says he looks a batsman who can't dominate good attacks, and somehow, without any proof, that criticism has stuck. India likes its young players to be flashy; Pujara isn't one and he deserves to be given the chance to succeed or fail before he is labelled a good first-class batsman and forgotten. Unfortunately for him, he picked up an injury ahead of the IPL and couldn't force his way into the public imagination. He has just recovered from that setback, and it remains to be seen whether he has the hunger to turn in yet another run-fest this year.

S Badrinath
Badrinath is where Pujara appears to be headed. He has been consistent in domestic cricket and it appeared that he would never get due recognition, but things changed last year. He made it into the ODI team but couldn't keep his place. Some say he is not cut out for ODIs and that his arena is Test cricket. However, his critics aren't convinced of even that. They cite his age and say he lacks the X-factor to make it big in international cricket. This season could be his last opportunity to break into the Indian team. There are quite a few youngsters around who have made his life tough. Two things need to happen if he is to get in: he has to have a bonanza season and the youngsters have to fail.

[keep-it-cool]

Haha Sreesanth making his mark as a captain - all 10 players barring the wicketkeeper bowled in the Andhra innings.

No wickets for him though!

[12th_Man]

RD run out for 97

Whos fault was it. ?   

you have two guesses

1. SG ?
2. GC ?

[12th_Man]

This guy S Dhawan also scored 224 against Baroda.

http://www.cricinfo.com/indiandomestic2009/engine/current/match/412740.html

[12th_Man]

Hahaha.. Tripura had to use 9 bowlers against Jharkhandi's. bit unusual in this format on a single day.
http://www.cricinfo.com/indiandomestic2009/engine/current/match/412793.html

[12th_Man]

Hahaha.. Tripura had to use 9 bowlers against Jharkhandi's. bit unusual in this format on a single day.
http://www.cricinfo.com/indiandomestic2009/engine/current/match/412793.html

OOPSY.. Kerala beat then with the use of 10 bowlers against Andhra.
SSanth has his eshtyle. Either Keeper didn;t know how to bowl or else somebody didn't knew keeping 
http://www.cricinfo.com/indiandomestic2009/engine/current/match/412797.html

[Blwe_torch]

Ranji Trophy 2009-10, 1st round, 2nd day

Group B
Uttar Pradesh 214 for 8 (Amir 50*, Mithun 5-63) trail Karnataka 405 (Pandey 194, Srvastava 4-75) by 191 runs

After Manish Pandey on day one, it was the turn of another youngster, Abhmanyu Mithun, to shine in the Karnataka-Uttar Pradesh match in Meerut. Pandey failed to add to his overnight 194, kick-starting a collapse that took Karnataka from 372 for 5 to 405 all out, but Mithun claimed a five-for on debut to put Karnataka within two wickets of a first-innings lead, and another good bowling effort of an outright win.

Shalabh Srivastava took three of the Karnataka wickets to fall this morning, including Pandey's. Bhuvneshwar Kumar managed the other two. The decisive spell of the day, though, came from the 20-year-old right-arm medium-pacer Mithun, who dismissed Tanmay Srivastava and Mohammad Kaif in the same over. Kaif scored a three-ball duck. At 157 for 8, Amir Khan and Praveen Gupta then applied themselves and took UP to stumps without further damage. They still need 42 to avoid the follow-on, and are facing an uphill struggle to draw the match with two days to go.

Baroda 21 for 0 trail Delhi 591 (Dhawan 224, Tehlan 55, Nagar 55) by 570 runs

Shikhar Dhawan scored his maiden first-class double-century as Delhi continued to pile on the runs against a weakened Baroda attack. Already missing Irfan Pathan, Baroda had to do without the services of Salim Veragi, their opening bowler who was called twice for a suspect action.

