Chandan Posted November 19, 2008 Author Share Posted November 19, 2008 ROUND III, DAY 3 Karnataka v Andhra, Ranji Trophy Super League, Mysore, 3rd day Dravid fifty takes Karnataka close to win The Bulletin by Siddarth Ravindran in Mysore November 18, 2008 Andhra 218 (Manoj Sai 70, Suresh 54, Joshi 5-41) and 28 for 4 need another 292 runs to beat Karnataka 366 and 171 (Dravid 50, Vijaykumar 6-51) Scorecard Rahul Dravid's polished 50 was the centrepiece of Karnataka's second innings Seventeen wickets fell on a dramatic third day in Mysore, but there was no change in the overall match situation, with Karnataka retaining a firm grip. Andhra fought back after falling 148 runs short in the first innings through medium-pacer P Vijaykumar's six-wicket haul. But their top order's failings, on a pitch with a hint of variable bounce, put Karnataka back in charge. Andhra mostly kept only two fielders on the leg side, and their bowlers' persistent outside-off line had most of the Karnataka batsmen feeling for the ball. Vijaykumar reaped most of the benefits, five of his wickets coming through catches to the keeper or slip. His other victim, Robin Uthappa, squatted exaggeratedly after being bowled for 9 indicating that the ball kept lower than he had anticipated. Rahul Dravid's polished 50 was the centrepiece of Karnataka's second innings, but the youngsters in the line-up failed again. A big chunk of Dravid's, and Karnataka's, runs came in the region between third man and cover. He started cautiously, refusing to be tempted by the wide deliveries outside off stump, and it was only after getting his eye in that he employed the cut. There were some soft-handed, controlled glides past slip and, some delicate leg glances when the bowling drifted onto his pads. The only blemish in another assured knock was an attempted upper-cut which flew just above the hands of slip. He finally fell, nicking a wide delivery from D Kalyankrishna to the keeper; Karnataka slipped to 135 for 6. Brief bursts of hitting followed from Thilak Naidu, Sunil Joshi and Vinay Kumar before the innings came to a close with NC Aiyappa giving a straightforward catch to Hemal Watekar at slip off Vijaykumar, who was so elated with his career-best performance that he tripped over a team-mate's foot as he set off on a celebratory run. Barring Dravid, the Karnataka batsmen frequently groped for the ball outside off stump before finally getting an edge. G Satish's innings typifying their display: he edged past third slip, survived two massive appeals for caught behind, and, in one period, was beaten in four of five deliveries, before finally being caught by wicketkeeper Manoj Sai. Andhra needed 320 off 120 overs to pull off a comeback victory, a challenging task but as good a position as they could have hoped for at the start of the day. However their batsmen chose to follow the template set by Karnataka's batsmen. Loose away-from-the-body wafts led to three Andhra wickets; those of their openers, Watekar and LNP Reddy, and their first-innings top scorer Sai. Joshi chipped in with one more, trapping B Sumanth lbw on the back foot, and the visitors finished the day on 28 for 4. Their tail-enders had responded better to the challenge of saving the follow-on in the morning session. They were eight down after Joshi got Kalyankrishna in the fourth over of the day, but M Suresh and debutant Suresh Babu resisted. Suresh fell soon after bringing up his fifty, miscuing a pull to point. Andhra were nine down, and still needed 16 more runs. The inexperienced left-arm spinner KP Appanna was brought on at that stage, a move which backfired as Babu slammed three fours in his first over. A sweep for four in Appanna's next over ensured Andhra avoided the follow-on. Karnataka were disappointed but their smiles were back by the end of the day. Tamil Nadu vs Uttar Pradesh, Ranji Trophy Super League, Ghaziabad, 3rd day Balaji and Karthik set up crushing win for Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu 507 (Dinesh Karthik 213, Badrinath 123, Gupta 4-123) beat Uttar Pradesh 150 (Balaji 4-38, Amarnath 4-53) and 119 (Balaji 5-42, Ganapathy 4-21) by an innings and 238 runs Scorecard L Balaji celebrated his return to first-class cricket with a five-wicket haul to help Tamil Nadu sink Uttar Pradesh by an innings and 238 runs in Ghaziabad. The captain, Dinesh Karthik, made his highest first-class score (213) to push Tamil Nadu past 500 before Balaji and C Ganapathy combined to bundle out UP for 119. Resuming on 356 for 4, Karthik strengthened Tamil Nadu's position by adding 66 for the sixth wicket with R Ashwin. Karthik was eventually dismissed by Praveen Gupta, the left-arm spinner, who was the most effective bowler for UP with figures of 4 for 123. Faced with a daunting deficit of 357, UP began cautiously as their openers added 36 in 17 overs. Ganapathy broke through for Tamil Nadu, sending back Shivakant Shukla and that's when the slide began for the home side. Only four players managed double figures and the resistance was feeble as Balaji and Ganapathy pegged away at the wickets, finishing the formalities in just 43 overs and a day to spare. Balaji finished with 5 for 42 while Ganapathy was equally threatening with 4 for 21. The win has pushed Tamil Nadu to the top of the Group B points table with 12 points. Another POV Balaji scalps five to lead Tamil Nadu to a big win in perfect match Sports Reporter HIGH-FIVES: Balaji and his teammates celebrate the fall of Prashant Gupta. Shreya Chakravertty Posted: Nov 19, 2008 at 2341 hrs IST Ghaziabad, November 18 : Just before he was about to take strike on Tuesday morning, Dinesh Karthik made a quick signal to the Tamil Nadu dressing room, signalling for a change of pads before getting things underway. If that was any indication of the perfection he was trying to achieve, his side’s innings and 238-run victory over Uttar Pradesh was a fair reflection of three days of Cricket when they got everything just right. Unbeaten overnight on 159, a double century was well within Karthik’s sights, as well as the chance to complete 3000 runs in first-class cricket. But Karthik appeared more concerned with setting an insurmountable total for the Uttar Pradesh batsmen. He reached 200 with a quick single, allowed himself a short celebratory leap, before running back to complete another run. Only then did he allow himself a smile and raised his bat towards his applauding team mates. “It was a dream match, everything went well,†said the Tamil Nadu skipper after Laxmipathy Balaji and C Ganapathy had completed the mopping-up operation with the ball after UP bowled the visitors out for 507. The duo picked up nine wickets between them. Falling in place Earlier, Uttar Pradesh couldn’t do much as the scoreboard kept ticking in the visiting team’s favour. By the time Praveen Gupta managed to bowl out double centurion Karthik, the damage had been done. The rest of the Tamil Nadu batsmen sprayed shots all over the ground to add a few quick runs to the tally, with Balaji playing a particularly useful cameo. He hit two sixes and a four in his short stay of 25 runs at the crease, much to the delight of those who had been shouting out for his autograph every time he fielded near the boundary ropes. Tanmay Srivastava and Parvinder Singh were the top-scorers for Uttar Pradesh with 22 each, as the home side was bowled out for 119. But Laxmipathy Balaji’s incisive bowling proved too good for Uttar Pradesh as Tamil Nadu posted an innings victory over the home side in its Ranji Trophy Super League Group B match at the Jawahar Lal Nehru Cricket Stadium here on Tuesday. Balaji, who hit the right areas and got enough swing to trouble the home batsmen, struck in quick succession to castle Prashant Gupta and Srivastava. After Parvinder Singh edged one to Karthik, the former India seamer trapped Praveen Gupta in front and went through Sudeep Tyagi’s defence to complete his five-wicket haul and return match figures of nine for 80. Earlier, his 20-ball 25 with the bat had helped his team get past the 500-run mark. Tamil Nadu took six points, including a bonus point, from this win, to tally 12 points from three matches. Tamil Nadu coach W.V. Raman was pleased with the effort. “We needed this outright win or else it would have been deflating. We couldn’t finish the job in the last two outings. It is good now that the bowlers believe it can be done. It makes a complete job with batsmen also getting runs.†“I didn’t expect UP to submit so easily, but the absence of a couple of their players made a difference,†Tamil Nadu coach WV Raman said. “But we played a great match, particularly Dinesh and Balaji. Dinesh is my Man of the Match, and it was tremendous to see Balaji end up with nine wickets. He has been unlucky in the past, and it’s nice to see him make a mark in the wickets column,†said Raman. Mumbai vs Delhi, Ranji Trophy Super League, Kotla, Delhi, 3rd Day Mumbai pocket three points Mumbai 330 and 149 for 0 (Jaffer 71*, Kukreja 77*) lead Delhi 295 (Manhas 98, Bhatia 81) by 184 runs Scorecard After gaining a first-innings lead of 35, Mumbai took further control over Delhi at the Feroz Shah Kotla with their openers, Wasim Jaffer and Sahil Kukreja, ending the day unbroken on 149. Mumbai extended their overall lead to 184 and with a draw likely, Mumbai should profit from their first-innings points unless something dramatic happens on the final day. Resuming on 176 for 4, Delhi looked to their overnight pair of Mithun Manhas and Rajat Bhatia to push them past the visitors' 330. The score progressed to 225 but Mumbai clawed back, picking up five wickets for 33 runs. Manhas fell two short of his hundred and Bhatia fell for 81 and the chief wicket-takers were the spin duo of Sairaj Bahutule and Ramesh Powar. The last-wicket pair of Chetanya Nanda and Parvinder Awana resisted for just over 15 overs but the innings eventually ended at 295. Kukreja and Jaffer batted out 37 overs and scored 70s, rounding off a good day for the visitors. Another POV Bahutule and Powar turn the tide in Mumbai’s favour : Hosts busted Ironically, the two men who gallantly made a match of it for Delhi ended up being equally guilty of making a mess of it. Mithun Manhas and Rajat Bhatia, the two overnight batsmen hammered the Mumbai pace bowlers out of the firing line before committing hara-kiri against spinners Ramesh Powar and Sairaj Bahutule, as the host conceded a decisive 35-run first-innings lead in the Ranji Trophy Super League match at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground here on Tuesday. Hands on his waist, legs crossed, shaking his head in disbelief, Mithun Manhas stood at the wicket long after the umpire had raised his finger. A hundred in his 100th first-class match would’ve been fitting for this domestic giant, but he had fallen two short. Decisive phase The 29-year-old, who has developed the habit of inventing soft dismissals for himself, again fell against the run of play. He had played two exquisite shots off Ajit Agarkar — a cover-drive and a square cut — to race from 90 to 98, but then cut a short ball from Ramesh Powar straight into Agarkar’s hands at point. CENTRE OF ATTRACTION: Ramesh Powar (left) took three wickets as Mumbai snatched the first innings lead against Delhi. But, while Mumbai's pacers were ineffective, the spinners weren't. After 13 overs of fruitless seam bowling on Tuesday morning, the sixth delivery from the off-spinner had fetched Mumbai the breakthrough, marking the beginning of the end for the hosts. Wasim Jaffer brought on offie Ramesh Powar in the 14th over of the day and was rewarded with a wicket six balls later. Manhas, on 98, ferociously cut a long-hop from Powar straight into the hands of Ajit Agarkar at point. Powar's spinning partner Sairaj Bahutule then got into the act, trapping Puneet Bisht for a three-ball duck, foxing him into padding up to a googly. Delhi had lost two wickets in five balls. And soon after, Delhi’s last hope, Rajat Bhatia, who had moved into the 80s, was stumped after stepping out too early against Bahutule’s turn. Bhatia has got Delhi out of the mire many a time in the past, and his team needed a similar effort to get out of jail. Bhatia, however, let himself and Delhi down with a rush of blood. Dancing down the track to Bahutule, Bhatia completely misread the flight of the delivery and was stumped by the impressive Vinayak Samant. This dismissal firmly shut the door on Delhi in its chase of the first innings lead. The long-handle approach of Sumeet Narwal and Pradeep Sangwan did not last long and ended in easy catches. From 225/4, Delhi had slumped to 258/9 in 14 overs of quality spin bowling. The last-wicket pair of Chetnya Nanda and Parvinder Awana delayed the inevitable for 65 minutes before Powar castled the latter. Though the last-wicket partnership was worth 37, Delhi’s embarrassing shot-selection raised questions about the lack of accountability in the team because of a weak bench. In the pre-lunch session, Delhi, looking healthy at 225 for four, simply collapsed to 258 for nine before the last-wicket pair added 37 runs. Powar and Bahutule picked up three wickets each by benefiting hugely from Delhi’s irresponsible stroke-play. Delhi chairman of selectors Chetan Chauhan kept changing chairs in the hope that the team’s fortunes would change too, and superstition kept Mumbai coach Praveen Amre walking along the boundary rope to help his team. But no divine intervention was needed. Without having to make an extraordinary effort in the field, Mumbai walked away with a 35-run first-innings lead and the three points that come with it. For the remainder of the day, a submissive Delhi chased leather as the Mumbai openers methodically built on the advantage. Kukreja smashed 77 with 15 boundaries and Jaffer helped himself to 71, including nine hits to the fence, as Mumbai looked set to add to Delhi’s misery. From afternoon till evening, as Wasim Jaffer and Sahil Kukreja took charge of Mumbai’s second innings with an unbroken opening stand of 149, the concern within the Delhi dressing room was more about Rajat Bhatia’s wedding and his unavailability for the next game. As of now, the defending champions’ campaign seems to be moving ahead without purpose, motivation or direction. With three points in the bag, the job for the Mumbai batsmen was straightforward - bat out the game. The opening duo of Sahil Kukreja (77*) and Wasim Jaffer (71*) did just that, reg istering stylish half-centuries on the way. Mumbai ended the day on 144 without loss. While they started cautiously, negotiating the new ball, Kukreja, in par ticular, came into his own later on. He found the bound aries with clockwork regularity, his 115-ball 77 was studded with 15 breathtaking hits to the fence. It was a joy to watch the two bat - Jaffer with his sup ple wrists and impeccable timing complementing Kukreja's impetuosity. They drove with lazy ele gance, cut with brute force and ran with determination to take Mumbai further away from Delhi and, perhaps, even from the title. An overall lead of 184 and the indication from Mumbai skipper Wasim Jaffer that he would like to bat all of Wednesday, if given a chance, means the final day is going to be a long haul on the field for the host. Given the state of Delhi’s attack on the fourth day of their last two matches, it won’t be a surprise if no effort is made to stop the Mumbai skipper from dealing another psychological blow to the hosts when play resumes. With the competitive element virtually over, the proceedings of the final day will only be of statistical interest. Titles are not won this early into the season, but they sure can be lost. On Tuesday, Delhi could well have lost theirs. Trailing Mumbai in the first innings by 35 runs - unless they win from here, Delhi will be left with five points from three games - retaining the Ranji Trophy title seems improbable, if not entire impossible. Gujarat vs Hyderabad, Ranji Trophy Super League, Motera, Ahmedabad, 3rd Day Hyderabad 225 (Qadri 57, Parmar 4-44) and 45 for 3 (Trivedi 3-16) trail Gujarat 520 for 9 decl by 250 runs Scorecard Hyderabad were staring at defeat on the third day after being asked to follow-on against Gujarat in Ahmedabad. The star for the home team was Siddarth Trivedi, the right-arm seamer, who took four wickets to restrict Hyderabad to 225 and later took all three wickets to fall in the second innings. Hyderabad ended the day at 45 for 3, needing a further 250 to make Gujarat bat again. The top order failed to contribute substantially contributions and wickets fell at regular intervals. They were 132 for 3 in the 48th over and soon lost four wickets for 18 runs and never recovered from that position. Syed Qadri offered some resistance with a half-century but the rest collapsed to Trivedi and Mohnish Parmar, who shared seven wickets between them. Trivedi finished with 4 for 44 while Parmar took three wickets for the same number of runs. Hyderabad fell 295 short of Gujarat's 520 and their situation worsened when they stumbled to Trivedi again. Arjun Yadav and T Suman were unbeaten at stumps with their team needing to bat out the entire day tomorrow to save the match. Another POV Hyderabad forced to follow-on Principal Correspondent Gujarat bowlers show desired discipline Hyderabad coach hopes for improved display in second essay AHMEDABAD: Hyderabad suffered the ignominy of being forced to follow-on and was struggling at 45 for three in its second innings against Gujarat at close on the third day of its four-day Ranji Trophy Super League match at Sardar Patel Stadium (Motera) here on Tuesday. The Gujarat bowlers showed the desired discipline on a pitch which still looked good for batting while, it was a spineless display by Hyderabad’s batsmen. Opener Tirumala Shetty perished again when looking good, nicking an away-swinger from Siddarth Trivedi to be caught behind. Southpaw Rushi Raj ducked into a short-pitched ball from Trivedi which did not gain height and crashed into his nose and fractured it. He was rushed to the hospital, but showed character to delay the operation and came out to bat again. Pick of the bowlers Trivedi was clearly the pick of the bowlers. At the stroke of lunch, captain Arjun Yadav could not resist the temptation to go for an on-side stroke and ended giving up a simple catch at mid-on. Hyderabad collapsed from 126 for three at lunch to 206 for eight at tea. This was the phase when Parmar, a self-proclaimed copy of Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, held centrestage — more so because of his accuracy and awkward action than any great spin — to pick up three wickets. That the diminutive Ahmed Quadri (57, 87 balls, 7x4) came up with some pleasing off-side strokes was proof that the pitch held no devils. Hyderabad coach Kanwaljit Singh’s hopes of an improved display in the second essay, after being bowled out for 225 in the first essay, vanished in no time. Trivedi was again impressive picking all the three wickets to fall. First, Ravi Teja was visibly dejected at being declared lbw, then southpaw Anoop Pai shouldered arms to an in-swinger to be bowled and finally Abhinav Kumar was trapped on the shuffle to bring Gujarat closer to a probable outright victory on Wednesday. Orissa vs Rajasthan, Ranji Trophy Super League, Sambalpur, 3rd Day Orissa 281 and 109 for 3 (Das 57*) lead Rajasthan 270 (Khoda 127, Dhiraj 7-83) by 120 runs Scorecard A seven-wicket haul by Dhiraj Singh helped Orissa snatch a vital first-innings lead of 11 against Rajasthan in Sambalpur. Dhiraj, the left-arm spinner, ran through the middle order to bowl out Rajasthan for 270. The visitors ended the second day at a strong 172 for 2 and looked set to obtain a lead but Dhiraj spoilt their plans. Gagan Khoda helped push the overnight score to 228 and reached his 19th first-class century but the slide began after he was dismissed. Dhiraj took the next five wickets to fall and in the end finished with 7 for 83. Shiv Sundar Das scored an unbeaten 57 to extent Orissa's advantage to 120 with seven second-innings wickets in hand Baroda vs Railways, Ranji Trophy Super League, Karnail Singh Stadium, Delhi, 3rd Day Baroda 460 for 8 (Bilakhia 157, Williams 137) lead Railways 224 by 236 runs Scorecard It was another luckless day for Railways as Baroda, led by centuries by Azharuddin Bilakhia (157) and Connor Williams (137), stretched the lead to 236 at the Karnail Singh Stadium. The pair added a mammoth 278 for the second wicket, more than what 11 Railways players could manage, before Karan Sharma ended Williams' resistance. Murali Kartik took two quick wickets and Baroda suddenly lost three wickets against the run of play. However, the home side failed to make further inroads as Baroda frustrated them with two partnerships with 50 and 43 respectively. Shatrunjay Gaekwad scored a patient 47 while Irfan Pathan chipped in with 40 off 52 balls to push the score past 400. With a day left, and Railways yet to dismiss the opposition, a draw looms. Another POV Baroda set sights on outright win Special Correspondent NEW DELHI: Baroda will explore every possibility to garner victory with a bonus point on the last day of its Ranji Trophy Super League match against Railways at the Karnail Singh Stadium here on Wednesday. Baroda set their sights on an outright victory after declaring their innings at 460 for eight towards close on the third day in reply to Railways’ first innings total of 224. Connor Williams and Azhar Bilakhia, who had put on 218 runs on the second day, added 60 more before Williams fell for 137. Bilakhia fell soon after for an aggressive 157, after adding 30 runs to his own overnight tally. Baroda suffered a middle-order collapse before Shatrunjay Gaekwad (47 off 122 balls with three fours) and Irfan Pathan (40 off 52 balls with four fours and two sixes) added 50 runs for the sixth wicket to increase the lead. Left-arm spinner Murali Kartik and leg-spinner Karan Sharma took three wickets each to contain the Baroda batsmen. But it was his day He added crucial . 40 runs, signed autographs and never refused fans who wanted a picture clicked. He was Irfan Pathan. The declaration came after Shatrunjay Gaekwad, on 47, scooped a catch to Yere Goud at mid-off in his attempt to reach his fifty before tea. He shared a 43-run stand with Rajesh Powar for the eighth wicket. For the home side, it was another torturous day on the field. Karan Sharma finished with 3 for 55 and Murali Kartik picked up 3 for 78. When it was their turn to bat, Sanjay Bangar and Amit Pagnis had no major worries despite a few questions from Salim Veragi and some nervous moments against Irfan Pathan. They saw off the new ball playing 21 overs and scoring just 33 runs as they look to survive on Day Four. “The spinners did a good job for us,†said Railways coach Abhay Sharma. Meanwhile, Bangar said he was hopeful of saving the match. “We will try to save the match. The first session on Day One went against us and we could not recover after that,†he said. Punjab vs Saurashtra, Ranji Trophy Super League, Rajkot, 3rd Day Saurashtra 81 for 1 (Chauhan 41*) trail Punjab 482 (Inder Singh 114, Sohal 103, Kohli 79, Kakkar 67, Jadeja 5-106, Makvana 3-115) by 401 runs Scorecard Cheteshwar Pujara is on a roll. After scoring two triple-centuries in the lead-up to the Ranji season, he scored a blazing 189 off 182 balls today and with the dour Shithanshu Kotak for company, took Saurashtra close to Punjab's 482 in Rajkot. Kotak, who scored 102 off 287 balls, played second fiddle in a mammoth stand of 258 for the third wicket. Punjab began the day on a good note, dismissing Bhushan Chauhan for 45 but had to wait nearly 60 overs for their next breakthrough. Pujara smashed 31 fours in his knock and looked set for a double-century before edging Charanjeet Singh to Pankaj Dharmani. Manpreet Gony later accounted for Kotak and he was the last wicket to fall as Saurashtra trailed by 77. Another POV Pujara shows his class again Special Correspondent Rajkot: Cheteshwar Pujara took the centre-stage with a dazzling 189 (182b, 31x4) against Punjab on the third day of the Ranji Trophy Super League match at the Race Course Ground on Tuesday. At stumps, the host finished the day on 405 for four. Sitanshu Kotak, the host’s backbone for several years, also made a useful century. The home team thrived on the third-wicket stand, which produced 258 runs in four hours and five minutes. With his majestic driving, cutting and deft stroke-play, Pujara collared an attack that had two seamers of some reputation — Gagandeep Singh and Manpreet Gony — and off-spinner Charanjit Singh. As usual, Kotak (102, 400m, 287b, 5x4s) played a defensive role and turned out to be an ideal foil for the young champion performer. Pujara, once he read the pitch well, stepped down, picked the gap between mid-on and mid-wicket and whipped an on-drive with the spin of Charanjit. Showing fine footwork, he deployed himself to execute a variety of strokes on either side of the wicket. Link to comment