Resuming on his overnight 122, Dhawan shared two fruitful partnerships with Mayank Tehlan and Yogesh Nagar. After Delhi lost a well-settled Rajat Bhatia in just the second over of the day, Dhawan found a good partner in Tehlan. The two added 119 for the fourth wicket. Dhawan then added 73 with Nagar, and finally fell with the score at 500. His 224 included 23 fours and two sixes. Delhi lost the next five wickets for 91. In reply the Baroda openers, Connor Williams and Satyajit Parab, saw out the always-uncomfortable spell of nine overs before stumps without loss.

Maharashtra 179 and 46 for 0 trail Bengal 325 (Jhunjhunwala 95, Tiwary 88, Fallah 4-102) by 100 runs

Abhishek Jhunjhunwala made a welcome return to the official fold, and along with his friend and co-mainstay of Bengal batting two years ago, Manoj Tiwary, took his team to a big first-innings lead over Maharashtra. In reply to Maharashtra's 179, Bengal started the day at 52 for 2 but lost Wriddhiman Saha early. But even as wickets kept falling at regular intervals, Tiwary took Bengal past Maharashtra's total.

After Tiwary's fall, Jhunjhunwala batted aggressively, and despite little contribution from the tail took Bengal's total over 300. The last four wickets added 104 runs, but only 21 of those came from the tailenders. Jhunjhunwala was the last man out, falling five short of his century. Maharashtra got off to a steady start in their second innings, but still had a long way to go to salvage one point from the match.

Group A
Mumbai 244 for 7 (Kukreja 90, Nayar 53, Ablish 4-53) trail Punjab 259 (Zaheer 4-60) by 15 runs

Mumbai and Punjab were locked in an interesting fight for first-innings ascendancy in Chandigarh. Having restricted Punjab to 259, Mumbai rode on Sahil Kukreja's 90, but their three other big names failed to get going. A fighting half-century from Abhishek Nayar took Mumbai close to the mark, but they were still 15 runs short with three wickets in hand.

It was Love Ablish's opening burst that ripped through the vaunted Mumbai line-up. Wasim Jaffer, Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma were back in the pavilion with the score at 65. Kukreja and Nayar then added 115 for the fourth wicket, but Kukreja's wicket - again to Ablish - started a regular loss of wickets. The next three fell for 48 runs, including Nayar, and gave Punjab a look-in. Omkar Khanvilkar and Ramesh Powar, though, played the day out cautiously, adding an unbeaten 16 runs in 11.4 overs and setting up a crucial first hour of play on the third day.

Tamil Nadu 150 for 2 (Vijay 65*) trail Railways 327 (Bangar 163*, Mukund 3-5) by 177 runs

Tamil Nadu found an unlikely bowling hero at the Karnail Singh Stadium in Delhi: Abhinav Mukund had bowled only two overs in first-class cricket before today, but took three wickets for five runs to dramatically end Railways' innings. Railways started the day at 242 for 4, and reached 274 without any further loss but then the collapse started. C Ganapathy removed Sanjib Sanyal and Mahesh Rawat in two deliveries before Mukund got into the action. Sanjay Bangar, who started the day on 111, was left stranded on 163. Mukund will be on a hat-trick in the second innings: he dismissed Nos 10 and 11 off consecutive deliveries.

Mukund's day with the bat wasn't as great, as he was run out for a duck in the first over. M Vijay, though, held the Tamil Nadu batting together, finishing the day on an unbeaten and patient 65. Along with Arun Karthik he added 83 for the second wicket, but Karthik missed his fifty by three runs. S Badrinath gave Vijay good company and was unbeaten on 33 at stumps.

Gujarat 270 and 4 for 0 lead Orissa 192 (Behera 78) by 82 runs

Gujarat's pace bowlers shared two wickets apiece to bowl Orissa out for 192, securing a healthy first-innings lead of 78. In the first session, Gujarat could add only 43 to their overnight 237 for 7.

Siddharth Trivedi took out SS Das in the first over, starting a slide that Orissa would never really recover from. Debutant Mehul Patel and Ashraf Makda then dealt the top order a blow each. Brief resistance came from Niranjan Behera and Pravanjan Mullick, who added 55 for the fifth wicket to take the score to 100. Once Trivedi dismissed Mullick another slide started, reducing Orissa to 135 for 7. A 56-run eighth-wicket stand between Behera and Debasis Mohanty never threatened the first-innings lead, but made sure Gujarat would have to work hard for an outright win. Behera fell to the legspin of Timil Patel for 78.

http://www.cricinfo.com/ranjisuperleague2009/content/current/story/432957.html

[vincent]

And there is a Sachin Baby playing for Kerala.

[poondu]

Ramesh Powar ton boosts Mumbai

Cricinfo staff

November 5, 2009

 
Group B


Baroda 319 for 8 (Solanki 55, Shah 63, Narwal 3-70) trail Delhi 591 (Dhawan 224, Tehlan 55, Nagar 55) by 251 runs
Scorecard
Delhi ended the third day in Vadodara only two wickets away from winning first-innings points against Baroda. The Delhi bowlers reduced the hosts to 319 for 8, still 251 runs away from their massive first-innings total of 591. Baroda's innings had several useful and solid contributions but it lacked what Delhi's had - one batsman going on to make a massive score. Shikar Dhawan smashed 224 for Delhi but Pinal Shah's 63 was Baroda's best, despite six batsmen passing 30. The Baroda innings had a poor start -they were 70 for 3 - and Delhi's bowlers didn't let them recover. Sumit Narwal took 3 for 70 while Parvinder Awana took 2 for 64.

Maharashtra 179 and 305 for 7 (Khadiwale 114, Motwani 59) lead Bengal 325 (Jhunjhunwala 95, Tiwary 88, Fallah 4-102) by 159 runs
Scorecard
Maharashtra's batsmen played with determination to wipe out a first-innings deficit of 146, reaching 305 for 7 on the third day against Bengal. However, they will need another fighting performance from their tail, followed by a disciplined effort from the bowlers to prevent defeat on the final day. Maharashtra resumed this morning on 46 for no loss and the opener Harshad Khadiwale stayed firm at one end during his third first-class century. The innings wobbled for a period - Maharashtra went from 99 for 0 to 190 for 5 - but Rohit Motwani provided stability with 59. He remained unbeaten but Maharashtra lost Azhar Ansari for 12 just before stumps. They lead by 159 with three wickets in hand.

Uttar Pradesh 279 (Amir 61, Praveen Gupta 55, Mithun 6-86) and 30 for 1 need another 408 runs to beat Karnataka 405 (Pandey 194, Srvastava 4-75) and 311 for 5 dec (Pawan 78, Uthappa 56, Dravid 51*)
Scorecard
Uttar Pradesh need to survive the final day in Meerut, chasing an improbable 438, and eke out a draw against Karnataka. The day began with UP's tail wagging to extend the first-innings total from 214 for 8 to 279, reducing the first-innings deficit of 126. Karnataka's batsmen, however, came out swinging and quickly built on their lead. KP Pawan dropped anchor with a sedate 78 and left the hitting to his partners. Robin Uthappa cracked 56 off 82 balls, Rahul Dravid raced to 51 off 44, and Manish Pandey made 35 off 18. Even B Akhil contributed 33 for 23 before the declaration came with the score on 311 for 5. Abhmanyu Mithun built on his first-innings success by bowling Tamnay Srivastava for 13 before stumps.