Chandan Posted November 22, 2008 Author Share Posted November 22, 2008 I'm so sorry that I was unable to post the final day's round-up of IIIrd round. But I'll do so now, even if it is two days late. ROUND III, DAY 4 Karnataka v Andhra, Ranji Trophy Super League, Mysore, 4th day Karnataka cruise to maiden win The Bulletin by Siddarth Ravindran in Mysore November 19, 2008 Karnataka 366 (Uthappa 133, Joshi 65, Kalyankrishna 4-85) and 171 (Dravid 50, Vijaykumar 6-51) beat Andhra 218 (Manoj Sai 70, Suresh 54, Joshi 5-41) and 117 (KP Appanna 4-24) by 202 runs Scorecard KP Appanna removed the Andhra tail quickly, finishing with 4 for 24, as Karnataka eased to a 202-run victory in Mysore There were no glorious uncertainties on the fourth day in Mysore with Karnataka needing a little more than two hours to complete a straightforward victory, their first of the season. Andhra's slim chances of making the 292 more runs they needed became slimmer still when their most dependable batsman, Gnaneshwara Rao, fell to a spectacular one-handed catch by Robin Uthappa at mid-off in the fourth over of the day. The Karnataka quicks tested new man AG Pradeep and ASK Varma with a series of bouncers but it wasn't until the introduction of spin that the next wicket fell. Sunil Joshi struck in his first over, getting Varma to nick one to the keeper. Karnataka were looking to finish things early, keeping four men around the bat to the spinners. Andhra were at 49 for 6, with Pradeep, their last recognised batsman, at the crease. He decided to go after the bowling, a lofted on drive off KP Appanna which landed just within the boundary. He followed that up with a six over long-on off Joshi in the next over as Andhra moved briskly to 97 for 6. Appanna, however, brought Andhra's charge to an abrupt halt. M Suresh's attempted backfoot drive ended in the gloves of Naidu, Pradeep's front-foot defensive rolled onto the stumps after deflecting off his pads, GV Sarath Babu was bowled playing down the wrong line, and last man P Vijaykumar's wild heave connected only with air to allow a simple stumping for Naidu, his sixth dismissal in the innings and ninth of the match. Karnataka may have got their season back on track but question marks remain over their fragile batting. Robin Uthappa and Rahul Dravid had satisfactory games but the other specialist batsmen had a match to forget. Another POV Easy for Karnataka Mysore: Karnataka scripted its first victory this season, when it thumped Andhra by 202 runs on the final day in the Group ‘B’ Super League Ranji Trophy match here on Wednesday. Robin Uthappa’s first win as skipper came half-an-hour before lunch when left-arm spinner Appanna removed P. Vijay Kumar, stumped by Thilak Naidu who had a good match with nine victims behind the stumps. Andhra folded up for 117 runs in 49.3 overs against the guiles of Karnataka’s bowlers who operated in tandem and with purpose. Resuming at 28 for four, Andhra lost an impatient-looking skipper Y. Gnaneswara Rao (5) in the third over of the day, when Uthappa leapt to his left to complete a superb one handed catch. The experienced Sunil Joshi, replacing medium-pacer Aiyappa, struck with third delivery. He sent back Satyakumar Verma with a ball that spun sharply to take the edge to Naidu. Appanna scalps four The seventh wicket pair of A.G. Pradeep and southpaw M. Suresh offered stiff resistance by adding 48-runs before Appanna had the latter caught Naidu. The count-down had begun for Andhra. Appanna continued his good work by removing Pradeep (41), castled debutant Sarat Babu and dismissed Vijay Kumar to return figures of four for 23. Medium-pacer P. Vinay Kumar were the other wicket-takers for Karnataka. Karnataka, which secured five points for the win, goes into its next game against Baroda to be played at Bangalore with its morale on a high. Tamil Nadu vs Uttar Pradesh, Ranji Trophy Super League, Ghaziabad, 4th day Balaji and Karthik crush UP on 3rd day Tamil Nadu 507 (Dinesh Karthik 213, Badrinath 123, Gupta 4-123) beat Uttar Pradesh 150 (Balaji 4-38, Amarnath 4-53) and 119 (Balaji 5-42, Ganapathy 4-21) by an innings and 238 runs Scorecard Balaji is well and truly back Chennai: Lakshmipathy Balaji’s astonishing recovery from a stress fracture of the lower back reflects his mental resilience, the advancement of sports science, and the effort of a dedicated coach. The pace spearhead’s match-winning nine-wicket match haul for Tamil Nadu against Uttar Pradesh in a Ranji Trophy Super League match augurs well for the state side. Balaji is buzzing again. “I am running in well, feeling good about my bowling and body,” said Balaji to The Hindu on Wednesday. “I am bowling quicker, am able to bowl longer spells without feeling any strain or discomfort.” Balaji has as many wickets — 27 — as his age, in eights Tests. He wants to play for India again. “In the past 16 months he has gone through several emotions — disappointment, frustration, a sense of helplessness. From being at the top of the world, he found himself in the midst a severe career crisis. Eventually, he had to go under the surgeon’s knife. Not many would have come through the situation in the manner Balaji has done,” said Tamil Nadu coach W.V. Raman. Mixed action Balaji broke down in 2006, his back unable to take the load of a ‘mixed action.’ The bottom half of his body was side-on and the top-half, front-on. Consequently, pressure equalling nearly 10 times his body weight was put on his lower back. S. Ramakrishnan of SportsMechanics, who worked in tandem with Raman during Balaji’s recovery process, said, “Raman took it up as a personal challenge. Balaji not only had to recover from s serious injury but had to remodel his action. It was not going to be easy. He was falling over at the point of delivery, his body was pulling in different directions. The hip and shoulder separation was very high.” Balaji went through an intense, specific recovery programme. A lot of emphasis was on the paceman’s run-up. “His run-up had to be changed. He had to run in with greater intensity and balance and towards the batsman. Then, we focussed on his action. Initially, he bowled with his eyes closed and without the ball in his hand to get a ‘feel’ of his action. Raman wanted Balaji to create a mental image of his action,” revealed Ramakrishnan. A semi-open release — here the front hip and the front shoulder point in the same direction — was the new mode of release for Balaji. His body was more aligned now. Balaji’s stint for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL was not without success. But then he was bowling only four overs in a match. The game’s longer versions presented bigger tests for Balaji and his new methods. If the ongoing Ranji Trophy season is any indication, Balaji is well and truly back. Mumbai vs Delhi, Ranji Trophy Super League, Kotla, Delhi, 4th Day Mumbai pocket three points Mumbai 330 (Rahane 160, Muzumdar 83, Narwal 4-43) and 468 for 4 (Kukreja 229*, Jaffer 98, Rahane 78, Samant 53*) drew with Delhi 295 (Manhas 98, Bhatia 81, Bahutule 3-44) Scorecard Though they were 184 runs ahead of Delhi in their second innings at the start of day four, Mumbai chose to give some batting practice to their top order instead of going for a win. Sahil Kukreja scored his maiden double-hundred, while Wasim Jaffer, Ajinkya Rahane and Vinayak Samant got half-centuries each. Kukreja and Jaffer added 178 together before Sumit Narwal bowled Jaffer for 98. By then the lead was 213 but looking at the way their openers batted with ease on the fourth-day pitch, Mumbai may have been reluctant to set Delhi a target. Rahane, Mumbai's first-innings top scorer, scored a quick 94-ball 78 before he became Narwal's second wicket. Two more wickets fell in the next eight overs before Samant and Kukreja batted out the rest of the day. Theirs was the third century-partnership of the innings. Kukreja's 315-ball 229 included 13 boundaries. Delhi used seven bowlers, including Aakash Chopra, who has taken six wickets in 124 first-class games. Mumbai currently lead the points table with 12 from three games. Another POV Mumbai rock, Delhi roll over : Kukreja's double ton adds to Delhi's misery as the hosts lose the plot again New Delhi, November 19 : There was a contest at the Ferozeshah Kotla on Wednesday, but not between Delhi and Mumbai. Parvinder Awana, drafted into the Delhi XI for the last two games, was waiting for a verdict from the team trainer. “Am I bowling quicker than (Pradeep) Sangwan? We have a bet going,” he asked. It were these little games that kept the interest up on an extremely one-sided day until the Mumbai-Delhi match reached its logical conclusion 18 minutes after tea. In two sessions since play started on Wednesday, Mumbai scored at more than four an over and raced to 468 for four in 114 overs before declaring, as the teams agreed to call off the game. Visiting skipper Wasim Jaffer failed in his own target — he had said he would love to bat the entire day, but was cleaned up two short of his century in the first session — but he would have been mighty pleased with the three points his team picked up for the first innings lead as well as the bruised egos they left behind. Power-packed Kukreja With no pressure of forcing a result, Jaffer’s opening partner Sahil Kukreja allowed his natural instincts to take over. The 23-year-old had spent an entire year waiting for a big one after being dismissed at 199 against the same side at Wankhede last season. Today, there was no letting up as the right-hander slammed his maiden double-hundred and career-best innings in a dominant display of off-side strength, hammering an unbeaten 229. Severe on anything wide, Kukreja’s transition from overnight 77 to his hundred was quick — he got there in 154 balls with 18 fours, while his double ton was laced with 29 boundaries. He was involved in an unfinished fifth-wicket partnership worth 118 runs with wicketkeeper Vinayak Samant, who helped himself to a half-century. The only batsmen to miss out as Delhi dished out some pedestrian fare from their mainstream bowlers were Amol Muzumdar and Hiken Shah. The latter got a leading edge straight to mid-wicket off Chetnya Nanda — the leg spinner’s only success in the innings after he pleaded for one more over in a marathon 23 over spell. Awana, at the other end, had got the ball to reverse a bit to send Muzumdar’s stump flying. This was after Ajinkya Rahane, looking bored, tried an adventurous shot off seamer Sumit Narhwal to be caught at extra cover just before lunch. Need to change for Delhi It is getting rather uncomfortable now for Delhi. What had started with a 'minor blip' against Punjab, has, in two weeks, assumed the shape of potential disaster. Having garnered five out of a possible 18 points from the first three matches of the season, there's urgent need for change - a change in their game, which could lead to a change in fortunes. They need to raise their game, need to make their own luck. They need to do all of it now With what was billed as a 'must-win' match against Mumbai petering out to a tame draw on the last day, Delhi's passage to the quarterfinals is more perilous than ever. Problems galore for Delhi The batsmen have been woeful, and the bowlers all over the place. Delhi need to get their act together, and fast. The three-pacer, one-spinner attack hasn't been working and it is about time the think-tank looked at other options. Offie Narinder Singh has been warming the bench for a while now. As far as the batting goes, Aakash Chopra and Shikhar Dhawan have thrown away starts far too often this season. The middle-order is solely dependent on Manhas and Bhatia, while the likes of Aditya Jain and Mayank Tehlan have had minor roles so far Gauray Chhabra is an option the team can use. The quarterfinals may not be out of reach just yet, but if the champs continue to play the brand of cricket they have, it just could be. Gujarat vs Hyderabad, Ranji Trophy Super League, Motera, Ahmedabad, 4th Day Hyderabad 225 (Quadri 57, Trivedi 4-44) and 287 for 7 (Arjun 118*, Trivedi 3-60) drew with Gujarat 520 for 9 dec (Modi 250*, Niraj 76) Scorecard Hyderabad were staring at defeat on the third day after being asked to follow-on against Gujarat in Ahmedabad. Arjun Yadav's unbeaten century saved Hyderabad from falling to an innings defeat against Gujarat after they were forced to follow on in Ahmedabad. Gujarat were eyeing a big win as Siddharth Trivedi reduced Gujarat to 45 for 3 overnight. Yadav was batting on eight at stumps and day three and along with TS Suman, he added 75 for the fourth wicket before Suman was bowled by Mohnish Parmar for 43. With 48 overs still left in the day, and Hyderabad trailing by 188 runs, Yadav dug his heels in. He added 40 with D Rushi Raj, 80 with Syed Quadri and another 54 with MP Arjun but it looked like Gujarat would take six points from the game when Arjun fell as the seventh wicket and Hyderabad were still trailing with eight more overs to go. However with stolid support from Shoaib Ahmed (4 off 27 balls), Yadav managed to avert the disaster and take away one point from the match. Another POV Arjun Yadav to Hyderabad’s rescue Principal Correspondent Hyderabad captain Arjun Yadav responded in style to the team’s crisis with an unbeaten century to salvage a creditable draw against Gujarat in the Ranji Trophy Super League match at Sardar Patel Stadium (Motera) here on Wednesday. Forced to follow-on and resuming at its overnight score of 45 for three, Hyderabad was desperately looking for someone to don the role of saviour and the 27-year-old Arjun arguably played his best Ranji innings (117 not out, 378 m, 301b, 14 x 4) to avoid the major embarrassment of an innings defeat. The beauty of Arjun’s third Ranji century was the way he punished the erring bowlers with some flowing off-drives, even while showing the technical competence to weather the bowling attack on a pitch that did not show any signs of wear and tear. Suman lends support The Hyderabad captain found an able partner and opener Tirumalashetty Suman. The latter opened out to play some extravagant strokes in the morning session, of both pace and spin, to be with Arjun for important 90 minutes before lunch to provide a decent start today. Then, Suman (47, 171m, 104b, 9 x 4) walked down for an off-drive only to miss the line and bowled by off-spinner Mohnish Parmar. When Parmar removed Rushi Raj to reduce Hyderabad to 147 for five, Gujarat had every every reason to scent victory. But, Arjun, in the company of a determined Ahmed Quadri (33, 4 x 4), put on an invaluable 80-run stand for the sixth wicket. This forced Guajrat captain Parthiv Patel to opt for the second new ball and left-arm pacer Ashraf Makda removed Quadri in his very first to leave the visitors at 227 for six. M.P. Arjun hit Parmar for four huge sixes, all over long-on, before the bowler had the last laugh. However, Arjun stayed on till the end to snatch a draw from a probable defeat. Hyderabad now has seven points from three matches while Gujarat has nine from similar number of games. Orissa vs Rajasthan, Ranji Trophy Super League, Sambalpur, 4th Day Orissa 281 (SS Das 74, Pati 72 Halhadar Das 59, Vivek Yadav 4-45) and 209 (Das 61, Behera 54, Vivek Yadav 4-38) drew with Rajasthan 270 (Khoda 127, Dhiraj 7-83) and 131 for 4 (Bist 60*) Scorecard Yet another draw after Rajasthan bowled out Orissa for 209 but managed only 131 of their 221-run target in Sambalpur. Orissa may have sensed a win when they removed the Rajasthan openers with six on the board but Robin Bist ensured that would not happen by batting for more than three hours for an unbeaten 60. His 68-run stand with Venugopal Rao steadied Rajasthan. There were a few nervous moments when Venugopal and Ashok Meenaria fell in quick succession but 21-year old Rajesh Bishnoi (15 off 62 balls) lent sensible support to Bist and the two batted out 22.5 overs to ensure the draw. Baroda vs Railways, Ranji Trophy Super League, Karnail Singh Stadium, Delhi, 4th Day Railways 274 (Karan Sharma 79, Rawat 67, Pathan 4-42) and 240 for 5 (Pagnis 67, Bangar 55, Rawat 57) drew with Baroda 460 (Bilakhia 157, Williams 137) Scorecard Half-centuries from Sanjay Bangar, Amit Pagnis and Mahesn Rawat prevented Railways from losing to Baroda in Delhi. Having conceded a 186 run first-innings lead, Railways got off to a great start as Bangar and Pagnis added 127 together. But then they lost three wickets in three overs with only two runs added to the total. Left-arm spinner Rajesh Pawar provided the breathrough when he stumped Bangar for 55. He returned to remove Karan Sharma for a duck after offspinner Utkarsh Patel had Pagnis caught for 67. Pawar now needs two more to get to 250-wicket landmark. Railways lost two more wickets after which Rawat and Harshad Rawle batted out for a draw. Another POV Hard-earned draw for Railways Special Correspondent NEW DELHI:Truce was signed at the Karnail Singh Stadium between Baroda and Railways with eight overs and 45 minutes left in the match, as the hosts’ scoreboard read 240 for 6 and half-centuries against Amit Pagnis, Sanjay Bangar and Mahesh Rawat. The scoreboard indicated another dull fourth-day draw, the norm rather than the exception this season, but in reality, the final day did provide a fair share of excitement. Defiant partnership Overnight 203 runs behind, Railways needed to bat out the entire day to ensure they didn’t lose the match outright. Unbeaten openers Bangar(55, 152 balls, 6x4s, 2x6s) and Pagnis started off confidently, both marching to their half-centuries before lunch, settling the nerves in the dressing room. But with the interval looming, Bangar got carried away, stepping down the track to Rajesh Pawar, only to be stumped by a distance. Immediately after, Pagnis — who had contributed 67(155 balls, 9x4s) to their 127-run partnership — became off-spinner Utkarsh Patel’s maiden first-class victim, edging a rising delivery to Satyajit Parab at slip. First innings top-scorer Karan Sharma walked in and walked out without troubling the scorers as he top-edged a paddle-sweep to slip. Railways had lost three wickets in 13 deliveries for the addition of just two runs, and they had plenty to worry about. Sanjib Sanyal and Yere Goud fell in quick succession after the break, and defeat seemed inevitable. At this stage, Baroda looked set to clinch the match outright but Rawat and Rawle stood rooted to the crease for nearly 30 overs to ensure there were no further mishaps and bailed their team out. While Rawle stood his ground through some questioning spells from Pawar, Utkarsh and Irfan, Rawat also dug in resolutely. Connor Williams, the Baroda captain, tried every trick in the book to unsettle the pair, and there was plenty of chat from the close-in fielders. But the duo stood their ground. Contrasting roles Rawat (57 off 90 balls with six fours and a six) was the more aggressive of the two and despatched the bad balls to the boundary with a flourish. Rawle, in contrast, played the sheet-anchor’s role and gathered 39 runs in his 153-ball innings that had only three hits to the fence. Left-arm spinner Rajesh Pawar was the wrecker-in-chief as he scalped three Railways batsmen, including the crucial one of Bangar. Baroda, after its below-par show against Uttar Pradesh at home, collected three crucial points on the basis of its first innings lead. Irfan fined 100% fee Irfan Pathan hurling the ball at Sanjay Bangar marred the last day’s proceedings at the Karnail Singh Stadium as Railways managed a draw against Baroda in the Ranji Trophy Super League match here. Having over-stepped when bowling the second ball, Pathan lost his cool when Railways skipper Sanjay Bangar played the ball back to him. Shockingly, Pathan picked the ball and threw it in the direction of the batsman. For this misdeed, Pathan was fined 100 per cent of his match fee. According to match referee Sunil Chaturvedi, he was fined under law 2.7 “for throwing the ball at the batsman in a dangerous manner to hurt him.” “He’s been fined for throwing the ball at the batsman in a dangerous manner to hurt,” Chaturvedi said. The incident happened at umpire Arun Datar’s end. Punjab vs Saurashtra, Ranji Trophy Super League, Rajkot, 4th Day Saurashtra 679 for 8 (Pujara 189, Shah 178, Kotak 102, Jadeja 56) drew with Punjab 482 (Ravi Inder Singh 114, Sohal 103, Kohli 79, Kakkar 67, Jadeja 5-106) Scorecard Over 1100 runs were scored in two innings in Rajkot's Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground as Saurashtra batted for three days for a mammoth 679 for 8 in reply to Punjab's 482. Saurashtra's innings included three centuries, including captain Jaydev Shah's on the final day, as his side sought to gain first-innings points. Ravindra Jadeja, who picked up five wickets on day one, scored a half-century and added 161 with Shah. All 11 Punjab players bowled in looking for wickets. Debutant Varun Khanna, a left-arm spinner, was the most successful with 3 for 161. Another POV Jaydev scintillates Special Correspondent Rajkot: Jaydev Shah struck a devastating 178 (199b, 25 x 4, 4 x 6) as host Saurashtra surpassed Punjab’s first innings score of 482 to take three points and then declared at a massive 679 for eight, with less than 15 mandatory overs remaining, as their Ranji Trophy Super League ended in a draw here on Wednesday. Missed opportunity Punjab’s, whose display on the field was appalling, frittered away a chance to run out Shah when Saurashtra’s score was 422 and paid heavily for it. After Taruwar Kohli had stopped a firm shot by Shah at point, none of the close-in fielders or wicket-keeper Uday Kaul rushed to the wicket to receive Kohli’s direct hit attempt from about 20 metres. As the ball raced towards the boundary, Shah, who had charged half way down the wicket, regained his ground much to the delight of his teammates and non-striker Ravindersinh Jadeja. After losing the opportunity to see the back of Shah in the first half an hour of the fourth and final day’s play, a listless Punjab allowed the Saurashtra captain the freedom to hit the ball in the direction he wanted to. Big hitting Watched by his father Niranjan Shah, former BCCI Secretary, and former India left arm spinner Dilip Doshi, Jaydev, keen to run into form, came down the pitch to the spinners, stiffened his wrists and hit many power-packed shots. His partnership with the circumspect Jadeja (56, 131b, 6 x 4) fetched 231 runs. Shah completed his 150 with a lift-drive over the head of Charanjit and was dismissed when he top-edged a big on side shot to Ravneet Ricky at point. Not gifted with an ability to dispense guile, Charanjit, his action already under observation, conceded 220 runs. Similarly Varun Khanna did not show a cunning left-arm and his three wickets cost him nearly 54 apiece. Link to comment