Group A


Punjab 259 (Ravi Inder Singh 104, Zaheer 4-60, Agarkar 4-43) and 55 for 1 trail Mumbai 471 for 9 dec (Powar 125*, Kukreja 90, Khanvilkar 87, Nayar 53, Ablish 4-53) by 157 runs
Scorecard
Mumbai began the third day needing 15 runs to take the first-innings lead against Punjab with only three wickets in hand. They got much, much more. OJ Khanvilkar, batting at No. 6, converted his overnight score on 16 to 87, but it was Ramesh Powar who was the star. Powar scored an unbeaten 125 at No. 9, an innings that included 17 boundaries and formed a 163-run partnership with Khanvilkar. Khanvilkar fell with the score on 391 but Powar carried on, adding 53 for the ninth wicket with Zaheer Khan. Mumbai eventually declared on 471 for 9, with an overall lead of 212 runs. Zaheer gave Mumbai an added boost before the day ended by dismissing Sunny Sohal for 4.


Tamil Nadu 312 for 8 (Vijay 65, Badrinath 111, Kartik 3-89) trail Railways 327 (Bangar 163*, Mukund 3-5) by 15 runs
Scorecard
There's a tense battle going on for first-innings points at the Karnail Singh Stadium in Delhi. Tamil Nadu ended the third day on 312, 15 runs behind Railways, but have only two wickets in hand. Their day began poorly, with Murali Kartik trapping M Vijay for no addition to his overnight score of 65, but S Badrinath played a solid, and immensely patient innings. He played out 338 balls for his 111 - adding useful, if not substantial, partnerships with the middle order - and was seventh out with the score on 296. The Railways bowlers had kept chipping away, nipping each partnership before it threatened, and they removed L Balaji too before stumps. C Ganapathy was unbeaten on 17, and R Jesuraj played out two balls before close.


Orissa 192 (Behera 78) and 10 for 1 need another 370 runs to beat Gujarat 270 (Patel 83, Dhiraj Singh 4-97) and 301 for 6 dec (Niraj Patel 107, Parthiv 76, Thaker 52)
Scorecard
Gujarat's batsmen played aggressively in the second innings to give themselves enough time to force a win against Orissa on the final day. Beginning the day on 4 for 0, with a lead of 82, Gujarat proceeded to amass 301 for 6 before declaring. Niraj Patel scored 107, Parthiv Patel made 76 off 107 balls, while Bhavik Thaker smashed 52 off 48 balls. Niraj Patel scored the bulk of the runs during a 93-run stand with Hem Joshipura and he added another 108 runs with Parthiv. Orissa's bowlers picked up wickets thereafter as the Gujarat batsman played their shots. The hosts ended the third day on a high in Ahmedabad when Mehul Patel trapped Bikas Pati to reduce Orissa to 10 for 1.

Hyderabad 328 (Abhinav 73, Arjun 71, Malik 4-67) and 101 for 3 lead Himachal Pradesh 350 (Dogra 123, Mannu 68) by 79 runs
Scorecard
Paras Dogra's fourth first-class century gave Himachal Pradesh first-innings lead points on the third day against Hyderabad. Replying to Hyderabad's 328, Himachal resumed on 166 for 3 with Dogra on 54 and Ajay Mannu on 68. MP Arjun bowled Mannu for 68 but Dogra carried on, making 123 before he was lbw to Alfred Absolem. Himachal slipped thereafter, from 238 for 3 to 307 for 9, before the last-wicket partnership added 43 runs to earn a first-innings lead of 22. Hyderabad wiped out that deficit, reaching 101 for 3 at stumps, but the game is likely to end in a draw on the

http://www.cricinfo.com/ranjisuperleague2009/content/story/433063.html

[ramshorns]

Mithun with 11 wickets in the season opener for Karnataka in a win is the standout performer of the week.  There are other notable performances like the Shikar Dhawan's double ton, Manish Pandey's near double ton and Bose's 10 wicket haul.  But Mithun in a big win gets the award.

[keep-it-cool]

Mithun with 11 wickets in the season opener for Karnataka in a win is the standout performer of the week.  There are other notable performances like the Shikar Dhawan's double ton, Manish Pandey's near double ton and Bose's 10 wicket haul.  But Mithun in a big win gets the award.