Cricketics Posted November 23, 2008 Share Posted November 23, 2008 why isn't neo sports casting any goddamn game.. i mean when India's game is day nighter, they can atlest show first couple of sessions until the India vs Eng gets underaway Link to comment
Chandan Posted November 23, 2008 Author Share Posted November 23, 2008 Preview of ROUND IV November 22, 2008 It's that time of the season when favourites emerge for the top and the drop. Going into the fourth round, there are teams who can book their places in the knockouts with a big win, and there are some who can kickstart their journey to the Plate League if they fail to score points. A look at the Super League matches starting Sunday: Group A Gujarat v Delhi in Valsad Delhi, with five points from three matches, will know the time has come for them to pick their game up drastically if they are to harbour thoughts of defending their title. And they don't have pushovers waiting for them. Gujarat have had a good start to the season, their first after their promotion to the Super League. They have beaten Saurashtra outright, lost to Mumbai, and fallen short by a session in their drive for an outright win against Hyderabad. If they can hold their own against Delhi, they will stay close to the top three. Delhi rely on fresh blood but they can't afford a slip up here The dry pond, about 12 feet deep, in the middle of a small township more famous for its proximity to picturesque Daman, was a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Converting it into a stadium was a massive exercise but Valsad finally got its own Cricket facility, a ground that is now becoming known for churning out exciting, sporting pitches in the era of boring, flat tracks. Old-timers now say that no domestic batsman would be truly worth his salt without scoring runs here, where defending Ranji champions Delhi and current holders of the Plate Division title, Gujarat, start another four-day face-off on Sunday. Things should be interesting because of the pitch, which is complete with all the ingredients — early morning dampness, live grass, coastal breeze, and the red soil that provides bounce and carry. The Delhi players realise the importance of their match against Gujarat could be gauged from their training session at the Sardar Patel Stadium here on Saturday. There was an extra spring in the step, an unmistakable sense of urgency among the players. The top-order Delhi are so reliant on has failed to come good so far, with the responsibility of taking the team as close to the opposition total invariably falling on the tail. And perhaps that was why the Delhi bowlers decided to bat for rather long periods at the nets. Five points from three matches may not be reason enough for the champions to panic, but anything less than a win against a Gujarat side that lie second in the table could be fatal to a quarterfinal berth. Already having lost four players to the national cause, skipper Aakash Chopra could well have done with Rajat Bhatia and Ashish Nehra. While Bhatia is all set to tie the knot, Nehra’s right hamstring has had the team in knots for quite sometime now. The wicket in Valsad has traditionally assisted the fast bowlers with bounce and, keeping this in mind, Delhi have decided against dropping one of the three pacers to accommodate the extra spinner. Even as the bowling remains unchanged, the batting is expected to be tweaked. Gaurav Chhabra and Yogesh Nagar are in line for their Ranji debuts. Chhabra should come in for Bhatia, while Aditya Jain could be dropped for Nagar. Everything has to go right for Delhi to stay in the hunt for a quarterfinal berth. Gujarat at home Gujarat have found their feet in the Elite division quickly after one season of relative obscurity in the Plate. They have shown enough promise to suggest that a quarterfinal berth might not be far away. Skipper Parthiv Patel shares the batting responsibility with Niraj Patel and Nilesh Modi.The Patels — skipper Parthiv, Niraj, Sunny and Timil — have been amongst runs, Nilesh Modi is fresh from a big double hundred, while Priyank Panchal has been hitting the numbers as well. It is the bowling where the hosts seem to score over Delhi. In Ashraf Makda and Mohnish Parmar, Gujarat have two bowlers who have 26 wickets between themselves so far, while pacer Siddharth Trivedi, with 14 scalps, could prove tricky. Parthiv has made one change to the team, opting for an extra fast bowler in Iswar Chaudhary in place of Amit Singh. Though just three matches into the season, for Delhi, Valsad could be where it all ends, or starts. Hyderabad v Rajasthan in Hyderabad VVS Laxman adds gloss to this otherwise low-key affair. Hyderabad are fifth in Group A, and Rajasthan are at the bottom with only one point to their credit. Hyderabad have done well to register a first-innings lead against Delhi, and especially by hanging on for one point against Gujarat by batting out 106 overs in their second innings. A win here could take them from the middle of the order towards the top three. Upbeat Hyderabad meets Rajasthan HYDERABAD: A confident Hyderabad, bolstered by the presence of V.V.S. Laxman, takes on a dispirited Rajasthan in the four-day Ranji Trophy super league match at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium (Uppal) here on Sunday. Rajasthan, led by former Andhra Ranji star and India discard Y. Venugopala Rao, has only one point from three matches while Hyderabad has seven. Laxman is hopeful that Hyderabad will keep up the good work, especially taking the first innings lead against Orissa and Delhi and then salvaging a creditable draw against Gujarat thanks to Arjun Yadav’s century. Strong batting “We have a very strong batting line-up from No. 1 to No. 7 and there are quite a few capable of getting big scores,†he said. Not keen to hazard a guess on how the pitch will behave, the Hyderabad captain said that he would decide on the team composition only after the team meeting on Sunday morning. Hyderabad coach Kanwaljit Singh believes that the toss can be crucial. The home team selectors showed some courage in including the leg-spinning all-rounder Paramveer Singh in the squad, even though it is not clear whether he will be in the playing eleven or not. For a long period, the Hyderabad Ranji squad missed the services of a genuine leg-spinner. Paramveer, who is rated very highly by Mahendra Kumar (well known Ranji leg-spinner of yesteryear), may provide the much needed variety to the bowling attack. He is also a very useful bat. Rajasthan skipper Venugopala Rao said the pitch looked very sporting and being familiar with the way the Hyderabadis play their game, he should be able to spring a surprise or two. “Having played with most of them in the IPL, or against them for Andhra earlier, I have a fair bit of knowledge of what to expect from them,†he said. Orissa v Punjab in Bhubaneshwar This match could have similar implications as the Hyderabad-Rajasthan match. Punjab are tied with Hyderabad with seven points, and Orissa are one place from the bottom, with four points. With the match, a new stadium makes debut - the East Coast Railway Sports Association Stadium. This will also be the first Ranji match in Bhubaneshwar, Orissa's capital. Saurashtra v Mumbai in Rajkot Mumbai, the solid leaders in Group A and so far the best team in the whole Super League, take a trip down to the run capital of India. If India scored 387 in an ODI against England, Cheteshwar Pujara scored a triple by himself. Nine centuries have been scored in Rajkot so far, for the fall of 68 wickets, in three matches. It hasn't all been boring - two of the matches have been innings victories. This is also a crucial match between the No. 1 and No. 2 sides in the Group A, with five points separating them. Saurashtra test for Mumbai Welcome to the run feast at Rajkot. The next four days here will see an unlimited supply of runs with table toppers Mumbai and number three Saurashtra fighting it out for the first innings lead. Such is the pitch at the Madhavrao Scindia Stadium that it has become a bowlers’ nightmare and only mistakes by batsmen can fetch them rewards. Neither team begins as favourites as each is capable of outbatting the other, going by current form. Wasim Jaffer’s batsmen are in peak form and all the top-order batsmen have been among runs in the first three games. Opener Sahil Kukreja’s first innings failures do not seem to disturb Mumbai as Jaffer, Ajinkya Rahane and Amol Muzumdar have more than made up for that slight blotch with consistent displays. Kukreja, however, has proved that there is nothing wrong with his game as he showed in the second innings against Delhi three days ago with an unbeaten double hundred. Mumbai’s bowlers, led by speedster Dhawal Kulkarni and off-spinner Ramesh Powar, have managed to twice pick up 20 wickets. Group B Karnataka v Baroda, Bangalore Advantage Karnataka Match facts Nov 23-26, 2008 Start time 9.30am (0400 GMT) The Big Picture One for the future: Karnataka's Manish Pandey © AFP It's a battle for the No. 2 position in a group where no team barring Tamil Nadu has struck any kind of form. Karnataka have managed one win and are currently at the second spot with seven points, Uttar Pradesh have six points and Baroda have four points, though they've played one game less than the other two teams. Baroda are without the star power of the Pathan brothers, Irfan and Yusuf, and Munaf Patel. It is the absence of Irfan, in particular, that is bound to hurt most for he carried the team in the first two matches. "We didn't have Irfan for the majority of the last season," admits Paras Mhambrey, Baroda's coach. They had Yusuf, though. But Mhambrey's point is that Baroda fully expected to be bereft of these star players at some point and are ready for it. Mhambrey believes that batting is Baroda's strength and they will look to get a first-innings lead. Karnataka started scratchily, yielding first-innings lead to Railways and following-on against Tamil Nadu, before registering a win against Andhra Pradesh. The top order and the bowling have looked a bit iffy and Vijay Bharadwaj, the coach, has promised several changes in the side. Ganesh Sathish, who batted at No. 3 in the three games, is expected to be out and so is KP Appanna, the left-arm spinner. Considering the number of left-handers in Baroda's line-up, the offspinner Sunil Raju is expected to get a look-in. The good news is Robin Uthappa, the captain, is in great form with two hundreds, Rahul Dravid hit a fifty in the last game, and Sunil Joshi had a match-winning haul against Andhra. Pitch and conditions The track is a mystery. Owing to the international game at Chinnaswamy Stadium, the Ranji encounter will be played at the nearby RSI Ground. There has been a bit of rain around in Bangalore and the drainage facility at the RSI is going to be severely tested. Two pitches - one bouncy and one a spin track - have been prepared as per the instruction of the hosts and it will be interesting to see which one they finally decide on. Players to watch Apart from Uthappa and Dravid, Manish Pandey is one to be keep an eye on. An elegant yet busy batsman, who has hit two half-centuries so far in his maiden season, Pandey looks to be one for the future. A very handy fielder as well. For Baroda, watch out for Azhar Bilakhia and the journeyman cricketer Connor Williams. Both have hit centuries this season and Baroda's batting will revolve around the duo. The teams Karnataka (from): Robin Uthappa (capt), Rahul Dravid, KB Pawan, C Raghu, Thilak Naidu (wk), Manish Pandey, Sunil Joshi, Vinay Kumar, NC Aiyappa, Sunil Raju, B Akhil, Deepak Chougule Baroda: (from) Connor Williams (capt), Satyajit Parab, Azhar Bilakhia, Rakesh Solanki, Pinal Shah (wk), Shatrunjay Gaekwad, Ketan Panchal, Rajesh Pawar, Salim Veragi, Utkarsh Patel, Ajitesh Argal, Maitrek Shah Quotes: "One victory here will turn the season for us. They are without Irfan Pathan and it's going to be interesting to see how they respond to that. We will be making a few changes in our team."Bharadwaj is confident of an upheaval in Karnataka's fortunes "Our strength is our batting. Our two previous matches were played on flat tracks and so I am not concerned about our bowling." Mhambrey knows what Baroda need to do Railways v Andhra in Delhi Railways haven't set the Ranji Trophy on fire in their return to the Plate League, but they still have four points and a game in hand after three rounds. Although they are way behind the leaders, Tamil Nadu, they are only three and two points behind the No. 2 and No. 3 teams - Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh, who have yet to make a pit stop. Andhra, though, have been reduced to fighting relegation from now on, with two points from three games. Railways to play it safe while Andhra seeks to make amends Despite hosting Andhra, who are lying at the bottom of the Group B heap, Railways seem content to play for three points in their Ranji Trophy Super League match beginning at the Karnail Singh Stadium here on Sunday. This strategy failed in the last match against Baroda, as Irfan Pathan & Co. turned the tables on the hosts in the first session itself. Nonetheless the team management wants to play it safe. “We are thinking about three points as of now. The reason is if we think big we get ourselves in a hole,†said Railways coach Abhay Sharma. Without the services of prolific opener Amit Pagnis, the host side has decided on the final XII. The other notable omission in the side is veteran seamer Harvinder Singh. Meanwhile, upon seeing the pitch the visitors are planning to play an extra spinner. “The pitch will help spinners,†Andhra Coach MV Narasimha Rao said. Among other things, Andhra will look to fix their batting problems. Lying at the bottom of Group B, a determined Andhra will take on Railways in a Ranji Trophy super league match at the Karnail Singh Stadium here on Sunday. “On paper we have not done well but ours is a good side, full of youngsters. In the first two games we should have taken the lead. In the last game against Karnataka we were on top while bowling, but our batsmen let us down,†Andhra coach M.V. Narasimha Rao said after the team’s practice. Tight schedule He also complained that the schedule was too tight. “There is hardly any gap. Playing back-to-back away games takes a huge toll on us as we have to travel 16 to 18 hours to reach from one venue to another,†Rao remarked. Despite managing just two points from three matches so far, Andhra is confident about its young brigade of cricketers and sees the match against Railways as the best opportunity to be in the reckoning for the knockout stage. The teams (from): Railways: Sanjay Bangar (Capt.) Sanjib Sanyal, Murali Kartik, Kulamani Parida, Karan Sharma, Harshad Rawle, Raja Ali, Yere Goud, Mahesh Rawat (wk), Anureet Singh, Deepak Yadav, Milind Tamane. Andhra: Y. Gnaneswar Rao (Capt.), A.G. Pradeep, D. Kalyankrishna, H. Watekar, A.S.K. Varma, L.N. Prasad Reddy, P. Vijay Kumar, G.V. Sarat Babu, V. Manoj Sai (wk), B. Sumanth, M. Suresh, K. Ravi Shankar, N. Israel Raju, T. Atchuta Rao, A. Veera Babu. Umpires: Sanjay Hazare, Susanta Pathak; Match Referee: Manu Nayar. Uttar Pradesh v Maharashtra in Kanpur RP Singh, who has been dropped from the Indian ODI side, will lift a fledgling UP side. Mohammad Kaif, the batting mainstay who missed their last game, will be back too. UP are waiting on Praveen Kumar's fitness, and will know tomorrow morning. All put together, they would want nothing less than an outright win against an inexperienced Maharashtra side. Their capitulation to Tamil Nadu, in the absence of Kaif and Praveen, has meant they are placed at No. 3 in the table, and need a shot in the arm. Maharashtra, who only two points ahead of the bottom-placed Andhra, will want to maintain some space. Uttar Pradesh bolstered by return of RP, Praveen UTTAR PRADESH’S best opportunity to score their first outright win of the season, might just come when they take on Maharashtra on Sunday . The Green Park pitch appears a good batting track and that’s a cause of worry for UP as Maharashtra’s batsmen have done well with the willow in their two matches, managing four points so far. But, the advantage UP have is the return of key play ers in the fold. Dropped from the Indian team, R.P. Singh will lead the bowling attack along with Praveen Kumar, who has recovered from injury, supporting him, while young seamer Bhuvaneshwar Kumar will bowl first change. Much will also depend on leggie Piyush Chawla and orthodox bowler Praveen Gupta as there should be assistance for the spinners. “For the first time in the season, we have our almost full strength and we would love to exploit the conditions here,†said UP coach Gyanendra Pandey . Skipper Kaif, who missed the match against Tamil Nadu with fever, also sounded keen to score an outright win. “A win here is a must for us and we should not lose the opportunity here,†said Kaif. Maharashtra have a strong batting lineup with right-hander Ameya Shrikhande leading the runs chart (306 in two matches) while Kedar Jadhav, Harshad Khadwale, Roshan Bhosale and skipper Nikhil Paradhkar are also in good nick. “We are going to play against a strong side but that doesn’t make a difference to us,†he said. Link to comment
Chandan Posted November 24, 2008 Author Share Posted November 24, 2008 why isn't neo sports casting any goddamn game.. i mean when India's game is day nighter, they can atlest show first couple of sessions until the India vs Eng gets underaway Very simple answer: they don't get sponsors for these telecasts and are perhaps too lazy to even send their camera and crew there because they might not be recovering that cost either. How many people are interested in FC cricket in India when they could hardly watch the test series between India and Australia? And of course BCCI doesn't care whatever they show! Review of ROUND IV, DAY1 Karnataka v Baroda, Ranji Trophy Super League, Bangalore, Day 1 Raju turns it on for Karnataka Sriram Veera November 23, 2008 Karnataka 63 for 3 (Dravid 27*, Raghu 16*) trail Baroda 169 (Solanki 53, Raju 4-30) by 106 runs Scorecard Rakesh Solanki hit a plucky fifty but couldn't prevent Baroda from being shot out for 169 © Cricinfo Ltd. Thirteen wickets fell on a spicy pitch before rain brought an early end to an interesting opening day's play at the RSI Ground in Bangalore. Baroda were rolled over for 169 as the offspinner Sunil Raju grabbed his best first-class figures. Karnataka wobbled at the start before Rahul Dravid and rain ensured they would end the day as the happier team. A ground ringed by trees, a old army club house which has seen better days, the sun playing hide and seek through the day, and little girls in bright colourful frocks swaying on swings beside the boundary, combined to form a charming setting for the game. "It's a five-point pitch," a Karnataka player said. Historically, when the hosts need points, they usually hop over to this ground to get a result. It was by no means a devil of a pitch but the red soil sprinkled on the top to bind the pitch allowed enough seam movement with the new ball. And while there was bounce for the pacers, the spinners had their share of turn as well. The seamers - Vinay Kumar and NC Aiyappa - started the damage after Karnataka chose to bowl. Vinay bent one across the left-handed Connor Williams to knock out the off stump and Aiyappa induced a thick edge from Azharuddin Bilakhia, which was taken smartly by the diving keeper Thilak Naidu. Satyajit Parab, the opener, then attempted the repair job with well-timed strokes down the ground, especially against Aiyappa. GOTCHA: Baroda’s Shatrunjay Gaekwad has no clue of this one from Karnataka’s Sunil Raju (unseen) in Bangalore on Sunday. It was an interesting contest with the bowler - two short of 100 first-class wickets - who kept it full, as Bilakhia went for his drives. The team fifty came up in 10.2 overs and soon after Aiyappa finished his spell, Bilakhia fell in the opening over of first-change bowler B Akhil. Eyeing the space in the midwicket region, Bilakhia tried to wrist a chest-high delivery from outside off, only to spoon a dolly back to the bowler. Rakesh Solanki, though, kept the fight on with a half-century. He favoured the on side, repeatedly flicking deliveries through midwicket and when the bowlers shortened the length, he cut over point. However, the offspinner Sunil Raju, who replaced the left-armer K Appanna to counter the left-handed batsmen of Baroda, removed Solanki to trigger a collapse. Solanki didn't connect with a sweep and the ball bobbed up to silly point. Raju struck again the next ball, inducing Ketan Panchal to nick to the keeper. Sunil Joshi and C Raghu too added to their wicket tally and though, Utkarsh Patel threw his bat around for a breezy 26, Baroda folded for 169. Left-arm spinner Sunil N. Raju, making a come back to the Karnataka squad after being benched for the last tie against Andhra, came up with an inspired spell to claim four wickets for 30 runs, while Sunil Joshi took two wickets. Baroda did fight back with the ball, reducing Karnataka to 24 for 3 before Rahul Dravid and C Raghu settled the dressing room nerves with an assured partnership. Karnataka’s hopes of seizing the initiative with a strong start was dashed when it lost both openers K.B. Pawan (3) and Robin Uthappa (4) with just 14 on the board. And when Manish Pandey (12) too followed suit with the total at 24, it was left to veteran Rahul Dravid 27 not out (32b, 5x4) and C. Raghu (16 not out) to steady the innings with an unbroken 39-run fourth-wicket partnership. It was the debutant Ajitesh Argal, the opening bowler in the India Under-19's victorious campaign, who did the damage for Baroda by removing the openers. Interestingly, just before he stepped on to the ground, he sprayed some perfume on himself and ended up spraying his first two deliveries down the leg side. The third delivery was on the stumps, full and nipped back in to trap KB Pawan. He also got the wicket of Robin Uthappa, who punched a short-of-length delivery on the up but straight to short wide mid-off. And Manish Pandey, who looked good in his brief stay, fell poking to Salim Veragi but Dravid asserted himself on the proceedings. He started off with a cover-driven boundary off his first ball and flicked Argal for two more fours before the skies opened up. Still, if Baroda can prise out Dravid early tomorrow, the game will be split open again. An intriguing second day’s play is very much on cards on Monday. Punjab v Orissa, Ranji Trophy Super League, Bhubaneswar, Day 1 Basanth Mohanty wrecks Punjab Cricinfo staff November 23, 2008 Orissa 148 for 5 (Behera 74, Biswal 54, Gagandeep 4-18) lead Punjab 60 (B Mohanty 7-27) by 88 runs Scorecard Basanth Mohanty took 7 for 27, and Debasis Mohanty 2 for 18, to dismiss Punjab for 60 © Cricinfo Ltd Medium-pacer Basanth Mohanty put Orissa in a commanding position on the first day of the Group A match against Punjab in Bhubaneswar. He took 7 for 27 in 9.2 overs, the best figures so far this season, as Punjab were bundled out for 60 before lunch. Orissa finished the day leading by 88, with five wickets still remaining in their first innings. After Orissa chose to bowl, Basanth ran through the line-up with Debasis Mohanty, who took 2 for 18 off his ten overs. Sukanta Khatua took the other wicket in the innings, which lasted 25.2 overs. Pankaj Dharmani, Punjab's captain and wicketkeeper, was the only batsman to reach double figures and was unbeaten on 23 as his team collapsed around him. Orissa lost a wicket in their first over, and Gagandeep Singh had both the openers out with the score on 19. A 127-run stand between Niranjan Behera and Subit Biswal helped Orissa build a lead. However, both failed to convert half-centuries into hundreds. Gagandeep took 4 for 18 in 16 overs, with nine maidens. Another POV Mohanty knocks out Punjab for 60 runs Orissa's Basant Mohanty played wreck-in-chief as the hosts capitalised on the seaming wicket to bundle out Punjab for a paltry 60 in first day of the Ranji Trophy's Super League Group-A match here on Sunday. Invited to bat first, the visitors failed to negotiate Orissa's bowling attack on the East Coast Railway wicket, which was hosting its maiden Ranji match. The 21-year-old medium pacer Basant left the Punjab batting department completely baffled with his consummate bowling and bagged seven wickets for just 27 runs. He was ably supported by India discard Debasis Mohanty, who claimed two wickets for 18 runs. Punjab skipper Pankaj Dharmani, who remained unbeaten on 23, tried hard to arrest the downfall, but his efforts were clearly not enough as others failed to deliver on time. Basant gave the first jolt to the visitors by dismissing opener Sunny Sohal (1) cheaply, followed by another success by Debasis, who sent back Karan Goel (8). At the close of the day, Orissa got a first innings lead of 88 runs with Pravanjan Mullick and Pinniti Jayachandra on the middle. Hyderabad vs Rajasthan, Ranji Super League, Hyderabad, Day 1 Hyderabad 273 for 3 (Laxman 96*, Pai 85, Suman 50) v Rajasthan Scorecard VVS Laxman, returning after India duties to captain Hyderabad, carried his splendid form from the Australia Tests, scoring an unbeaten 96 on the first day against Rajasthan at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Hyderabad decided to bat at the toss, and were provided a brisk start from Ravi Teja, who made a 40-ball 32. Teja's opening partner, T Suman, scored a 100-ball 50 and Anoop Pai continued his good run this season, missing a century by 15 runs. Pai and Laxman added 135 for the third wicket. Pai was dismissed in the 78th over, but Laxman was unbeaten at stumps, four short of a hundred. Another POV Laxman shows his class HYDERABAD: V. V. S. Laxman’s unbeaten 96 and adequate help from its frontline batsmen helped Hyderabad post 273 for three at close against Rajasthan on the first day of the four-day Ranji Trophy Super League Group ‘A’ match at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here on Sunday. First, opener T. Suman (50, 152 min, 100 balls, 8 x 4) made batting look so simple and easy with his flamboyance early on in the innings as he walked into extravagant strokes on either side of the wicket against both pace and spin. His partner D.B. Ravi Teja failing to build on after a breezy start on what looks a perfect batting strip. He was bowled, playing across the line to medium-pacer Sumit Mathur, who was easily the most impressive of the fast bowlers. At the stroke of lunch, Suman threw his wicket away mistiming a pull off Pankaj Singh to be caught brilliantly in the deep by Gajendra Singh. From then on, captain Laxman (96 batting, 213min, 154b, 10x4) held centrestage. He was extremely cautious to start with, the first boundary coming after 71 minutes at the crease. But, it was obvious he preferred to be more of a guiding force to the young left-handed S. Anoop Pai (85, 265min, 212b, 7x4) who rose to the occasion. He cut down on all the risky strokes, treating the bowling on merit with great confidence. He was lucky to be dropped by wicket-keeper Nikhil Doru off left-arm spinner Gajendra Singh, trying to cut, when he was on 18. Just when he looked good for his second century of the season, Anoop was gobbled up smartly by Rajasthan captain Y. Venugopala Rao at lone slip off Gajendra Singh. Raiways vs Andhra, Ranji Super League, New Delhi, Day 1 Railways 8 for 1 trail Andhra 208 (Suresh 51*, Rao 50, Sharma 4-37, Kartik 3-72) by 200 runs Scorecard Andhra, at the bottom of Group B, did not have a great start to the fourth-round game in Delhi. Batting first at the Karnail Singh Stadium, they were bowled out for 208 by Railways. Legspinner Karan Sharma took 4 for 37, and left-arm spinner Murali Kartik had three scalps as the hosts seized the initiative. After a slow start for Andhra - the first wicket put on 28 in 16.3 overs - Karan Sharma dismissed the openers. ASK Varma and B Sumanth were then out in successive overs from Kartik and Kulamani Parida. Gnaneswara Rao, the Andhra captain, scored 50, but there was not much support from the other middle-order batsmen. When he fell, Andhra were at 163 for 7, but No. 8 M Suresh's unbeaten 51 ensured went past 200. Railways played cautiously in the ten overs they faced in the day. Sanjay Bangar, their captain, was out for a 16-ball duck, lbw to D Kalyankrishna. Another POV Railways manage to edge ahead bowling Andhra out for 208 Andhra batsmen let the team down as the visitor had a weak start to its Ranji Trophy Super League tie against Railways at the Karnail Singh Stadium here on Sunday. On the opening day, Andhra could not justify its decision to bat first as the side lost nine wickets to spinners and managed only 208 runs in its first innings, thanks to dogged half-centuries by skipper Y. Gnaneswar Rao (50, 95 balls, 5x4s, 1x6) and M. Suresh (51 not out, 77 balls, 5x4s, 1x6). After the openers saw off the new ball, rookie leg-break bowler Karan Sharma exhibited good control over flight and length to remove them and claimed two more wickets to return his career-best figures of four for 37. Experienced left-arm spinner Murali Kartik scalped three Andhra batsmen and would have been happier conceding lesser number of runs. At one point, the visitors were in serious danger of getting bowled out for well under 200, having been reduced to 138 for 6 just after lunch. But fighting half-centuries from skipper Y Gnaneswar Rao (50) and M Suresh (51 n.o.), ensured that their bowlers had something to bowl at. Knocks by Rao and Suresh came at crucial times for Andhra. Rao switched gears as per the need and played some good shots. Coming to bat at No. 8, the left-handed Suresh helped his team get past the 200-run mark. He protected the lower order batsmen and built partnerships of 22 and 21 runs for the ninth and 10th wickets respectively. Suresh’s effort can prove decisive in the next three days if the Andhra bowlers prove to be as effective as their rivals. Andhra coach M.V. Narasimha Rao was disappointed with his team’s below-par batting. “The middle order played some rash shots though there were a couple of doubtful decisions. We were eyeing a score of 350-400,” he said. New ball bowler D. Kalyankrishna, however, provided a flicker of hope for Andhra as he claimed opposition skipper Sanjay Bangar for a duck — a decision which did not go down well with the Railways camp at all. Sanjay Bangar’s dismissal at the *** end of the day summed up the day for Railways. The skipper was given out leg-before to a D Kalyankrishna delivery that was clearly drifting down leg by umpire S Pathak. Right through the day, the hosts had found themselves at the wrong end of some poor umpiring, but still ended the first day of their Elite Division clash against Andhra slightly ahead, having bowled out the visitors for 208 in the first innings. Uttar Pradesh vs Maharashtra, Ranji Super League, Kanpur, Day 1 Uttar Pradesh 86 for 1 (SS Shukla 45*, Parvinder 35*) trail Maharashtra 221 (Jadhav 93*, Khadiwale 56, RP Singh 3-49) by 135 runs Scorecard Maharashtra were one of the four teams whose first innings came to an end on the first day of the fourth-round matches. Choosing to bat at the Green Park in Kanpur, which held the recent India-England ODI, the visitors were undone by a team effort from Uttar Pradesh's bowlers. Bhuvneshwar Kumar prised out two early wickets, RP Singh - returning to the team apart being dropped from India's ODI squad - removed three middle-order batsmen, and the spinners - Praveen Gupta and Piyush Chawla - took care of the tail. Maharashtra lasted only 53.2 overs, but scored at a healthy run-rate of 4.14, which was partly due to the brisk approach of the two batsmen who scored the bulk of the runs. Harshad Khadiwale's 56 came off 62 balls, and Kedar Jadhav, who was left stranded on 93 not out, hit 12 fours and three sixes off the 102 balls he faced. Uttar Pradesh went about steadily during their reply. Tanmay Srivastava was out for 4, but Shivakant Shukla and Parvinder Singh put on an unbroken 74-run stand to take them to 86 for 1 at stumps. Another POV Sent back, RP lets the ball talk Sharad Deep Kanpur SEAMER RUDRA Pratap Singh was in the spotlight on Sunday, but this time for the right reason. Looking a bit tense and desperate for wickets, the lanky seamer bowled his heart out to give hosts Uttar Pradesh the good start against a spirited Maharashtra. Caught in the centre of a row between Indian skipper MS Dhoni and the selectors, Rudra Pratap claimed 3/49 to help UP bundle out Maharashtra for 221. The hosts then reached 86 for the loss of one wicket at close to raise hopes of making the most of the chance that came their way. Desperate for their maiden outright win of the season, UP skipper Mohd Kaif was all smiles in the middle even after losing the toss as the hosts themselves wanted to make use of the morning freshness. Acting promptly on his captain's call Rudra Pratap and young seamer Bhuvanesh Kumar made the Maharashtra batsmen's lives difficult with their rising deliveries. However, Kumar got the breakthrough in the very second over, trapping opener Rohan Bhosale (0) leg before, and then forced Rohit Motwani (2) to hand a regulation catch to stumper Mohd Amir Khan. Rudra, who was on song at his favourite Green Park Stadium pitch, took charge with a three-wicket burst in his first spell of 10 overs, leaving the visitors struggling. He sent opener H Khadiwale (56) packing on the last ball of his sixth over and then removed skipper Nikhil Paradkar (16) and D Shilamkar (1) in quick succession. One man, who stood tall against the UP attack was Kedar Jadhav, who slammed an unbeaten 93 in 102 balls with the help of 12 fours and three sixes, as Maharashtra's first innings folded at 221. Everyone was expecting a good start from the UP openers Shivakant Shukla and Tanmay Srivastava, but they failed. Gujarat vs Delhi, Ranji Super League, Valsad, Day1 Gujarat 310 for 7 (Thaker 121*, Parthiv 55) v Delhi Scorecard Gujarat were also in danger of being dismissed for a low score on the first day in Valsad, but Bhavik Thaker's unbeaten century, supported by Parthiv Patel's 55, helped them to 310 for 7 against Delhi. Delhi have had a sluggish start to the season, but a turnaround looked on the cards when they reduced the hosts to 28 for 3. Opening bowlers Sumit Narwal and Parvinder Awana dismissed the top three before Parthiv, the Gujarat captain, and Thaker put on 94 runs for the fourth wicket. Left-arm seamer Pradeep Sangwan removed Parthiv, but Thaker put on useful stands with the other batsmen, none of whom went past 30. He scored his second century of the tournament, with ten fours and two sixes in his 202-ball innings. Another POV Butter-fingered Delhi let Gujarat slip If catches win matches, as they say, Delhi might just be playing for another lost cause. In their first three games, their batting and bowling had, at different times, let the team down. On Sunday morning, the first day of their crucial Ranji Trophy tie against Gujarat, it was some shoddy slip catching that let their opponents off the hook. Twelve laborious, unrewarding days into the season, Delhi, at last, found something to cheer about on the thirteenth. Making full use of the assistance the Valsad wicket provided, Delhi's pacers removed half the Gujarat side for just a little more than 100. And, had it not been the combination of atrocious catching - they dropped as many as eight and an attacking century from Bhavik Thakkar (121), things could have been so much better for Delhi. Gujarat escaped to 310 for seven after winning the toss and batting first on a pitch that afforded a fair bit of help for the seamers. Skipper Parthiv Patel’s decision seemed to have backfired when they were reduced to 28 for three at one stage, but Bhavik Thaker made the most of Delhi’s generosity in the field to notch up his second century of the season, making the early breakthroughs of Sumit Narhwal and Parvinder Awana look silly. Delhi grassed as many as eight clear chances, four of them off Thaker. Thaker reached his century from 158 balls after 230 minutes of survival at the wicket with 10 boundaries and two towering sixes off leg-spinner Chetnya Nanda. More importantly, he will continue from 121 on Monday. It was an all too familiar start to the day -Aakash Chopra losing his third straight toss and the opposition deciding to bat first. But, that was where the similarities ended. Finally finding a wicket that had something in it, Pradeep Sangwan and Sumit Narwal bowled with intent, troubling the Gujarat openers no end with sharp movement. And they did not have to wait too long for the reward. Narwal had Nilesh Modi (1) edging one to Puneet Bisht off the fourth ball of the seventh over. Gujarat 8/1, and it was to get worse for them when the dangerous Niraj Patel (4) fell to the same combination of Bisht and Narwal with the score on 14. Narwal, who was brought in to the team in place of Amit Bhandari amidst controversy, has looked the most likely of the three pacers of doing damage and bowled his heart out on Sunday. When Parwinder Awana caught Priyank Panchal plumb in front for 13, Gujarat were teetering at 28/3. It was a new Delhi, one full of purpose, of determination, of the will to succeed. But then, like so many times in this season, all the good work was undone. With hopes of a Gujarat comeback resting squarely on the duo of skipper Parthiv Patel and Bhavik Thakkar, Delhi rightly decided to attack. After a period where the spinners, Yogesh Nagar and Chetnya Nanda, produced far too many boundary balls to help ease the pressure on Patel and Thakkar, Chopra fell back on Narwal and Awana. And it would have been a master move had the skipper himself not dropped Patel on 39. Patel (55) had added 92 runs for the fourth wicket with Thakkar when Shikhar Dhawan caught him at slip off Sangwan. Sangwan should have had two wickets in that over had Bisht not dropped new man Sunny Patel. It proved to be a rather costly miss as Sunny smashed his way to a 39-ball 28. But while his partners came and went, Thakkar stood his ground. Almost never failing to dispatch a bad ball to the boundary, and sometimes even over it, Thakkar steadily reached his 100. By the time stumps were drawn, Delhi had managed to remove Mohnish Parmar (29) and drop three straightforward catches at slip! For Delhi’s slip cordon, the troubles started with the first new ball and continued even when the second one was taken towards the end of the day. Thaker got the first of his four lives when Aakash Chopra at second slip and Mayank Tehlan at third failed to react to a slash that went between them, before wicket-keeper Punit Bisht grassed one immediately after. He was dropped again, after he had gone past his half-century, by Bisht, and when Shikhar Dhawan put one down after the second new ball was taken, it was almost predictable. After stumps, Gujarat coach Bharat Patel was busy giving slip catches to his players. Gujarat obviously learnt some lessons from the first day’s play, and the onus now is on the Delhi batsmen to get their act together. Delhi frittered away a great chance to take control of this match on the first day itself. And unless they can find that killer instinct, and a way to hold on to their catches, Gujarat have the bowling to make them pay, and heavily at that too. Saurashtra vs Mumbai, Ranji Super League, Rajkot, Day 1 Saurashtra 285 for 1 (Pathak 145*, Chauhan 104) v Mumbai Scorecard Nine centuries had been scored in three matches this season at the Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground in Rajkot, and there were two more on the first day of the fourth as Saurashtra's openers laid a solid platform for the team against Group A leaders Mumbai. Chirag Pathak and Bhushan Chauhan put on 275 runs, the highest opening stand for Saurashtra. The previous best, of 227, had also come against Mumbai, at the same ground in 1996-97. There was no success for Mumbai till the 82nd over, when Chauhan was caught behind off part-time bowler Amol Muzumdar for 104. Pathak, who survived a stumping chance on 96, was not out on 145 at stumps. "The ball was coming easily onto the bat. So we told each other that we would play the ball on its merit," Pathak was quoted as saying in the Indian Express. Once we settled down, we started playing our strokes." Mumbai did not make things any easier in the field; they bowled a total of 24 no-balls, with nine for legspinner Sairaj Bahutule. Chauhan, however, was involved in an on-field altercation with Mumbai medium-pacer Murtuza Hussain and both were fined 50% of their match fees. Another POV Saurashtra have Mumbai on the run Posted: Nov 24, 2008 at 2355 hrs IST Rajkot, November 23 : Saurashtra openers debutant Chirag Pathak and Bhushan Chauhan stitched together a mammoth 275-run partnership. As the scoreboard read 285 for 1, one can sympathise with the Mumbai bowlers, who ended up with sweaty faces and palms on a batsman-friendly wicket on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Super League match. Pathak was unbeaten on 145 and Saurashtra veteran Sitanshu Kotak was on 2. Jaydev Shah won the toss and elected to bat on a flat track. A depleted Mumbai pace attack failed to break the opening stand with even seasoned spinners Ramesh Powar and Sairaj Bahutule being helpless. Pathak and Chauhan scored almost 100 runs in each session. “The ball was coming easily onto the bat. So we told each other that we would play the ball on its merit. Once we settled down, we started playing our strokes,” explained Pathak, who had a stumping chance missed by Vinayak Samant at 96. Mumbai medium-pacer Murtuza Hussain and Bhushan were fined 50% of their match fees after an on-field altercation. Link to comment
Rajan Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 I wish one of the selectors take note of this Orissa seamer-Basant Mohanty. Punjab has a very good batting line up, though not a very consistent one.to bowl out a team like punjab in 60 runs and take 7 wickets is a remarkable effort.sadly hard working bowlers from remote areas /unglamorous teams dont get the recongnition they so richly deserve. i am sure the delhi/mumbai/TN/Karnataka/Rajasthan cricketers get better facilities to train and get coaching from experts.but the seamers like Basanth Mohanty need more exposure/guidance and coaching on par with the other promising bowlers from the popular cricketing centres. Link to comment
Sachinism Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 VVS 224 :yay: Dravid makes 83 good stuff Pujara makes 176 off 173 vs Mumbai Link to comment
Cricketics Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 Delhi doing everything to not to qualify for quater final Link to comment
fineleg Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 VVS 224 :yay: Dravid makes 83 good stuff Pujara makes 176 off 173 vs Mumbai Laxman Special :thumbs_up: Dravid :thumbs_up: Pujara :two_thumbs_up: Link to comment
Cricketics Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 wow Lucky oppositiosn who got hit for 224 runs from the bat of Laxman i mean, even a bowler would enjoy watching Laxman bat. ONE OF THE MOST ELEGANT BATSMAN EVER TO PLAY CRICKET Link to comment
Holysmoke Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 Delhi doing everything to not to qualify for quater final yeah, like playing against Mumbai :hysterical: Link to comment
Sachinism Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 yeah' date=' like playing against Mumbai :hysterical:[/quote'] Did you see what Pujara and Co. have done to Mumbai :giggle: Link to comment