Hehe ..this is a good idea ...like SMG's Ceat cricketer of the week. We should have a CV Cricketer of the Round award after each match in the Ranji Trophy.

Maybe I'll add a poll to this thread after each match - with some contenders thrown in.

Tell me what you guys think and we can decide whether to do something like this or not.

[ramshorns]

Mithun with 11 wickets in the season opener for Karnataka in a win is the standout performer of the week.  There are other notable performances like the Shikar Dhawan's double ton, Manish Pandey's near double ton and Bose's 10 wicket haul.  But Mithun in a big win gets the award.

Hehe ..this is a good idea ...like SMG's Ceat cricketer of the week. We should have a CV Cricketer of the Round award after each match in the Ranji Trophy.

Maybe I'll add a poll to this thread after each match - with some contenders thrown in.

Tell me what you guys think and we can decide whether to do something like this or not.

Go for it.  It will be nice.

[poondu]

Karnataka starts strongly. Vinay Kumar takes 8 of 32 runs.
RD elected to field after winning the toss batting no on 33.

Hyd restricts Punjab to 200+ in Mohali


Karnataka 91 for 2 (Pawan 40*, Dravid 33*) trail Delhi 156 (Vinay Kumar 8-32) by 65 runs
Scorecard

Right-arm seamer R Vinay Kumar demolished Delhi as Karnataka held all the aces on the opening day at the Roshanara Club Ground. Vinay Kumar did full justice to captain Rahul Dravid's decision to field first as he ran through the opposition to finish with a splendid haul of eight wickets. None of the Delhi batsmen managed to cross 31, the top score set by wicketkeeper Puneet Bisht coming in at No. 8. The only blips for Karnataka were losing opener Muralidharen Gautam and Amit Verma during the reply.

Uttar Pradesh 287 for 5 (Shukla 119, Parvinder 120*) v Saurashtra
Scorecard

Twin centuries from Shivakant Shukla and Parvinder Singh boosted Uttar Pradesh against Saurashtra in Rajkot. UP looked to be tottering at 51 for 3 during the opening stages after choosing to bat, but the duo of Shukla and Parvinder led the revival with a strong 180-run stand. While Shukla hit 11 fours and three sixes during his 212-ball innings, Parvinder managed 16 fours and two sixes during his unbeaten 206-ball knock.

Baroda 219 for 6 (Martin 46, Pathan 42*, Shah 41*) v Bengal
Scorecard

A string of forties propped up Baroda even as they lost regular wickets after being put in by Bengal at the Eden Gardens. The Bengal seamers made the most of the home advantage as they had Baroda wobbling at 88 for 4. But Jacob Martin's patient 46 kept Baroda in the hunt and by stumps it was the unbeaten 73-run stand for the seventh wicket between Irfan Pathan and wicketkeeper Pinal Shah that kept Bengal away from doing further damage.

Group A

Hyderabad 12 for 1 trail Punjab 221 (Inder Singh 63, Arjun 6-47) by 209 runs
Scorecard

Right-arm seamer MP Arjun wreaked havoc as Punjab were skittled out for 221 in Chandigarh. Hyderabad then lost wicketkeeper-opener Abhinav Kumar just before stumps to set up an interesting second day. Put in by Hyderabad, Punjab were buoyed by the lone fifty in the innings, from Ravi Inder Singh. But the rest of the batsmen proved no match for Arjun as the 23-year-old removed six of the top seven to give the visitors the upper hand. Alfred Absolem gave Arjun good support, chipping in with three wickets.

Railways 238 for 4 (TP Singh 102, Sarandeep 4-79) v Himachal Pradesh
Scorecard

ICL returnee TP Singh was the star for Railways as they finished on a strong note against Himachal Pradesh in Delhi. The left-hander scored a confident 102 as Railways looked to take the upper hand under home conditions. Though offspinner Sarandeep Singh held sway throughout the innings in the earlier part, he was only able to end the flourishing 130-run stand between TP Singh and Yere Goud (48 not out) in the 88th over of the day. TP became Sarandeep's fourth victim, but not before he had hit 12 fours and three sixes during his 177-ball innings.