Chandan Posted November 25, 2008 Author Share Posted November 25, 2008 Review of ROUND IV, DAY 2 Karnataka v Baroda, Ranji Trophy Super League, Bangalore, Day 2 Thilak Naidu and Dravid put Karnataka on top Sriram Veera November 23, 2008 Karnataka 347 for 7 (Naidu 90, Dravid 83, Joshi 55, Akhil 40*) lead Baroda 169 (Solanki 53, Raju 4-30) by 178 runs Scorecard Rahul Dravid hit a fine 83 to lead Karnataka's charge© Cricinfo Ltd. Rahul Dravid took them out of troubled waters, Thilak Naidu consolidated their position before Sunil Joshi's breezy knock allowed Karnataka to seize the advantage by the end of the second day in Bangalore. Though Naidu played a fine innings and Joshi played an enterprising knock, it was Dravid who laid the platform with an assured 83. The pitch eased out during the afternoon as the sun came out but it was still doing something in the morning when Dravid took charge. Overnight on 26, he looked at ease during his stay today. He repeatedly took positive strides out to the seamers and started off with an on-driven boundary against Salim Veragi. Spin was introduced in the form of Rajesh Pawar and Dravid started using his feet. He went right back to play the shot of his innings - a gorgeous punchy on drive through wide mid-on - off Pawar before he chipped down the track to lift the offspinner Utkarsh Patel over long-on. A couple of trademark cover drives against the spinner saw him move along nicely before the first moment of self-doubt arrived on 75. Ajitesh Argal, the best Baroda bowler, got one to shape away late and Dravid was committed on the forward prod but the edge was spilled by Satyajit Parab at first slip. But it didn't prove costly as Dravid fell to the same bowler in the next over. Connor Williams set a 7-2 off-side field and Dravid dragged an intended extra-cover drive off the very next ball to his stumps. ELEGANT: Thilak Naidu came up with a good knock but was unfortunate to miss out on a well-deserved century. Thilak Naidu, one of the most colourful personalities in the domestic cricket today, made sure Dravid's effort wasn't wasted. The ball was still turning, albeit a touch slow, and he displayed a tight technique: He stretched well forward to smother the spin and he showed excellent judgement of the amount of the turn and his off stump to let the ball through to the keeper on other occasions. He played quite a few delicious cover drives against the spinners. He cover drove Patel for couple of boundaries before repeating the dose against the left-arm spinner Rajesh Pawar. The field thickened on the off side and he deployed the sweep shot to good effect. A slog sweep fetched him a six, two fine sweeps pinged the fine-leg boundary. A re-adjustment to the field saw the cover drives come back. So it went along rather nicely before tea intervened and Naidu slowed down appreciably upon resumption. And Pawar got rid of him on 90. Naidu shaped to late cut, the wicketkeeper collected and the appeal was withheld. The batsman was not too happy with the decision. However, by then, Naidu had shared a 103-run partnership in 122 minutes with Joshi to seize the advantage. It was Joshi who took the pressure off after the fall of Dravid with a refreshingly positive knock. He flicked Argal for his first boundary before turning his attention to the spinners. Despite the presence of a deep wide midwicket fielder, he slog swept Pawar for two huge sixes over that man before sweeping Patel over deep square leg and lofting one over long-on. But his best shot came against the mediumpacer Ketan Panchal: He simply knifed through the line of a length delivery to clear long-off. He fell against the run of the play to Argal as he shaped initially to leave the ball before trying to get his bat in line but it was too late; the ball had rushed through the bat and pad gap to clean up the off stump. B Akhil, playing his first game of the season, and Sunil Raju ensured there wouldn't be further damage. Akhil used his height well to reach out to the spinners and played a few drives when the opportunity presented. By the end of the day, Baroda were staring at defeat. The first-day collapse and the resistance of the Karnataka batsmen have left them with too much to do. Perhaps, had Shatrunjay Gaekwad held C Raghu's catch in the fourth over of the day when Karnataka were on 71 for 3, things could have been different. Raghu eventually departed 45 minutes later with the score on 99. The morning dampness had evaporated by then and Naidu joined hands with Dravid to ease Karnataka to a commanding position. Punjab v Orissa, Ranji Trophy Super League, Bhubaneswar, Day 2 Punjab 60 and 59 for 1 trail Orissa 352 (Mullick 100*, Halhadar Das 80) by 233 runs Scorecard Basanth Mohanty took 7 for 27, and Debasis Mohanty 2 for 18, to dismiss Punjab for 60 in 1st inning A second day of dominance by Orissa left Punjab gasping for air in Bhubaneswar. On the first day medium-pacer Basanth Mohanty wrecked Punjab with seven wickets, and on the second Pravanjan Mullick and Halhadar Das wielded their bats to maintain the pressure. Orissa began the day with an 88-run lead and finished it 233 ahead. Five down when play resumed, Orissa were taken to 352 thanks to Mullick's unbeaten 100 and Das' 80. The last five wickets added 204, but it was the 143-run stand between Mullick and Das that really frustrated Punjab. Das hit 11 fours and a pair of sixes in his 119-ball innings before he was seventh out at 329. Manpreet Gony and Sarabjit Ladda took the last four wickets but couldn't prevent Mullick reaching his 18th first-class hundred. Punjab made one run short of their first-innings total by stumps, losing Sunny Sohal to Debasis Mohanty early, but are really up against it against a side eyeing their first win of the season. Another POV Pravanjan slams ton, Orissa in driver's seat Bhubaneswar (Orissa) : Displaying superb cricket, Orissa takes the game in its grip taking a vital first innings lead of runs on day two of the Ranji super league against punjab here at Railway ground on Monday. Punjab in their seconding innings made a 59 runs losing one wicket with Ravi Inder Singh batting on a strokeful 35. Earlier in the day the Orissa middle order batsman, Pravanjan Mallick, who made a come back to the Orissa team slammed a majestic century. A fine unbeaten hundred by him and his 143-run stand with stumper Haladhar Das (80) powered hosts Orissa to a strong position against Punjab on the second day of their four-day Ranji Super League Group A match at the Railway Stadium here on Monday. After dismissing the visitors for a paltry 60 in their first innings on Sunday, Orissa established a huge 292-run lead before being bowled out for 352 on Monday. Resumining the overnight score the elegant Pravanjan made a cousious start in the morning session with Jayachand who made 17 runs before get out. Pinniti Jayachandra edged leg spinner Sarabjit Singh to wicket-keeper Pankaj Dharmani . After the departure of Jaychandra, the former India A player made a vital partenship with wicket-keeper batsman Haldar das, who was more aggesive between them. Mullick, who had been recalled to the team after being dropped, then frustrated Punjab as he and Haladhar Das consolidated Orissa's position. The railway wicket which helped the seamers on day one, behaved little like the previous day, as the Punjab pace attack failed to extract any bounce and seam on day two. The India discard Manpreet Goni looked very ordibnary bowler as he failed to trouble any of the orissa batsman. The former Orissa skipper reached exactly 100 in the company of last man Dhiraj Singh who batted for 41 minutes before losing his wicket. Mullick kept vigil for 303 minutes and hit eleven fours. Das hit a dozen boundaries as he scored 80 during a 177 minute stay at the wicket before pacer Manpreet Singh Gony had him LBW. Das and Mullick shared a 143-run partnership for the seventh wicket. Medium pacer Gagandeep Singh was the most successful Punjab bowler with a haul of four for 45 while Sarabjit claimed three for 102. For the home team, Niranjan Behera (74) and Subit Biswal (54) had batted solidly to take the total to 148 for five at close yesterday. Trailing by 292 runs, Punjab began their second innings in a disastrous fashion when opener Sunny Sohal (2) was trapped LBW by veteran seamer Debasish Mohanty. Ravi Inder Singh (35, 8x4) and opener Karan Goel (batting 17) were at the crease when play ended with the scoreboard reading 59 for one. Punjab had been blown away in their first innings yesterday by a fiery spell from medium pacer Basanta Mohanty who claimed seven wickets conceding only 27 runs. With this vital first innings lead and a possible victory in sight , orissa looking for a place in quarterfinal. Hyderabad vs Rajasthan, Ranji Super League, Hyderabad, Day 2 Rajasthan 25 for 0 trail Hyderabad 553 for 6 (Laxman 224, Quadri 100*) by 528 runs Scorecard Another man in splendid form, VVS Laxman, punished Rajasthan to the tune of another double-century at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Back captaining his state side after a stellar run in the Test series against Laxman, Laxman struck 224 from 360 balls before declaring on 553 for 6. Four short of a hundred when he took guard on the second morning, Laxman duly reached his 46th first-class hundred, and didn't look back. A platform had been laid on day one, and Laxman ensured it was not squandered against a weak bowling attack. Rajasthan took two relatively early wickets, but Laxman's effort was complimented by a maiden hundred from Syed Quadri, in his third appearance for Hyderabad. Quadri could not have had a batter partner than Laxman. In his debut season, what Quadri has to learn from Laxman is palpable, and today he helped add 304 with his senior. Laxman collected 21 boundaries in his knock, while Quadri had seven. Laxman was the last wicket to fall at 519, and Hyderabad closed their innings after Quadri reached three figures. Rajasthan finished on 25 for 0 in eight overs. Another POV Laxman, Quadri in record partnership GUIDING FORCE: Hyderabad skipper V.V.S. Laxman (left) scored a double century and inspired younger partner Ahmed Quadri notch up his maiden Ranji century. HYDERABAD: The diminutive 25-year-old Ahmed Quadri, inspired by the presence of V.V.S. Laxman at the other end, notched up his maiden Ranji century. His captain scored 224 (360b, 21x4) as Hyderabad posted a mammoth 553 for six declared against Rajasthan, on the second day of the Ranji Trophy Super League Group ‘A’ match at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here on Monday. For the second day running, the Rajasthan bowlers were at the receiving end. Laxman was determined to bat through the day and in the process had a soothing effect on his younger partner Quadri. Brilliant knock Quadri responded with a brilliant century (100 not out, 198b, 7x4) in his third match, with some well-executed cover-drives, both off pace and spin. Combining defence with aggression, he made the most of the opportunity of playing alongside Laxman as the two added a record 215 runs for the sixth wicket, eclipsing the previous best of 205 between Arshad Ayub and Ehthesham Ali Khan against Kerala in 1989. Laxman was not at his best and as the day progressed was content to play the waiting game. He even batted with a runner after the tea break because of a bruise in the right heel. In the process, Laxman completed his 22nd Ranji century. There was just one lapse in concentration; when on 119, the Hyderabad skipper’s intended lofted shot off left-arm spinner Gajendra Singh was grassed at mid-on. Laxman delayed the declaration to help Quadri reach his century. Rajasthan captain Venugopala Rao shuffled his bowlers around on a pitch which offered little assistance. Fast bowlers Pankaj Singh and Sumit Mathur picked up two wickets apiece. At stumps, Rajasthan was 25 for no loss in eight overs. Raiways vs Andhra, Ranji Super League, New Delhi, Day 2 Railways 208 for 8 (Sanyal 70) lead Andhra 208 by 0 runs Scorecard Railways just managed to draw level with Andhra at the Karnail Singh Stadium in Delhi, finishing day two on 208 for 8, the same score that the opposition had made. It was an ultimately disappointing batting display from the hosts after they kept Andhra to a low total - there was but one half-century and the top order had been wrecked early. Veteran batsman Sanjib Sanyal made 70 but failed to go further, and only Raja Ali's 37 from 107 balls at No. 8 really boosted Railways' cause. Doddapaneni Kalyankrishna and Paidikalva Vijaykumar, Andhra's new-ball duo, had left Railways 16 for 3. Yere Goud made just 13, falling to Satyakumar Verma at 121 for 5, and Sanyal departed one run later. Ali and Murali Kartik (18 not out) helped get the score over 200. Another POV Railways one run away from lead There were many relieved faces in the Railways dressing room as they ended the day's play needing a single run to take the crucial first innings lead over Andhra. They were poised to take first innings lead in its Ranji Trophy Super League match against Andhra at the Karnail Singh Stadium here on Monday, thanks to Sanjib Sanyal’s half-century and some commendable resistance by the tail-enders. Though they finished on 208 for 8, the hosts were almost embarrassed by a disciplined Andhra side that never gave away anything to the opposition. Railways went into a hole after P Vijaykumar struck twice early to remove Milind Tamhane and Karan Sharma in the first half hour of play. Had it not for fighting knocks by vice-captain Sanjib Sanyal (70) and later on by Raja Ali (39), they were looking down the barrel in the second session itself. There were quite a few bad shots, but Harshad Rawle’s dismissal can be said to be the worst of all. After seeing off the new ball, Rawle ventured out of his crease and a waiting Manoj Sai removed the bails. Later, an ugly mix-up between Mahesh Rawat and Sanyal saw both running at the bowler's end. And Rawat beat Sanyal to the crease as the keeper removed the bails at the other end. At one point, they were seven down, still needing 49 runs to overhaul Andhra's score. Bright spot The only bright spot for the Railways was Sanyal, who banked on his cool temperament to hold one end intact during the troubled times. His 148-ball 70, studded with seven fours, gave the lower order batsmen the motivation to hang on. The Railways vice-captain added 53 runs for the fourth wicket with Harshad Rawle and 52 runs for the fifth wicket with Yere Goud. Uttar Pradesh vs Maharashtra, Ranji Super League, Kanpur, Day 2 Uttar Pradesh 290 for 6 (Shivakant Shukla 131, Parvinder Singh 68) lead Maharashtra 221 by 69 runs Scorecard Uttar Pradesh took a 69-run lead over Maharashtra thanks to a Shivakant Shukla's 131and 68 from Parvinder Singh, who added 137 for the second wicket. Once the two were separated, Maharashtra did well to take six wickets for 141, including Mohammad Kaif for 20, but UP will be pleased with the advantage gained at the Green Park in Kanpur. Shivakant and Parvinder walked out with UP 86 for 1, and added 63 more runs to their partnership. Once Parvinder was out for 68 in the 56th over, left-arm medium-pacer Samad Fallah removed Kaif and and Ravikant Shukla for the addition of just four runs. Shivakant marched on to his second century and was Fallah's third wicket. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, on 29, and RP Singh, on 9, will resume batting on day three. Another POV Shukla's ton gives UP crucial lead Opener Shivakant Shukla struck a patient hundred besides sharing a 137-run partnership with Parvindar Singh to guide Uttar Pradesh to 290 for 6 in their first innings on the second day of the four-day Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match against Maharashtra here on Monday, managing 69-run first innings lead.. Poor form with the willow dogged Uttar Pradesh's young opener Shivakant Shukla for a major part of the season last year. But the southpaw did not lose heart and finally luck shone on him and he smashed a cracking century to guide the hosts to a commanding position against Maharashtra on the second day of their Ranji Trophy Group 'B' Super League tie at the Green Park Stadium. Showing maturity in his batting, the pint-sized batsman never looked in a hurry and kept the scoreboard ticking initially But once he got . his eyes in, Shivakant was simply unstoppable. His late cuts were a treat to watch, especially against part-timer Nikhil Pradhkar. His 131-knock came off 354 balls and was studded with 14 boundaries. Before he offered a regulation catch to slip fielder D. Shilamkar off S. Fallah after the tea break, Shivakant was involved in two fruitful partnerships --- for the second wicket with Parvinder Singh that yielded 137 and for the third wicket with skipper Kaif (20) that gave the team 55 valuable runs. UP, at close, achieved a significant lead of 69 runs with four wickets still in hand. Shivakant's 131-run knock was his second three-figure innings in Ranji Trophy. His earlier ton was against Hyderabad in the year 2005-06 at Lucknow. "I was waiting for the right opportunity This knock has boosted my confidence and I hope to do better in future matches," said Shivakant. He faced 354 balls and hit 14 boundaries in his innings. Shivakant fell towards the end of the innings when he was caught by D Shilamkar off the bowling of Samad Fallah. The hosts lost one more wicket soon after when Piyush Chawla skied an easy catch to Ronan Bhosle at long off of D Waghmare. He contributed 16 runs. At close, Bhuveshwar and R P Singh were playing on 28 and 9 respectively. Gujarat vs Delhi, Ranji Super League, Valsad, Day 2 Delhi 199 for 6 (Chabra 63, Nagar 40*) trail Gujarat 350 (Thaker 151) by 151 runs Scorecard Delhi's woes continued against second-placed Gujarat at Valsad, where they slipped to 199 for 6 in reply to another solid batting display from the hosts. Bhavik Thakker extended his overnight century to 151 and was last out for at 350. His application had helped add 131 with the last four wickets, but Delhi did well to clean up Gujarat's tail for 40 runs when the day began. It was with the bat that Delhi disappointed. Shikhar Dhawan made 0, Aakash Chopra batted 60 balls for 19, Mithun Manhas got just 11, and Mayank Tehlan could get only 19. Thus it was left to Gaurav Chabra, 21 and playing his fourth match, to score his maiden first-class half-century. Chabra's 63, from 128 balls with 11 boundaries, held up on end until he fell at 162 for 6. Debutant Yogesh Nagar impressed with an unbeaten 40 and Delhi trail by 151 at stumps. Another POV Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble : Delhi keep misfiring THE END could be nigh for Delhi. It was a title defence, which, in all honesty, never got going. And, after yet an other display of spineless batting, Delhi would be served well to not harbour any hopes of back-to-back titles. Instead, there are more pressing matters, none more important than ensuring the very survival in the Elite Group. Replying to Gujarat's 350, Delhi were stuttering at 199 for 6 on Day Two of a cruial match. Having let the hosts off the hook with some appalling catching on the first day, one would have expected the Delhi slip cordon to get its act together on Monday. But it didn't. Shikhar Dhawan dropped Siddharth Trivedi at first slip, and the hosts went about on a merry run spree at the expense of the hapless, and luck less, Delhi bowlers. Bhavik Thakkar, who was batting on 121 when the day started, helped himself to some generous fielding to bring up his 150. Gujarat's innings finally ended when Thakkar (151) holed out to Mithun Manhas at long-on off Pradeep Sangwan. If ever the Delhi batting had to live up to the adjectives it is often showered with, it was now. It was not going to be easy contending with the Gujarat attack on a wicket that had more than something for the pacers, but Delhi had the batsmen to get the job done. Or so, everyone had thought. Shikhar Dhawan, in the midst of a terrible patch, was the first to go --- lasting all of five deliveries, before edging Trivedi to Parthiv Patel for a duck. Wicketkeeper Puneet Bisht has perhaps been the one Delhi batsman to show some guts and gump tion, and he was sent to open. Bisht, now joined by Aakash Chopra, batted well to see out the pace duo of Trivedi and Ashraf Makda, but fell to offie Mohnish Parmar for 28. The responsibility of scoring the runs rest on Chopra and Mithun Manhas, and the two looked like finding their feet when both made the long walk back within nine balls of each other. Manhas was the first to go — caught at slip off Ishwar Chaudhuri for 11, and his captain fol lowed him, un able to do little else but edge a Makda delivery to Parthiv. He made 19. At 63 for 4, Delhi were tottering. Somebody had to stand up. Delhi found them in two debutants --Gaurav Chhabra and Yogesh Nagar. The former U-22 players did just about everything their illustrious teammates didn't. The world may be busy rating his latest hairdo but India paceman Ishant Sharma was more concerned about news from Valsad, where his best friend was playing his first innings for Delhi in the Ranji Trophy. Gaurav Chabbra played all his Cricket for Delhi juniors as the skipper — a unique record in itself. He led Ishant and Virat Kohli, even added the India under-19 tag against his name, but lost count of the matches in which he sat on the bench during his transition phase to first-class cricket. The situation couldn’t have been worse when he walked in on Monday. Delhi, chasing 351 for the vital first-innings lead against Gujarat, were 59/3 just after lunch. The 20-year old Chabbra nervously knocked at his first few balls at this level, but soon deciphered the doosra from Mohnish Parmar’s famous Muralitharan-like action, and then studied Siddharth Trivedi’s late outswing precisely to make a good first impression. Finally, Delhi had found two batsmen ready to fight it out, to bide their time. The two put on a 56-run stand that could well prove to be the dif ference between conceding three points or all five in this match. His 63 from 128 balls, with eleven crisp boundaries, showed his intent to attack at every available opportunity, but Chabbra couldn’t convert his innings into a big one, falling half an hour before close to a delivery from left-arm paceman Ashraf Makda that came in with the angle and trapped him plumb in front. His 167-minute resistance finally ended when Makda, changing his angle of approach, came round the wicket to trap him in front. Then there was Yogesh Nagar, religiously scoring in junior cricket and repeatedly in and out of the Ranji squad without any playing time. His case may not be dramatic as Chabbra’s but Nagar has a chance to make a bigger impression on debut. Coming in at number seven, he was unbeaten on 40, along with Sumit Narhwal on 16, as Delhi finished the second day at 199/6, still 151 runs behind Gujarat. Forgotten lessons The 18-year-old Nagar was composed, defending balls without leaving an inch between bat and pad, and stepping out fearlessly to anything tossed up. Together, Chabbra and Nagar taught the experienced players on the sidelines forgotten lessons of concentration, will and determination. It’s premature to suggest that they have solved Delhi’s problems for the future — or even finished the job in the match at hand. Their batting, and their 56-run partnership for the sixth wicket, hasn’t bailed the team out from the crisis, but it’s at least saved the defending Ranji champs some embarrassment. The Delhi innings started poorly. Shikhar Dhawan was back in the hut without scoring after opening alongside Punit Bisht, captain Aakash Chopra being kept out by a stomach bug. The skipper came in at number three, only six minutes later than usual, and looked good before Makda had him caught behind, cleverly getting one to move away after two consecutive inswingers. Chopra’s departure meant Delhi had lost all their experienced batsmen. Bisht had already been dismissed, top-edging a pull, and Manhas had slashed outside off to be caught at second slip. The Gujarat seam trio of Trivedi, Makda and debutant Ishwar Chaudhary bowled a disciplined line, just outside off. Spinner Parmar had Delhi in spot of bother immediately on his introduction, crowding the batsmen with four close-in fielders and getting the ball to spin from the rough. It is steadily turning into a season of woes for Delhi, and unless the think tank finds a way to arrest this alarming slide, things could only get worse. Saurashtra vs Mumbai, Ranji Super League, Rajkot, Day 1 Saurashtra 643 for 4 (Pujara 176, Pathan 170, Chauhan 104) v Mumbai Scorecard Cheteshwar Pujara thumped his third century on the trot Cheteshwar Pujara is running on something else this season. This time it was Mumbai who suffered, with Pujara's third consecutive hundred helping Saurashtra pile up 643 for 4 on day two in Rajkot. The Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground is a notorious batting track, but Pujara's run has been excellent. Aiding Mumbai's pain was Chirag Pathak, who made 170, Shitanshu Kotak, and Ravindra Jadeja and captain Jaydev Shah, who had put on 50 for the fifth wicket before the close. Resuming on 285 for 1, Saurashtra lost Pathak after he extended his overnight 145. That brought Pujara to the crease, and he made Mumbai toil. After an unbeaten 302 against Orissa and 189 against Punjab, Pujara raised three figures from just 119 balls. The next fifty took 30 balls. His 176 consumed 173 balls and included 21 fours and two sixes; he fell to former India legspinner Sairaj Bahutule. Kothak batted as only he can, making a patient 78 from 213 deliveries in a 179-run stand with Pujara. Jadeja, on 42, and Shah, on 25, further compounded Mumbai's problems. For the visitors, Usman Malvi took 2 for 122 runs while Bahutule had unflattering figures of 1 for 153. Another POV Another day, another big ton for Pujara Posted: Nov 25, 2008 at 0027 hrs IST It was business as usual for Saurashtra. Such has been their dominance at home in the Ranji Trophy that an intimidating total and a big score from Cheteshwar Pujara have become synonymous with the Rajkot Muncipal Corporation ground. In fact, at some level, there was an air of monotony to their first innings score of 643/4 and Pujara’s 173-ball 176. But, tedious as the proceedings must have seemed to the Mumbai team, those at the ground are hardly likely to forget another extraordinary knock from the 20-year-old with a Bradmanesque scoring sequence this season. Pujara’s three triple tons have been followed by two big hundreds — 189 against Punjab and 176 on Monday — and that means his name will feature prominently in the selection committee meeting to pick the Test squad for the England series. Things were relatively easy for Pujara, considering the solid platform set by openers Chirag Pathak (170) and Bhushan Chauhan (104). Despite playing with a slight fever, Pujara’s hunger for runs wasn’t quelled. His knock of 173 included 21 fours and two sixes and put him firmly on top of the Ranji Trophy run-getters’ list, his tally standing at an impressive 675 from five innings. Pujara’s 179-run partnership with Sitanshu Kotak (78 off 213) was the highlight of the day. They complemented each other well — Kotak stonewalling from one end and Pujara continuing the free flow of runs from the other. Incidentally, the two had proved a hurdle for Mumbai last year as well at the Wankhede Stadium, joining hands to play a part in dumping Mumbai out of the quarter-finals. Pujara’s effort on Monday was more creditable, considering the fact that Mumbai opted to bowl a negative leg-side line. “It was hard to play as they were bowling a negative line and length. But I have been in good form and was able to keep the scoreboard ticking. A century against Mumbai is always a big thing. They come with a reputation and runs against them mean a certain confidence boost,” he said. Confidence was at a premium in the Mumbai dressing room, though. The most experienced visiting bowlers — Ramesh Powar and Sairaj Bahutule — bowled 35 overs between them, but with both sticking to a negative line, chances of breakthroughs were slim. With skipper Jaydev Shah (25) and Ravindra Jadeja (42) at the crease, it remains to be seen what Saurashtra’s plans will be on the third day. A declaration should be on the cards, but when exactly Shah decides to end Mumbai’s misery remains to be seen. Saurashtra's flat wickets not helping Indian wicket, feels Mumbai coach Amre Link By: Anand I NaikDate: 2008-11-24 Mumbai: At Saurashtra's homeground, the lowest 1st innings total in this Ranji season is 482. Mumbai coach Amre slams the wicket after another run-feast yesterday A BIG advantage in cricket is that the home side can prepare the wicket according to the strength of their team and increase their chances of winning greatly. Often teams have used this advantage with great success but this Ranji Trophy season has seen that advantage being used unfairly. Saurashtra have the luxury of playing all their seven Super League round robin matches at home and they have prepared wickets that make results a rarity unless one side plays poorly or a side is considerably weaker. The batsmen have thrived on Rajkot's Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground's flat wicket this season. Saurashtra's leading batsman, Cheteshwar Pujara, aggregates 499 runs from three games and four innings at an average of 166.33 with a highest of 302. Yesterday, the trend continued against Mumbai in the fourth game as Saurashtra racked up 285 for the loss of just one wicket from 90 overs. Batting paradise In the earlier three games, the lowest first innings score is Punjab's 482. The match ended in a draw after the hosts replied with 679-8. At a time when the call is to prepare sporting wickets that can help batsmen and bowlers be better prepared to play on any kind of wickets, such pitches are not really helping anyone. Draws might help Saurashtra qualify for the knock-out stage and they are not doing anything wrong by making the most of their advantage. But if the Board of Control for Cricket in India wants to see more fast bowlers emerging or more batsmen who are comfortable playing on any kind of wickets, it needs to make sure the home advantage is not abused. It may be the way to go in international cricket but the BCCI needs to use the domestic competitions to create an environment where the contest between bat and ball is even so that genuine talent can be noticed easily. After all, you cannot judge a batsman's calibre on a wicket where he can score a hundred at will. Not the way "This is not the way to go about it. Such wickets are not going to help anyone. It's definitely not good for the game and the players. Batsmen may score runs here but that does not mean they have the ability to score on any type of wicket," Praveen Amre, coach of the Mumbai side said. "When we saw the fixtures we knew that when we play at Rajkot we will be getting a wicket like this and so we were prepared. There is nothing in the wicket for the bowlers. Centuries seem to be the order of the day and I think credit must go to a batsman only when he scores a triple hundred on this wicket," the former India batsman added. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Even I feel that these kind of wickets neither help the bowlers nor the batsmen. BCCI HAS to rethink about this pitch qualities in the domestic matches to make the domestic performances more creditable. More often than not a batsman who is the top scorer for domestic championship comes to the ground with a huge thud as soon as he gets a slightly bowlers friendly track. This should not happen. And why is Saurashtra playing all its league matches at home? How will the batsman learn to adapt to different pitches then? Link to comment
fineleg Posted November 25, 2008 Share Posted November 25, 2008 Dravid is working his way back to form Link to comment
chanakya Posted November 25, 2008 Share Posted November 25, 2008 whoa Dravid's strike rate -- 70 :D Link to comment
Chandan Posted November 26, 2008 Author Share Posted November 26, 2008 Review of ROUND IV, DAY 3 Karnataka v Baroda, Ranji Trophy Super League, Bangalore, Day 3 Williams and Solanki take the fight to final day Sriram Veera November 25, 2008 Baroda 169 and 204 for 4 (Williams 97*, Solanki 66) trail Karnataka 395 (Naidu 90, Dravid 83, , Akhil 66, Joshi 55) by 22 runs Scorecard Can Connor Williams carry on to make a big score to save Baroda from a defeat?© Cricinfo Ltd. Connor Williams and Rakesh Solanki tried their best to stave off defeat but two late wickets to superb catches left Baroda with too much to do on the final day. Baroda are 22 runs short of wiping Karnataka's 226-run first-innings lead but have only six wickets left and an entire day to contend with tomorrow. And their hopes would rest on Williams, who is on 97. Williams and Solanki stitched together a 140-run stand from 64.3 overs to offer a stiff resistance after the surrender on the first day. However just before bad light curtailed play, Solanki fell to fabulous one-handed diving catch by Rahul Dravid at first slip and a stunning diving effort by KB Pawan at short leg got rid of Shatrunjay Gaekwad. Till then, the two left-hand batsmen, Williams and Solanki, formed a wall between Karnataka and an early finish. The few people who had strolled in stretched themselves on the tarpaulin sheets beside the boundary. The little girls on the swings of the first day were replaced by fat men. Some walked around the ground, a majority waited for the breaks to rush to have a glimpse of Dravid but for the main part of the day the crowd saw two left-handed batsmen hunched over patiently at the crease. Williams and Solanki joined hands at 32 for 2, after the Karnataka lower order had added 48 runs in the first session, and were removed only at the start of the final session. Both had a similar style: they stretched forward to defend and waited for the bowlers to drag back the length to rock back to their favoured back foot to score runs. Williams cut and swept the offspinner Sunil Raju and cut and slashed the seamers over gully. Robin Uthappa moved in two gullies and a short third man but Williams didn't make any mistake. It was not a completely fluent knock, though. He edged couple of his cuts and stabbed at a couple outside off but he laid a big price on his wicket. When the spinners overpitched, he drove them through the leg side for runs and when they landed it on a length, he defended on the front foot. Ditto Solanki. He was more assured of the two though he did offer a chance on 1 when he jabbed a Raju delivery but Manish Pandey, lunging to his right at second slip, spilled it. And he repeated the same stroke only after 200 minutes in the middle. This time, it proved fatal as Dravid dived to pouch it with an outstretched left hand low to the ground. But in the interim, Solanki was very solid. He cut, swept, and cover drove Raju, pulled R Vinaykumar, and cut and on-drove NC Aiyappa for boundaries. Uthappa had used the medium-pace of Vinay Kumar, Aiyappa, and B Akhil at one end during the second session but neither seam nor spin could separate the duo. Post tea, though, Karnataka applied pressure and the cracks slowly began to appear in the batsmen's approach. Solanki pulled C Raghu just short of midwicket and survived two lbw shouts against the same bowler before finally edging Raju. Williams too had a couple of lbw shouts as he padded up to the offbreaks and scooped one just short of mid-on but managed to hang on till stumps. Shatrunjay, son of the former India opener Anshuman, was not so lucky. Even as Williams kept asking the umpires to check for bad light, Shatrunjay perished off what turned out to be the last ball before the officials finally relented. He lunged forward to edge Joshi, Pawan dived low to his right to take a one-handed catch and Karnataka were back in control of the game. Punjab v Orissa, Ranji Trophy Super League, Bhubaneswar, Day 3 Punjab 60 and 256 for 5 (Goel 58, Kaul 50*, Debasis Mohanty 4-50) trail Orissa by 36 runs Scorecard Basanth Mohanty took 7 for 27, and Debasis Mohanty 2 for 18, to dismiss Punjab for 60 in 1st inning Like Rajasthan, Punjab batted their way towards safety against Orissa in Bhubaneswar, but the final day will still prove to be a long one. Down a wicket when play resumed, Punjab lost just four more on the way to 246 for 5, with Karan Goel (58), Uday Kaul (50*) and Ankur Kakkar (77*) impressing after first-innings failures. Not for the first time in his long career, Debasis Mohanty had the most success for Orissa. He took three of the four wickets to fall and had figures of 4 for 50 by the close. Mohanty struck with the first ball of the day, trapping Ravi Inder Singh lbw for 35. The veteran Pankaj Dharmani went at 101 for 3, bowled by left-arm spinner Dhiraj Singh after adding 42 with Goel, following which Mohanty had Goel lbw and Taruvar Kohli dismissed in succession. Kaul and Kakkar had added 115 by stumps, leaving Punjab needing to bat out the last day. Another POV Punjab fight on to avert defeat Bhubaneswar: An unbroken 115-run sixth wicket stand between Ankur Kakkar (77) and Uday Kaul (50) helped a struggling Punjab, fighting to avert outright defeat, to make 256 for five at close on the third day of their four-day Ranji Trophy Elite Group A match against Orissa at the Railway Stadium here on Tuesday. Trailing the hosts by 292 runs in the first innings, Punjab were tottering at 141 for five at one stage. But Kakkar, who had so far batted for 187 minutes and hit 11 fours, and Kaul (294 minutes, four boundaries) stemmed the rot as former Test medium pacer Debasish Mohanty threatened to run through the side with a haul of four for 50. Commencing on the overnight score of 59 for one, the visitors suffered a setback immediately as Mohanty trapped Ravi Inder Singh in front of the wicket. Singh, who had hit eight fours in his 35, did not add to his total. Skipper Pankaj Dharmani and opener Karan Goel then added 42 runs for the third wicket before the former was bowled by left arm spinner Dhiraj Singh for 16. Goel fell to Mohanty's guile soon after when he was trapped leg before for 58. He spent over four hours to compile the score which included five hits to the fence. Hyderabad vs Rajasthan, Ranji Super League, Hyderabad, Day 3 Rajasthan 267 for 3 (Bishnoi 93*, Bist 86*) trail Hyderabad 553 for 6 by 286 runs Scorecard Rajasthan's Robin Bist formed one half of a partnership that frustrated Hyderabad on day three An unbeaten 174-run partnership for the fourth wicket between Rajesh Bishnoi and Robin Bist defied Hyderabad and raised hopes of Rajasthan escaping with a draw. Faced with a massive Hyderabad first-innings total, Rajasthan had slipped to 93 for 3 before Bishnoi and Bist got stuck in. At stumps at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Bishnoi was on a career-best 93 while Bist was 14 runs short of a maiden first-class century. Earlier in the day, the visitors initially capitalised on every reprieve they got. Acting skipper Arjun Yadav - VVS Laxman is recuperating from his heel injury - could not be faulted for initially leaving the third slip vacant so as to lure the batsmen into the drive. However, Shoaib Ahmed, a right-arm medium-pacer, removed openers Vineet Saxena (13) and Gagan Khoda (40) and his fellow new-ball operator Munagala Praneet Arjun kept Rajasthan's captain Venugopal Rao to 20. Bishnoi and Bist, two of Rajasthan's more promising batsmen, forged a strong partnership in 67.1 overs. Rajasthan still face a stiff task to draw this match, but the flatness of the track may yet assist them if the not out duo dig deeper. Another POV Hyderabad lets Rajasthan off the hook; Bisht and Bishnoi bat well REPAIRING THE DAMAGE: After Rajasthan had been reduced to 93 for three, Robin Bisht (above) and Rajesh Bishnoi rode their luck to put on an unbeaten 174-run stand. HYDERABAD: Rajasthan thrived on Hyderabad’s largesse to reach 267 for three in its first innings and remain in contention after Hyderabad’s 553 for six declared on the third day of the four-day Ranji Trophy Super League Elite Group ‘A’ match at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here on Tuesday. The visitors got off to a dismal start, with S.M. Shoaib causing them trouble. First, he removed Vineet Saxena, who was caught smartly at second slip by Ravi Teja, and later trapped the seasoned Gagan Khoda in front with an inswinger. It could have been 72 for three in 26th over but T. Suman failed to latch on to a regulation catch at second slip off medium-pacer Ashwin Yadav when Robin Bisht was on three — a miss which has already proved costly as the batsman (86 batting, 306 minutes, 225 balls, 12x4) grew in confidence. He essayed some flowing drives through off, the pick of them being when he walked down the track to cover-drive Ashwin to the fence. Rajasthan captain Y. Venugopala Rao lived dangerously before slashing one from M.P. Arjun straight to the substitute Ronald Rodrigues at point. At 93 for three in 30.5 overs, it seemed Hyderabad was on top. But, left-arm spinner Lalith Mohan, who started off well, lost direction soon, either bowling short or over-pitching to let the batsmen off the hook. The post lunch session saw some fielding lapses too, as wicketkeeper Abhinav Kumar fumbled with a simple chance after Rajesh Bishnoi edged one off Arjun while on 49 and the score at 180 for three. Dropped In the post tea-session, stand-in captain Arjun Yadav — V.V.S. Laxman was off the field with a hurting right heel — failed to hold on to a chance at second slip off part-time leg-spinner Suman in his second over when Bishnoi, then on 79, tried to play a defensive push. Soon after that, Abhinav missed a leg-side catch off Bisht. By then, Bisht and Bishnoi had already put on a 174-run stand for the fourth wicket in 255 minutes. With Lalith Mohan looking ordinary and off-spinner Ahmed Quadri never really threatening to take a wicket, both Bisht and Bishnoi ensured there were no hiccups in the final session even after Hyderabad claimed the second new ball at 259 for three in 92.3 overs. Raiways vs Andhra, Ranji Super League, New Delhi, Day 3 Railways 227 and 53 for 2 need another 37 runs to beat Andhra 208 and 108 (Parida 4-10, Anureet Singh 4-29) Scorecard Anureet and Parida run through Andhra Four wickets apiece from young medium-pacer Anureet Singh and veteran spinner Kulamani Parida put Railways on course for their first win of the season at the Karnail Singh Stadium in Delhi. The two combined to skittle Andhra out for 108, and Railways lost two wickets before close in pursuit of the 90 runs needed for victory. Railways finished day two on 208 for 8 and added a further 19 to their total. Then Anureet, in his second appearance, struck with the new ball to leave Andhra 15 for 3. Parida ran through the lower order with 4 for 10 in 7.3 overs, while Anureet added a fourth to take his tally to 11 wickets in two games. Railways promoted Yere Goud to open alongside Sanjay Bangar, but both were back inside within eight overs. Once again it was Andhra's new-ball pair of Doddapaneni Kalyankrishna and Paidikalva Vijaykumar who did the early damage. Milind Tamhane and Harshad Rawle took the score to 53 for 2, and Railways need just 37 more to win. Sanjay Bangar was pleased with the performances of both Railways heroes. "Anureet's first spell did the trick," he told the Hindu. "Then Parida reminded us of the older days and showed that with a little assistance from the pitch he can be dangerous." Another POV Railways need 37 more to seal win GOTCHA: Railways’ Karan Sharma ends the stay of Andhra captain Ganeshwara Rao in New Delhi on Tuesday. Andhra’s batting woes spilled over as the Railways attack played a pivotal role in guiding its team closer to victory on the third day of the Ranji Trophy super league cricket match at the Karnail Singh Stadium, here on Tuesday. Railways took a 19-run first innings lead and shot out Andhra for only 108 in the second essay to have a modest target of 90 runs. At stumps, the home side was 53 for two and needs another 47 runs to record its first win. Railways keeper Mahesh Rawat carried Kulamani Parida on his shoulders to the dressing room. The veteran off-spinner had just run through the Andhra tail to bring take his team to the brink of an improbable victory. Parida finished with a dream figures of 4 for 10 after Anureet Singh had dashed Andhra’s hopes with a three-wicket burst, the visitors folding up for 108 in their second innings. A dicey decision by umpire Sanjay Hazare did not help matters, as skipper Y Gnaneswar Rao was given out caught at silly point off Karan Sharma to a ball that clearly went off his pads. Young pacer Anureet Singh bowled with discipline to wreck the Andhra top order. His opening spell proved decisive as the visitor never got the chance to stage a comeback after a bad start. The right-armer got enough movement to have opener L.N. Prasad Reddy caught behind. Off the next ball, he castled A.S.K. Varma to be on a hat-trick, though it eluded him. Anureet made Hemal Watekar play an outgoing delivery and edge it to the wicket-keeper as the tourist struggled at 15 for three. Later, the paceman captured another wicket. The other star performer was veteran off-spinner Kulamani Parida, who landed the ball on the rough to stifle the Andhra middle order. Parida showed his old craft to wrap A.G. Pradeep in front and find the stumps of V. Manoj Sai and D. Kalyankrishna. Soon, the off-spinner had A. Veera Babu caught behind. Sanjay Bangar doffed his cap at both the heroes. “Anureet’s first spell did the trick. Then Parida reminded us of the older days and showed that with a little assistance from the pitch he can be dangerous,†the Railways captain said. The home side regained balance after stumbling initially. At two for seven, Railways needed to steady its innings and Milind Tamhane and Harshad Rawle did just that to put their team back on track. Andhra coach M.V. Narasimha Rao blamed his batsmen for the poor show. “We batted badly. Even a target of 150 would have been good,†he said. Uttar Pradesh vs Maharashtra, Ranji Super League, Kanpur, Day 3 Maharashtra 221 and 199 for 7 (Jadhav 65, Shilamkar 56) lead Uttar Pradesh 315 (Fallah 5-93) by 105 runs Scorecard Hosts Uttar Pradesh took seven wickets in 76 overs and by stumps at the Green Park in Kanpur, Maharashtra led by 105. UP led by 69 when they resumed on 290 for 6 but Samad Fallah, the left-arm medium-pacer, took 5 for 93 to dismiss them for 315. Half-centuries from Kedar Jadhav (65) and Deepak Shilamkar (56) stood out among the fall of wickets and Maharashtra finished the day struggling to notch their first win of the season. RP Singh went wicketless in 19 overs, but Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Imtiyaz Ahmed found success and reduced Maharashtra to 96 for 4. While UP could not prevent Jadhav and Shilamkar, in his second match, from adding 99, slow left-armer Praveen Gupta snapped up both batsmen for the addition of a single run. At the same score, Piyush Chawla bowled Rohit Motwani for 0. Another POV UP on top against Maharashtra Kanpur: Maharashtra were in precarious position against Uttar Pradesh on the third day of Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match after losing seven wickets for 199 runs at Green Park stadium on Tuesday. Trailing by 94 runs behind UP's first innings total, Maharashtra are now ahead by 104 runs with three wickets in hand in their second innings. It was bowlers' day out on the penultimate day of the four-day Ranji Trophy Group 'B' Super League match between former champions and hosts Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, at the Green Park Stadium here on Tuesday. First it was