Gujarat 275 for 5 (Parthiv 130*, Thaker 72) v Tamil Nadu
Scorecard

Parthiv Patel anchored Gujarat's innings well with an unbeaten hundred, on the opening day's play against Tamil Nadu in Motera. The wicketkeeper-captain smashed 19 boundaries as Gujarat recovered well from the early blows dealt by Chandrasekar Ganapathy, after they opted to bat. Parthiv's third-wicket partnership of 148 with Bhavik Thaker, who scored a fluent half-century, proved to be critical as Gujarat took stumps at 275 for 5.

Heavy showers ensured no play was possible in the match between Mumbai and Orissa at the Brabourne

---------------

Posting Ganavk's post in this thread, so that we can track performances in the same thread..

[poondu]

Ranji Trophy Super League, 2nd round, 2nd day

Vijay and Karthik lead strong Tamil Nadu reply

Cricinfo staff

November 11, 2009

Text size: A | A Group A


Tamil Nadu 198 for 2 (Vijay 91*, Arun Karthik 87) trail Gujarat 343 (Parthiv 166, Balaji 4-51, Srinivas 4-75) by 145 runs
Scorecard


Tamil Nadu dictated terms on the second day in Ahmedabad with a strong batting performance, led by half-centuries by M Vijay and Arun Karthik. Tamil Nadu ended the day 145 adrift of Gujarat's 343, but lost only two wickets, with Vijay going strong with an unbeaten 91. Earlier, Aushik Srinivas and L Balaji took four wickets each to keep Gujarat from piling on a massive score. Resuming on 275 for 5, the overnight pair of Parthiv Patel and Timil Patel progressed steadily to 316 before a lower order collapse gave Tamil Nadu the initiative. Srinivas and Balaji bowled well in tandem as Gujarat lost their last five wickets for 27 runs. Parthiv went on to score 166. Tamil Nadu got off to a bad start when they lost S Anirudha for a duck in the second over but it was smooth sailing from there on as Vijay and Karthik played positively. Karthik progressed at more than a run a ball at one stage and looked set to score a century but was stumped on 87 off Niraj Patel. Vijay, who was named in the Indian Test squad against Sri Lanka, was particularly strong against the spinners and his innings included nine fours and a six. With this start, Tamil Nadu look well placed to take a first-innings lead.

Punjab 221 and 59 for 3 (Khader 2-17) lead Hyderabad 193 (Quadri 73*, Ablish 4-70, Harmeet 3-52, Gony 3-58) by 87 runs
Scorecard


Punjab's seam trio of Harmeet Singh, Luv Ablish and Manpreet Gony combined to bowl out Hyderabad for 193 and secure a first-innings lead of 28 against Hyderabad in Mohali. Harmeet and Ablish's early strikes had Hyderabad tottering at 54 for 5, and there was further trouble for the visitors when they lost the experienced VVS Laxman for 26. The score at that stage read 89 for 7, but a fighting unbeaten 73 by Syed Quadri helped Hyderabad fight back. Quadri added 52 with MP Arjun and 47 with Ashwin Yadav. Gony took three lower order wickets to bowl Hyderabad out before they could get closer to his team's total of 221. The Punjab top order however faltered in the second innings and ended the day with an overall lead of 87. Mohammed Khader, the left-arm seamer, got rid of the openers. Pankaj Dharmani was unbeaten at stumps on 10, but it was a significant day for his career as he crossed the 7000-run mark in the Ranji Trophy.

Himachal Pradesh 34 for 0 trail Railways 419 (Sanyal 92, Goud 58, Sarandeep 7-120) by 385 runs
Scorecard

Sanjib Sanyal led Railways' lower order effort with 92 to post a strong 419 against Himachal Pradesh at the Karnail Singh Stadium. Sarandeep Singh, the offspinner, was rewarded with seven wickets after sending down close to 57 overs. Railways lost Yere Goud early for 58 but that's when Sanyal came in and took control, supported by Akshay Girap and Karan Sharma. Sanyal hit eight fours and a six before he was the eighth wicket to fall, caught behind off Sarandeep. The Himachal openers began cautiously, adding 34 in 20 overs before stumps

Heavy showers ensured no play was possible for the second consecutive day between Mumbai and Orissa at the Brabourne Stadium.

Group B


Delhi 154 and 93 for 2 (Dhawan 43*) trail Karnataka 260 (Dravid 78, Narwal 4-71, Suyal 4-67) 13 runs
Scorecard


Rahul Dravid led the way for Karnataka with a half-century to secure a first-innings lead of 106 against Delhi at the Roshanara Club Ground. Delhi only managed 154 on the opening day so it was a question of how long Karnataka could extend their lead. Dravid was the cornerstone of Karnataka's effort with 78, an innings which included 11 fours. The lower order then continued to frustrate Delhi, with the last-wicket pair of Abhimanyu Mithun and S Aravind adding 47. The seam-bowling pair of Sumit Narwal and Pawan Suyal took four wickets apiece. The Delhi batsmen put in a much better effort in their second innings, ending the day with a deficit of 13.

Saurashtra 125 for 3 (Mehta 44*) trail Uttar Pradesh 395 (Parvinder 122, Dhurv 5-107, Jobanputra 4-82) by 270 runs
Scorecard

Saurashtra's Rakesh Dhurv and Sandeep Jobanputra took nine wickets between them but Uttar Pradesh held the upper hand in Rajkot as they posted 395 and halted Saurashtra's effort with three wickets. Parvinder Singh added only two to his overnight score when he was dismissed by Jobanputra. The lower order then put together partnerships to frustrate the home side. Dhurv, the left-arm spinner, took his fifth five-wicket haul. Saurashtra didn't get off to the best of starts, losing three wickets for 59, but Pratik Mehta and *anshu Kotak steadied the innings with a stand of 66.


Bengal 102 for 3 (Arindam 52*) trail Baroda 307 (Pinal 63, Swapnil 43*, Lahiri 3-29) by 205 runs
Scorecard


A decent effort by Baroda's lower order - led by Pinal Shah - lifted the score to 307 against Bengal at the Eden Gardens. Shah hit 63 and he was supported by Swapnil Singh, who made an unbeaten 43. Sourav Sarkar, Saurasish Lahiri and Laxmi Ratan Shukla all took three wickets apiece. Bengal were under a bit of pressure when Irfan Pathan struck to leave Baroda at 73 for 3. But Arindam Das held firm till stumps with an unbeaten 52.

http://www.cricinfo.com/ranjisuperleague2009/content/story/434030.html

[Blwe_torch]

From a spot of bother at 73 for 3 to a reasonable 252/ 5, as of now

Baroda 307

Bengal 252/5 (70.0 ov)

Bengal trail by 55 runs with 5 wickets remaining in the 1st innings

Lunch - Day 3

    * Bengal RR 3.60
    * Min overs remaining 55.2


   Batsmen    Runs    B    4s    6s    SR                Mat    Runs    HS    Ave       
   *Laxmi Shukla (rhb)    67    93    9    2    72.04       striker             95    3762    141    31.88       
   Dibyendu Chakrabarty (rhb)    5    18    1    0    27.77       non-striker             5    289    82    41.28       


Current partnership 34 runs, 8.0 overs, RR: 4.25

Last Bat SC Ganguly b YK Pathan 76 (41m 97b 14x4 0x6) SR: 78.35

Fall of wicket: 218/5 (61.6 ov); Partnership: 76 runs, 18.4 overs, RR: 4.07



......thanks largely to SG...14 boundaries in his 76, that is, 56 runs in boundaries alone!