Samad Fallah of Maharashtra, who completed his second five-wicket haul of the season, and later Praveen Gupta effected a turnaround with two quick wickets to help UP smell their maiden outright win of the season. With a crucial 94-run first-innings lead, Mohd Kaif and Co did manage two Maharashtra wickets in the beginning of their second innings through lanky seamer Bhuvaneshwar Kumar.Harshad Khadiwala and Rohan Bhosle gave Maharashtra a moderate start adding 42 runs for opening wicket. Khandiwala fell prey to Bhuvaneshwar for 26 while Rohan was caught behind by Amir of medium-pacer Imtiyaz after scoring 31 runs. Both UP pacers shared two more wickets and the visitors were soon reduced to 96 for four. But thereafter the ever reliable Kedar Jadhav and Deepak Shilamkar made the bowlers' lives hell with their patient knocks. The duo added 99 runs for the fifth-wicket Middle-order batsmen Kedar Jadhav and Deepak Shilamkar rescued their team adding 99 runs in their firth-wicket stand. Both denied UP any success in the post-lunch session. They completed their half centuries and were heading for a big partnership. The way the two went about their task, it seemed UP would have to forego their chance of winning here. But in a dramatic turnaround, orthodox spinner Praveen Gupta --- he removed both Jadhav and Shilamkar --- UP bounced back into the match with Maharashtra struggling at 199 for 7 in their second innings. Praveen Gupta struck two blows in the last half an hour which changed the complexion of the match. In between Piyush Chawala also scalped one wicket. Praveen first captured Kedar for 65 when Tanmay Srivastave held his bat and pad catch. Thereafter he cartwheeled the leg stump of Deepak, who scored 56 runds with six hits to the fence. D. Waghmare (2) and M. Mangela (0) were at the crease when stumps were drawn. Maharashtra, with just a 105-run second-innings lead, would try to bat as much as possible on Wednesday, while UP will go all out for their maiden outright win of the season. Gujarat vs Delhi, Ranji Super League, Valsad, Day 3 Gujarat 350 and 76 for 0 lead Delhi 314 (Nagar 79, Parmar 4-104) by 112 runs Scorecard Gujarat took a handy lead over Delhi going into the final day at Valsad, but their slow start to the second innings indicated they were not entirely pushing to win their second game of the season. Delhi were dismissed for 314 from an overnight 199 for 6, with spinner Mohnish Parmar taking four wickets and Siddharth Trivedi three. Gujarat's openers put on 76 in 31 overs - a run rate of 2.45 - indicating they were opting to bat out a draw. For Delhi, debutant Yogesh Nagar top scored with 79 from 210 balls. There were further lower order contributions from Sumit Narwal (48) and Chetanya Nanda (25*) as Delhi moved on slowly. Trivedi dismissed Nagar and Narwal and Parmar took the last two wickets. In Gujarat's second innings, Priyank Kirit Panchal batted 91 balls for his 42 and Nilesh Modi used up 97 balls for his 26. Umpire Sameer Bandekar has been known to get into the news for the wrong reasons. On Tuesday, a contentious decision by him spoilt an interesting battle. The Delhi team have lodged an official complaint with match referee Sunil Gudge over the verdict which cost Nagar his wicket. Bandekar upheld wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel's appeal for a catch off Siddharth Trivedi, reducing Delhi to 293 for 8, and effectively ending any hopes of the visiting team overhauling Gujarat's first-innings total. Another POV Nagar heroics not enough : Delhi takes a wrong turn while Gujarat sitting pretty AGAIN, the same old sorry story. The story where, no matter who the opposition, where the match, Delhi's batsmen just can't seem to score more runs than the other side. The latest setting for the next chapter in Delhi's woeful season was Valsad where hosts Gujarat bowled Delhi for 314 -- 36 runs short of Gujarat’s total. It was always going to be a tough ask for the tourists to get anything out of the game after the top-order had, once again, so spectacularly failed. The numbers 50, 35, 36 may mean nothing in terms of a logical mathematical series. But these figures got together on Tuesday to spell a sequence of tragedy for Delhi. After two near-misses in the previous rounds on account of batting deficiencies, the defending champions conceded the first-innings lead in this Ranji Trophy match, this time done in by umpiring errors. Gujarat skipper Parthiv Patel used strike bowlers Siddharth Trivedi (three for 52) and Mohnish Parmar (four for 104) to trip Delhi in the race for first innings lead. The visitor stumbled 36 runs short of Gujarat’s first innings score of 350, bowled out for 314 on an action-packed third day at the Sardar Patel Stadium. After heroically battling out one-and-a-half sessions, adding 115 runs in 55.5 overs on the third day against Gujarat, Delhi neither had three points nor enough time to press for an outright victory and grab five. The visitors wound up for 314 in reply to the home side’s first-innings score of 350. Openers Priyank Panchal and Nilesh Modi then scored 76 without parting, taking the overall lead to 112 to set up another drab final day’s play. The bottom half of Delhi’s batting order had displayed fighting qualities earlier in the day to create anxiety in the home team camp. Plucky effort Despite Delhi's failure to grab the initiative, the day belonged to Yogesh Nagar, the 18-year old debutant who showed both pragmatism and superstition during his eventful stay at the crease. Wearing the same set of sweat-stained whites that had brought him his first 40 runs on Monday, he used a combination of rock-solid defence and clever nudges to reach his maiden first-class half-century from 142 deliveries. He was the only batsman in the game to figure out where his fourth stump was — anything on it or further outside off was left alone. The Delhi number seven’s greatest contribution lay in how he donned the mantle of senior partner in a seventh-wicket partnership of 108 with Sumit Narhwal. Threatening to take the match away from Gujarat, Narhwal and Nagar patted each other often, and talked frequently. The Delhi dressing room had started the countdown from 100. The Gujarat pace attack that had posed so many uncomfortable questions to Delhi's big bats, was being dealt with the least bit of difficulty by an 18-year-old. With Narwal curbing his natural attacking instinct, and instead playing the role of sidekick to perfection, Delhi were looking to get past Gujarat. The pall of gloom that seems to have permanently descended on the Delhi dressing room was slowly lifting. The cries of encouragement were getting louder and the runs were coming easier. The two had put on 108. But just then, disaster struck. Unhappy Delhi Much to the dismay and rage of the Delhi players, umpire Sameer Bandekar adjudged Narwal (48) leg before to a Siddharth Trivedi delivery that the batsman claimed to have got bat first. The players were shocked, the coach seethed and officials ranted — Delhi felt wronged. Wronged by a man, who, a couple of years ago, was suspended for a year after going awol during a Ranji match at the Ferozeshah Kotla, wronged by a man who was once warned by the BCCI after Delhi players objected to him talking on his cellphone while at square-leg! Whatever the case may have been, the fact was that Delhi's last hopes had been snuffed out with the breaking of the partnership. Nagar, steadily running out of partners, fell six overs after lunch for 79. Resistance broken, and confidence shaken, Delhi took lunch at 280 for 7 and a feeling of slow death started seeping in when Nagar was declared caught behind, another controversial decision by umpire Sameer Bandekar, after an outstanding knock of 79 from 289 minutes. Chetnya Nanda remained stranded on 25 as Pradeep Sangwan and Parvinder Awana were fooled by Mohnish Parmar’s off-breaks. The bowler with a Muralitharan-like action ended up with four wickets while Siddharth Trivedi snared three. Offie Mohnish Parmar (4/104) ensured their would be no bite from the Delhi tail with the wickets of Pradeep Sangwan (2) and Parwinder Awana (1). With a lead and three points safely tucked away, the Gujarat openers, Priyank Panchal (42*) and Nilesh Modi (26*), stonewalled their way to 76/0. By stumps, the hosts led by 112. If things don't improve, and dramatically at that too, Delhi could be in for a relegation dogfight going in to the final few rounds. Blame it on Bandekar? Delhi players cry foul WAS IT a conspiracy theory that saw Delhi fall short of Gujarat's total? Did umpire Sameer Bandekar actually think Sumit Narwal was leg before wicket, or was it the reaction of a man who wanted teach Delhi a lesson? Depending who you wanted to believe, the answers to these questions were very different. The Delhi players and management were apoplectic with rage after Narwal was adjudged out. "He did this purposely," was the general sentiment among the players. "He wants to teach Delhi a lesson." Bandekar and the Delhi team have never got along. He was suspended for a year after he left a Ranji match he was officiating at the Ferozeshah Kotla, which was held up due to bad light, to watch another game at the St. Stephen's ground two years ago. Sameer Bandekar has been known to get into the news for the wrong reasons. On Tuesday, two contentious decisions by the Mumbai-based umpire spoilt an interesting battle between bat and ball. His errors contributed to Delhi falling 36 runs short of Gujarat’s first-innings total. Bandekar first declared Sumit Narhwal lbw despite an inside edge, and Yogesh Nagar was then adjudged caught behind though the ball had just deviated off the wicket. Bandekar later apologised. The Delhi management have decided to lodge an official complaint with the BCCI. And also the match referee Sunil Guege summoned Narwal and skipper Aakash Chopra apparently to show the video replay of the contentious dismissal. "We were robbed in this match. We will complain," said a member of the Delhi management. “I will write a strong letter against Bandekar, he has a special dislike for Delhi. This kind of umpiring has taken away the spirit of the game,†Sunil Dev, the DDCA sports secretary, said here. Saurashtra vs Mumbai, Ranji Super League, Rajkot, Day 3 Mumbai 214 (Malvi 56, Balkrishna Jadeja 4-41) trail Saurashtra 643 for 4 by 429 runs Scorecard Cheteshwar Pujara thumped his third century on the trot A successful opening spell from debutant left-arm medium-pacer Balkrishna Jadeja set up a huge 429-run lead for Saurashtra on day three against Mumbai in Rajkot. Balkrishna took 4 for 41 to help shoot Mumbai out for 214 in the last over of the day, and it it remains to be seen whether Saurashtra enforce the follow-on. Jaydev Shah, Saurashtra's captain, declared at an overnight 643 for 4. Mumbai failed to gather any momentum with the bat, as Balkrishan removed the in-form Ajinkya Rahane for 0 in his first over. He quickly added Amol Mazumdar (0) and Wasim Jaffer (12) with an incisive new-ball spell. Mumbai were soon 28 for 4 and took lunch on 56 for 5. Hiken Shah (47) and Sairaj Bahutule (42) added 59 for the sixth wicket, but Shah's dismissal at 113 for 6 was proceeded by a three-wicket burst. Usman Malvi (56) and Dhaval Kulkarni (19) frustrated the hosts with a 72-run stand for the last wicket, the highest of the innings. Kamlesh Makwana (2 for 32) and Ravindra Jadeja (2 for 62) chipped in. Mumbai coach Praveen Amre was critical of the shot selection from the batsmen and believed it had caused the debacle. "We had a bad start and credit goes to Jadeja who bowled superbly," he told DNA. "Also there were some irresponsible shots from our batsmen." "It was a good batting track but we were unfortunate that Wasim fell sick at the start. He came at No. 5. He took medicines before coming into bat. Amol Muzumdar too was unfortunate to get out for a duck off the first ball. Our openers didn't click too. Overall everyone was responsible and credit to the Saurashtra bowlers who bowled very well. We now have to save the match," Saurashtra coach Debu Mitra, however, believed Mumbai themselves were responsible for the mess they were in."I would not like to name individuals but they bowled poorly and allowed us to score runs freely," he told Mid-Day. "Whatever the nature of the wicket, if you do not bowl to a plan and in the right areas, then you are not going to get wickets. Mumbai failed to do that." "We declared overnight because we wanted to use the freshness in the wicket. And it paid off thanks to Jadeja. He stuck to his plan and swung the ball well." Another POV Saurashtra have shot at victory Posted: Nov 26, 2008 at 0027 hrs IST After Saurashtra had posted a mammoth 643 for four on Monday, Mumbai coach Praveen Amre had insisted that the RMC wicket in Rajkot was a batting paradise and that his team would give a fitting reply. After the home team declared at the overnight score and Mumbai bundled out for a paltry 214, it was clear Amre had downplayed Saurashtra’s effort and overestimated his team's batting abilities. Debutant Balkrishna Jadeja wreaks havoc as Mumbai, in reply to Saurashtra’s 643, bowled out for 214 If the host batsmen shone bright on the first two days, it was the turn of Saurashtra’s rookie left-arm pacer Balkrishna Jadeja to steal the limelight. Jadeja bowled an inspired first spell, swinging the ball both ways. The 21-year-old youngster ran through the Mumbai top-order in the first hour of the play, almost ensuring Saurashtra three points. By the end of the day, the home team were gunning for an (outright) win and full six points against the mighty Mumbai. On a flat wicket, where three Saurashtra batsmen had scored centuries taking their score to 643, Mumbai batsmen struggled against debutant Balkrishna Jadeja’s swing. The visitors were bundled out for 214 with tail-ender Usman Malvi being the highest scorer with 56. Mumbai will now bat again on the last day, as they have been asked to follow on. The Mumbai batsman were poor in their shot selection. They got an early shock when skipper and opener Wasim Jaffer fell ill. Off the very first ball of the day, Jadeja dismissed Ajinkya Rahane, who was trapped in front as it straightened after pitching. Others who were foxed by Jadeja’s brilliant swing bowling were Sahil Kukreja (4), Amol Muzumdar (0) and Wasim Jaffer (12), who batted down at No 4. The left-arm paceman's first spell read 10-4-22-4, clearly a lesson to learn for the Mumbai bowlers. No 3 Hiken Shah showed some spark but could not make only 47. Mumbai lost wickets at regular intervals and were 142 for 9 at one stage. A 72-run partnership for the last wicket between Usman Malvi (56) and Dhaval Kulkarni (19) saved them from more embarrassment. Apart from Jadeja, spinners Kamlesh Makwana and Ravindra Jadeja chipped in with two wickets each while pacer Sandeep Jobanputra got the wicket of Hiken Shah. Mumbai had a forgettable day. The 37-time Ranji champions played like minnows against Saurashtra, succumbing to brilliant bowling from the hosts. Mumbai have conceded a huge lead of 429 runs on the penultimate day of their four-day match at the Madhavrao Scindia Stadium in Rajkot on Tuesday. An angry coach Praveen Amre said the batsmen’s shot selection was the reason for debacle. “We had a bad start and credit goes to Jadeja who bowled superbly. Also there were some irresponsible shots from our batsmen,†he told DNA from Rajkot. Meanwhile, Niranjan Shah, former secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, criticised Mumbai players for commenting about the Rajkot pitch. “Some of their comments were uncalled for. They should stop making such allegations,†Niranjan Shah said. However, Amre called it as a bad day for the team as skipper Jaffer fall ill. “It was a good batting track but we were unfortunate that Wasim fell sick at the start. He came at No. 5. He took medicines before coming into bat. Amol Muzumdar too was unfortunate to get out for a duck off the first ball. Our openers didn’t click too. Overall everyone was responsible and credit to the Saurashtra bowlers who bowled very well. We now have to save the match,†Amre signed off. Link to comment
Chandan Posted November 27, 2008 Author Share Posted November 27, 2008 Review of ROUND IV, DAY 4 Karnataka v Baroda, Ranji Trophy Super League, Bangalore, Day 4 Joshi bowls Karnataka to bonus point Sriram Veera November 26, 2008 Karnataka 395 (Naidu 90, Dravid 83, Akhil 66, Joshi 55) and 60 for 0 (Uthappa 44*) beat Baroda 169 (Solanki 53, Raju 4-30) and 285 (Williams 137, Solanki 66, Joshi 6-48) by ten wickets Scorecard Sunil Joshi followed his first-innings fifty with a six-wicket haul in the second to lead Karnataka to a easy win over Baroda Cricinfo Ltd. Karnataka moved to the top of Group B with a ten-wicket win over Baroda at the RSI Ground in Bangalore. Sunil Joshi picked up his 28th five-for in first-class cricket before openers Robin Uthappa and KB Pawan rattled off the 60-run target in 6.2 overs, shortly before tea on the final day, to hand Karnataka a bonus point. Karnataka are on 13 points from four games but Tamil Nadu, on 12 points, have a game in hand. Baroda's hopes of saving the game on the final day rested on Connor Williams, who played an uncharacteristic shot to give it away after fighting for 459 minutes. Despite a long-on in place, he charged down to heave Joshi - the eight wicket to fall. However, the turning point of the game was the two wickets late last evening when Rahul Dravid and Pawan took stunning catches to dismiss Rakesh Solanki and Shatrunjay Gaekwad. On a cloudy winter's day, where misty rain stopped the game for 15 minutes in the first session, Karnataka applied relentless pressure to force open the cracks in Baroda's lower middle-order. Pinal Shah, who survived a confident caught-behind appeal off Sunil Joshi, fell to the same bowler, trapped in front and walked off even before the decision was given. DEMOLITION MAN: Karnataka’s Sunil Joshi, who scalped six Baroda batsmen in the visitors’ second innings, exults after breaching Pinal Shah’s defence on Wednesday. Ketan Panchal, though, was given out caught down the leg side, much to the batsman's surprise. No such doubt for Rajesh Pawar, who was caught by an acrobatic effort from the Thilak Naidu - the keeper flung himself to his right to pluck a superb catch. The seamers, R Vinaykumar and NC Aiyappa - who removed Panchal for his 99th first-class wicket - had done their job before Joshi came back to wipe the tail. Pawan started off the chase with a flicked four and a pull in the first over before Uthappa exploded in a fury, walking down to the seamers, lofting over long-on and pulling over midwicket. Baroda could have denied Karnataka the bonus point. Pawar dropped Uthappa on 13, with the total on 20, when he could not hold on to a fierce cut at backward point. Uthappa flicked one through midwicket to bring up the winning runs even as a light drizzle drenched the ground ever so slowly. Baroda, on four points, have three home games coming up and hope to have the services of Irfan and Yusuf Pathan for two of those and Sri Lanka's Dilhara Fernando, their overseas signing, for the tough clash against Tamil Nadu. As things stand, Tamil Nadu should qualify for the quarter-finals without much fuss and it remains to be seen whether Baroda can push Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh for a spot in the knock-out phase. Punjab v Orissa, Ranji Trophy Super League, Bhubaneswar, Day 4 Orissa 352 (Mullick 100*, Halhadar Das 80, Behera 74, Biswal 54, Gagandeep 4-45) and 87 for 1 beat Punjab 60 (Basanth Mohanty 7-27) and 378 (Kakkar 117, Kaul 71, Goel 58, Debasis Mohanty 5-72) by nine wickets Scorecard Orissa gets its first win Orissa notched up their first win of the season Orissa's first win of the season was kick-started by one new-ball operator, Basanth Mohanty, and finished by another, Debasis Mohanty. Basanth's incisive 7 for 27 had bowled Punjab out for just 60 in the first innings, and that ultimately gave Orissa room to complete a nine-wicket victory late on the final day in Bhubaneshwar. Helping fashion the win was Debasis, with another five-wicket haul in a long career for his state. Punjab went into the final day on 246 for 5, with Uday Kaul and Ankur Kakkar batting on half-centuries. Basanth removed Kaul for 71 with the score at 302, and one run later left-arm spinner Dhiraj Singh dismissed Manpreet Gony for 0. Kakkar, from an overnight 77, batted on to his second first-class century. He was next to go, lbw for 117, giving Debasis his fifth wicket. Basanth and Dhiraj (3 for 108) checked the lower order, although Gagandeep Singh batted well for his unbeaten 45 from 127 balls. But the 378 that Punjab evenutally got set Orissa only 87 to win. They lost Bikas Pati for a rapid 33 from 35 balls, and completed the win in 23.3 overs. They took five points, and sit at fifth in the points table. Another POV Orissa defeat Punjab by 9 wickets Bhubaneswar: Orissa registered their first victory in Ranji Trophy this season, defeating Punjab by nine wickets on the final day of their Super League encounter at the Railway Stadium here on Wednesday. Punjab's Ankur Kakkar, who resumed with 77 this morning, completed his century before being dismissed on 117, which he adorned with 15 boundaries. His 319-minute-long fighting ton helped the visitors to avert innings defeat. Punjab, starting with an overnight 256 for 5, were bundled out for 378, leaving Orissa to make 87 to win. Besides Ankur, Uday Kaul scored 71 runs before being sent back by medium pacer Basant Mohanty. The visitors failed to give any trouble to the hosts, as Orissa collected the required runs with nine wickets in their hand. Skipper Shiv Sundar Das led the way with an unbeaten 38 and also reached his personal 10,000-run mark in first class cricket. Debasis Mohanty put up commendable effort to claim five wickets for 72 runs, while young paceman Basant Mohanty, who had triggered Punjab's collapse in the first innings with his seven-wicket haul, bagged two wickets for 82 runs. Left arm spinner Dhiraj Singh managed three for 108 runs. After the win, Orissa will have nine points from four matches, while Punjab has seven points from equal number of ties. Hyderabad vs Rajasthan, Ranji Super League, Hyderabad, Day 4 Hyderabad 553 for 6 (Laxman 224, Quadri 100*, Pai 85) and 33 for 0 drew with Rajasthan 405 (Bist 136, Bishnoi 97, Deshpande 73*, Yadav 4-67) Scorecard Rajasthan's Robin Bist formed one half of a partnership that frustrated Hyderabad on day three Robin Bist's maiden first-class century, and a crucial half-century from debutant Vaibhav Deshpande could not stave Hyderabad off for long enough, as Hyderabad eked out a first-innings lead, and with that three points from the match. Bist took guard 14 runs short of three figures, with Rajasthan facing a tough ask to match Hyderabad's 553 for 6 declared, and though he lost his overnight partner early, Bist joined forces with Deshpande to deny the hosts. Bist lost Rajesh Bishnoi six overs into the morning, bowled by Munagala Praneet Arjun three short of a maiden hundred. That stand had been worth 186. Deshpande and Bist added 103, during which Bist reaced his first century. It had been a long wait for Bist, who had fallen for 99 last year in Mysore. "I am really thrilled with this effort, and have had to work hard for these runs," Bist told Cricinfo. "I'm glad I could help the team get a draw here." Once Bist fell for 136, Rajasthan lost their last five wickets for 23 runs. Deshpande batted on to an unbeaten 73 in his first appearance for Rajasthan. Ashwin Yadav, a right-arm medium-pacer, took 4 for 67. Hyderabad batted out the rest of the inconsequential play. Another POV Hyderabad forces the issue as Bisht and Bishnoi shine in drawn affair COMING GOOD: Hyderabad’s M.P. Arjun, who dismissed Rajasthan’s Rajesh Bishnoi, is congratulated by teammates. HYDERABAD: Hyderabad fought back remarkably well in the post-lunch session — thanks to Ashwin Yadav’s splendid spell of fast bowling — to grab the first innings lead against Rajasthan in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group ‘A’ match, which eventually ended in a draw at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here on Wednesday. In the eighth over of the day, fast bowler M.P. Arjun bowled Rajesh Bishnoi (97, 294 minutes, 238 balls, 15x4) beating him with pace and swing. He returned to the pavilion after adding four more runs. His 97 contained 14 boundaries. However, Hyderabad was thwarted by a defiant 103-run stand for the fifth wicket between Robin Bisht (136, 525 minutes, 374 balls, 17x4) and southpaw Vaibhav Deshpande (73 not out, 242 minutes, 167 balls, 6x4). During this stand, the bowling looked very ordinary with the pitch playing true. That was also the phase when Bisht, once again, came up with some exquisite strokes — most notably, walking down the track to drive Yadav down the ground. Bisht's superb 136 came off 374 balls and included 17 hits to fence, while Deshpandy's valuable contribution of 73 was made from 167 balls and six boundaries. Looking comfortable At lunch, Rajasthan was comfortably placed at 356 for four, with Bisht and Deshpande in total control. But, an unwarranted burst of aggression from Bisht — he stepped out to play a lofted stroke off off-spinner Ahmed Quadri only to hole out to the deep in the 16th over after the break — gave Hyderabad a whiff of a chance. That turned out to be the decisive moment for the home team. Yadav then got three for 10 in his six overs before tea, cutting off all escape routes for the Rajasthan. Rajasthan's three tail-enders returned to the pavilion without scoring. With Deshpande failing to farm the strike well enough, the last five wickets fell for just 23 runs. For Hyderabad, Ashwin Yadav claimed four wickets for 67 runs, while MP Arjun took three wickets, including that of Rajesh Bishoni, for 62 runs. Ahmed Quadri, who scored a superb century also, shone bright with the ball too as he took the valuable wicket of Robin Bisht. Hyderabad was 33 for no loss in the ten inconsequential overs before close. T Suman (14) and D B Ravi Teja (17) were at the crease when the match ended in a draw. Centurion Robin Bisht (136) and Rajesh Bishnoi (97) put up a brave fight for Rajasthan to give a fitting reply to Hyderabad's mammoth 553 on the fourth and final day of their Ranji Trophy Super League match that ended in a draw here on Wednesday. Resuming at overnight score of 267 for three, the visitors added 138 runs with Bisht making a whopping 136 though his team were all out for 405. Rest of the batsmen, except V Deshpandy, failed to make it big. Hyderabad now has 10 points from four matches while Rajasthan has two. Raiways vs Andhra, Ranji Super League, New Delhi, Day 4 Railways 227 (Sanyal 70) and 90 for 3 beat Andhra 208 (Suresh 51*, Gnaneswara Rao 50, Sharma 4-37) and 108 (Parida 4-10, Anureet Singh 4-29) by seven wickets Scorecard Railways earns its first victory Railways duly knocked off the remaining 37 runs needed to win their first game of the season, and moved to four in the Group B points table. Trailin UP by two points, Railways have a game in hand. Two down for 53 when the day began, Railways lost Milind Tamhane for 44 but had no further issues chasing a target of 90. Railways took five points from this win. M.V. Narasimha Rao, the Andhra coach felt the forthcoming matches will be more challenging. "Our batting in the second innings made the difference," he told the Hindu. "Our batsmen did not apply themselves well. Now the target will be to avoid relegation." Another POV Railways completes the formalities GOTCHA: Railways’ Karan Sharma ends the stay of Andhra captain Ganeshwara Rao in New Delhi on Tuesday. Railways had the time, and energy, to play a game of football after closing out the Ranji match against Andhra in just 9.3 overs on Wednesday. Railways on Wednesday defeated Andhra by seven wickets at the Karnail Singh Stadium here to record its first win in the Ranji Trophy Super League this season. The home side needed only 37 runs on the fourth day to gather five points. Resuming at the overnight total of 53 for two, the Railways batsmen gathered the required runs within an hour. Second innings top-scorer Milind Tamhane’s wicket was the minor jolt Railways suffered on its way to victory. After a patient 87-ball 44, which included five boundaries, Tamhane drove leg-spinner M. Suresh casually to Y. Gnaneswar Rao at short covers as the home team was just three runs away from the target. The other overnight batsman, Harshad Rawle (33 not out, 88 balls, 5x4s), and vice-captain Sanjib Sanyal completed the formalities without any further damage. Railways now has nine points from three matches while Andhra is lying at the bottom of the table with just two points from four encounters. With two more matches to go against tougher opponents, Andhra has a difficult task ahead. The coach of the side, M.V. Narasimha Rao, felt the forthcoming matches will be more challenging. “Our batting in the second innings made the difference. Our batsmen did not apply themselves well. Now the target will be to avoid relegation,” he said. Uttar Pradesh vs Maharashtra, Ranji Super League, Kanpur, Day 4 Uttar Pradesh 315 (Shivakant Shukla 131, Parvinder 68, Fallah 5-93) and 140 for 2 (Srivastava 65*, Parvinder 60) beat Maharashtra 221 (Jadhav 93*, Khadiwale 56) and 230 (Jadhav 65, Shilamkar 56) by eight wickets Scorecard First outright win for UP An eight-wicket win gave Uttar Pradesh their first outright success of the season, and moved them up to No. 3 in Group B. The hosts took the remaining three Maharashtra wickets early on the fourth morning at the Green Park in Kanpur, and knocked off the required 137 without much fuss. Legspinner Piyush Chawla (3 for 42) and slow left-armer Praveen Gupta (3 for 55) shared the spoils, and Maharashtra could only add 31 more to their total. Shivakant Shukla, who made 131 in the first innings, fell for 16 in UP's chase, but Tanmay Srivastava (65 not out) and Parvinder Singh (60) scored at a fair clip. Maharashtra used seven bowlers to try and stop UP, but victory was achieved in 36.5 overs. Another POV Srivastava leads UP to an easy win Kanpur: IT TURNED out to be a mere formality for former champions Uttar Pradesh, as they notched up their maiden outright win of this season, crushing Maharashtra by nine wickets on the final day of their Ranji Trophy Group ‘B’ Super League match at the Green Park Stadium on Wednesday. UP could have logged the full six points, including a bonus, had they not lost the wicket of opener Shivakant Shukla (6). But five points too were enough to keep their hopes alive for a berth in the knockout (UP have so far accumulated 11 points from four outings). The hosts had no trouble in overhauling the target of 137 runs after skittling out Maharashtra for 230 in their second innings at Green Park stadium. Maharashtra could add just 31 runs to their overnight total of 199 for seven with Praveen Gupta (3/55) and Piyush Chawla (3/42) polishing off the tail. UP's first innings hero Shivakant Shukla (6) was the early casualty for the hosts as he was removed by pacer Samad Fallah. First innings centurion Shivakant Shukla couldn't read an in-swinger from leftarm seamer Samad Fallah and was trapped leg-before in the ninth over of the innings, as UP set out to chase 137 from 75 overs. Shivakant's early exit had Maharashtra fielders jubilating in anticipation of more wickets, but the agile Tanmay Srivastava, along with Parvinder Singh, didn't allow Maharashtra the luxury of more jubilation as they cobbled together a 120-run partnership. Tanmay Srivastava (65 not out) and Parvindar Singh (60) then steered UP towards victory with a 120-run partnership for the second wicket. Already in the form of his life, stylish left-hander Tanmay — who began this season with a brilliant 154 against Andhra Pradesh — slammed an unbeaten 65 off 95 balls with the help of 12 fours. Though Parvinder Singh struck 60 off 94 balls (nine fours), he committed the same mistake, which he did in the first innings. With just two runs required for victory, Parvinder couldn't hold his nerves and lofted Deepak Shilamkar's delivery into the hands of Kedar Jadhav at mid- region. "An outright win was very much needed and I am happy that it came at the right moment," said UP skipper Mohammed Kaif. UP with this win now have 11 points from four outings while Maharashtra remain on four points from three matches. UP next face Railways in New Delhi. Gujarat vs Delhi, Ranji Super League, Valsad, Day 4 Gujarat 350 (Thaker 151, Parthiv 55) and 259 for 6 (Parthiv 71) drew with Delhi 314 (Nagar 79, Parmar 4-104) Scorecard Expectedly, given their slow approach on the third evening, Gujarat played out a draw against Delhi in Valsad, content to secure three points and stay at No. 3. Their openers, Priyank Kirit Panchal and Nilesh Modi, added five to their overnight association, after which Niraj Patel (45), Parthiv Patel (71) and Bhavik Thaker (37 not out) patiently saw out a draw. Sumit Narwal, Chetanya Nanda and Parvinder Awana picked up the wickets. Enjoying the advantage right through, against the defending champions, captain Parthiv said the team focus was to make it to the semi-finals first. "It was a satisfying game for us," he told the Times of India. "Three points was good enough. With a tally of 12 we are in a good position with three more league fixtures to go. Bhavik's knock [151] was great, and and I was quite happy with the 71 I got in the second innings." On the next assignment, against Punjab in Ahmedabad, he hoped for a similar showing. "Punjab are a good side, but with the form we are in, I am optimistic about that game". Another POV Delhi return with a point to show Delhi, simmering with anger over one umpiring decision on the third day, lacked the firepower to channelise the feelings into one final crack at Gujarat on the final day at Sardar Patel stadium. The cool morning conditions helped seamers move the ball off the pitch, wicketkeeper Punit Bisht ended up working more than the batsmen in the drawn Ranji Trophy Elite League Group A fourth round match. Gujarat gained three points while Delhi got one point. Over the past four days, sitting on the sidelines, Vijay Dahiya has been trying to finish reading 8769 Words of Wisdom. The Delhi coach, however, wouldn’t require the proverbs, maxims and precepts compiled in the pocket-sized book to give reasons for Delhi’s continued struggle. He could sum that up in one word: runs. Rather than the trophy, the defending champions need to ensure they keep their place in the Elite division, now that they’re hanging at seventh position in the eight-team Group A. After falling in four matches, Delhi need to stand up in the fifth, sixth and seventh games — create a scenario like Mumbai had two seasons ago, when they won three back-to-back games to lift the Ranji Trophy — all this just to get an entry into the quarter-finals. It Is becoming the norm, this. Taking 20 wickets is proving to be too big a ask for Delhi, and with their batsmen not being able to find any sort of form, things don't look rosy for the defending champions. Six points is all they have from four matches and cannot afford anything less than full points in their next encounter against Orissa at home. As for Gujarat, three points here has put them in a rather comfortable position in the group. On 12 points, Parthiv Patel and his men should be on their way to the knockouts. Wednesday, for both teams, was all about finishing the mandatory overs as soon as possible. It was extended practice for the Gujarat batsmen and they did not let the opportunity go to waste. Almost all the bastmen got in among the runs, with Parthiv ending up the highest with a well composed 71. When stumps were drawn, the hosts were 259/6 in their second innings. Trinity failing Before the season, the talk around Delhi was about the lack of bowling quality needed to run through a side. But the trio of Sumit Narhwal, Parvinder Awana and Pradeep Sangwan have managed to do a reasonable job. Delhi’s major concern, surprisingly, has been the inability to post big scores this season. The lack of contribution from the past, present and future captains of the team has hurt Delhi — Mithun Manhas, Aakash Chopra and Shikhar Dhawan just haven’t done enough. Though all three have shown signs of form, none has managed to perform consistently. Unlike other teams, the lack of second-innings stints hasn’t helped renew their confidence. Wednesday wasn’t any different as Gujarat, building on their overnight score of 76/0, with the first-innings lead in hand, batted through the last day before the mandatory close. Watching Mithun Manhas and Aakash Chopra come out of the dressing room, bat in hand, within minutes of the day's play ending, one could sense the urgency within the Delhi camp. The batsmen have looked a pale shadow of usual run-scoring selves, and know they have to come good. The only positive Delhi can take from this game is the seamless integration the two debuatants, Gaurav Chhabra and Yogesh Nagar, made into the team. In fact, had the two not scored 142 runs between them, Delhi could well have been staring at defeat. Delhi depend a lot on openers Aakash Chopra and Shikhar Dhawan to get the team off to a solid start, and the pair have yet to do that this season. The sooner these two hit form, the quicker their team can get out of the abyss it finds itself in. Little interest There were some interesting phases, like when the Delhi bowlers sent back Nilesh Modi and Priyank Panchal early, the senior Patels in Gujarat side — skipper Parthiv and deputy Niraj — hung on till lunch. Niraj fell five short of his 50, caught and bowled by Chetnya Nanda, but Parthiv crossed the milestone before edging one from Narhwal after Delhi claimed the second new ball. Bhavik Thaker and Ishwar Chaudhary, took Gujarat for 259/6 in 104 overs. Chopra has handled captaincy well so far. But with Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir unavailable because of national duty, he needs to lead from the front with his bat as well, which brings us back to where it started — runs. Bowling blues The obvious chink in the armour, Delhi's inexperienced bowling attack was not odds-on favourites to run though sides. And though, they are yet to bowl the opposition out twice in a match, the bowlers have performed manfully in less than suited conditions. With their batsmen scoring runs by the tons last season, the bowlers had a more than comfortable target within which to bowl the opposition out. However, things have changed this time around. The batsmen woefully out of form, the responsibility of fashioning wins has fallen on an attack which is led by 18-year-old Pradeep Sangwan. Sangwan and Co. have looked good in parts, but never have they clicked as a unit. Priority Enjoying the upperhand right through in a contest of cricket skills with the Elite League champions, Parthiv pointed out that making the quarterfinal was his team’s first priority. “We plan before each game, have plans for specific batsmen and bowlers, but don’t think too far ahead. It is better to take things as they happen. Gujarat is a bowling side, so a score in the range of 350 is enough for our bowlers to wrest the initiative.” Gujarat spinners Mohnish Parmar and Timil Patel posed more problems for batsmen than the Delhi slow bowlers. The off-spinner made the ball fizz and turn across the stumps and the leg-break bowler send down looping deliveries. Delhi’s leg-spinner Chetanya Nanda made little impact in comparison on the fourth morning, except deceiving Niraj Patel into driving the ball back for a catch taken stretching across on the follow-through. Warning Meanwhile, match referee Sunil Gudge found Narhwal guilty of showing dissent after his dismissal, under clause 1.7 of the players’ code, but let him off with a warning. Saurashtra vs Mumbai, Ranji Super League, Rajkot, Day 4 Saurashtra 643 for 4 (Pujara 176, Pathak 170, Chauhan 104, Kotak 78) drew with Mumbai 214 (Malvi 56, Balkrishna Jadeja 4-41) and 157 for 7 Scorecard Cheteshwar Pujara thumped his third century on the trot Mumbai batted out a tense draw on the final day in Rajkot, maintaining the top spot in Group A. Second-placed Saurashtra enforced the follow-on first thing in the morning, but failed to take ten wickets in the face of some stiff resistance from the lower middler order. When the day began, it appeared Saurashtra would win. Balkrishna Jadeja, the debutant left-hand medium-pacer, nipped out Wasim Jaffer and Ajinkya Rahane cheaply for the second time running and Mumbai were 6 for 2. That soon became 45 for 5 with Ravindra Jadeja and Kamlesh Makwana striking to get rid of Amol Muzumdar and Sahil Kukreja. For the second time in the match, Hiken Shah and Sairaj Bahutule were forced to dig themselves in. Having added 59 for the sixth wicket yesterday, the two put on 44 before Shah, 35, was trapped lbw by Makvana in the 38th over. In came Ramesh Powar, who went on to bat the rest of the day to finish unbeaten on 23 from 171 balls. Bahutule was dismissed for a 121-ball 35, after which Vinayak Samant, the wicketkeeper, put on 31 with Powar in 12.5 overs. His dismissal in the 83rd over gave Saurashtra a window of opportunity, but Powar found an able ally in first-innings centurion Usman Malvi. Unlike in the first dig when he swung the bat usefully, Malvi shut shop and played out 33 deliveries for his 3. Mumbai did not lose any more wickets. Saurashtra took three points courtesy a first-innings lead, while Mumbai took one to maintain a three-point lead over Saurashtra in the points table. Mumbai coach Praveen Amre was thrilled with Powar's efforts. "He [Powar] played a bad shot in the first innings and got out, so we asked him to stay at the wicket and curb his stroke-making tendency," he told the Times of India. "He did absolutely that and saved Mumbai." Debu Mitra, his Saurashtra counterpart, was slightly disapppointed after failing to pull off a win, but praised the team effort. "Frankly speaking, I never expected this match to go the way it has gone but Bala (Balakrishna Jadeja) made it possible," he said. "The four wickets on the third day are worth much more than a hundred on this track. It is flat track but that was an excellent spell of swing bowling and it opened the game." Another POV Gritty Powar denies Saurashtra outright win Posted: Nov 27, 2008 at 0027 hrs IST His defiant knock of 23 off 171 balls helps his team escape with a draw against Saurashtra It is a pity that the Mumbai team, known for setting mammoth scores, has been reduced to a stage where it has to endure the humiliation of follow-on. With their frontline batsmen letting them down for the second successive time against Saurashtra, it was left to the bowlers to do the job of batting the side to safety and avoid an innings defeat. They saw off everything that came their way, lasting 93 overs. Ramesh Powar, who was a disappointment with the ball, however, made himself useful with the bat. A stubborn batting display by Mumbai all-rounder Ramesh Powar denied Saurashtra an outright victory on the final day of the Super League Ranji Trophy match at the Madhavrao Scindia ground on Wednesday. Before Powar came to the crease, the game was going perfectly to script for the hosts. Saurashtra had batted for the first two days and declared their first innings at 643/4. On the third day, they had dismissed Mumbai for 214. Having enforced the follow-on, and with the score reading 89/5 at lunch, Mumbai were in trouble as their high-profile top-order had flopped. Mumbai in their second essay after following on, had a shaky start losing four quick wickets for 45 runs. Wasim Jaffer was the first to go after he was caught behind the wicket off Balkrishna Jadeja. Ajinkya Rahane (4) and Amol Muzumdar (14) too failed to click. Sahil Kukreja was dismissed for 23. However, Hiken Shah (32) and Sairaj Bahutule (35) created some hope of a fightback before Shah got out. Powar then joined Bahutule to frustrate the bowlers. He was unbeaten on 23 after spending 206 minutes at the crease. Mumbai finished at 157 for 7. Several times in his career Powar has helped Mumbai in times of need and Wednesday was no different. Batting for nearly four hours, Powar scored a patient, unbeaten 23 from 171 balls. The batsman who has a reputation of being a big-hitter opted to play the waiting game. Giving him company was another old hand, Sairaj Bahutule, who scored 35 from 121 balls. The two kept their heads down and grind out a point for Mumbai. Speaking about his long stay on the crease Powar said, “When I came in to bat we couldn’t have afforded to lose one more wicket. The only option I had was to keep my head down and spend as much time as possible.” Besides, Powar and Bahutule, Vinayak Samant (11 off 56 balls) and later Usman Malvi (3 not out off 33 balls) also chipped in. Powar stressed that there were quite a few lessons to be learnt. “It was an eye-opener for us. We took the opposition lightly and paid for it.” Courtesy their first innings lead, Saurashtra now are placed second in the Group A with 12 points while Mumbai are the league leaders with 15 points. Link to comment
Sachinism Posted November 30, 2008 Share Posted November 30, 2008 Delhi beat Orissa by 52 runs Very low scoring game even though Delhi top 4 were Chopra, Gambhir, Sehwag, Kohli D Mohanty got 7 wickets in the game But I Sharma picked up 11 in the match (7-24 & 4-27) P Kumar made 98 Link to comment
Sachinism Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 Mumbai vs Hyderabad Jaffer scores 254 as Mumbai put up 602-6 Hyerabad - 251 & 243 Powar got 5 in the 1st innings Kulkarni took 7-50 in 2nd innings, 9 wickets in the match Ravi Teja scored 107 in 2nd innings Link to comment
Dravid Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 BUMPING a post of a wanna be supporter. :finger: A city based team owned your state based team. You really think your city based team could do any better ? :hysterical: brah, favor will be returned nov 29- dec 2, - baroda v maha. ..... bring the lube http://content-www.cricinfo.com/ranjisuperleague2008/engine/current/match/368266.html :hysterical::hysterical::hysterical: :thefinger: :thefinger: pathan brossss:yay: yusuf 100 in 2nd innings Link to comment
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