Ranji Trophy, Super League, 2008-09

[Chandan]

THE QUARTER-FINALS Mumbai v Himachal Pradesh in Ahmedabad, Day 3 Himachal Pradesh 250 and 200 for 5 (Dogra 82*, Sangram 58) trail Mumbai 495 (Jaffer 108, Rohit 98, Agarkar 50) by 45 runs Scorecard Mumbai moves closer to semi-final Himachal Pradesh's Sangram Singh made a half-century but Mumbai are still in command There was no change in the match situation after the third day in Ahmedabad, with Mumbai still in command. Resuming on 405 for 6, Mumbai's last four wickets added 90 runs to consolidate the advantage. Ajit Agarkar went on to his 12th first-class half-century, while 20s from Ramesh Powar and last man Rahil Shaikh boosted the lead to 245. Though HP have only an outside chance for HP to get back in the game, their batsmen, led by Paras Dogra, tried to maintain a brisk pace. Dogra carted 13 fours and a couple of sixes in a 88-ball 82 and was supported by Sangram Singh, HP's leading batsman this season, who made a half-century. Ajit Agarkar who picked up two wickets as well, was delighted with his effort. "I'm happy with the way things have gone. I was getting my rhythm right and it came after a long time. Let's see how things go on the last day," he told the Indian Express. Another POV Mumbai sitting pretty G. Viswanath Dogra remains undefeated on 82 Agarkar bowls well Ahmedabad: Having dominated the rival bowlers for two days, Mumbai rubbed it in by reducing Himachal to 200 for five in the second innings on Sunday as they eye an outright win in their Ranji Trophy quarter-final match here. At stumps on Day Three, Mumbai were leading by 45 runs, having posted a robust 495 in their first innings. Whether they need to pad up again will only be clear on Monday, but they are certain to fly to Chennai to play the semi-final. And the man who ensured Mumbai a no-mishap, smooth passage to the last four was old hand Ajit Agarkar. The all-rounder first slammed his second half-century of the season and, later, took two vital wickets to spell doom on Himachal. With the business end of the premier domestic competition underway, Agarkar took matters in his hands. A semblance of a fightback emerged from the powerful blade of Paras Dogra, but Mumbai virtually sealed the fate of this Ranji Trophy quarterfinal tie against Himachal Pradesh here at the Motera on Sunday. A bold and clean striker, Dogra cut loose in the last session here on Sunday to remain undefeated on 82 (88b, 13x 4s, 2x6s) for the qualifier from the Plate League to bring down the deficit to 45 runs at stumps. Mumbai ought to have removed more than half the Himachal Pradesh side, but the former champion showed a tendency to relax at a number of fielding positions after gaining a lead of 245 runs. Ajit Agarkar sent down the best opening spell of the season and also removed a tenacious opener Bhavin Thakkar edging a good length delivery to wicket-keeper Vinayak Samant in his second over. . Called upon for a second spell, the Mumbai seamer had the determined Sangram Singh, the highest run-getter in the Plate division this year, trapped in front stranded on his backfoot with a speedy yorker-length, forced Dogra (when on 47) to hook only for Vinayak Samant to miss a touch chance. Fine catch Dhawal Kulkarni and Abhishek Nayar created opportunities to cause more damage, but their colleagues dropped three catches in a row. Substitute Iqbal Abdulla raised the standard, converting a fine catch of a flick shot from left-hander Mukesh Sharma. Sangram made the most of the chances, showing fine footwork and good defence. Himachal wiped out nearly half the deficit in quick time with Dogra in particular flexing his muscles against easy offerings from Powar and Bahutule. Then Agarkar steamed in and ended the fourth-wicket stand with a beauty. “I’m happy with the way things have gone. I was getting my rhythm right and it came after a long time. Let’s see how things go on the last day,†said Agarkar after the day’s play. While Agarkar will be keen to add to his tally, there will be one man who will try his best to stall Mumbai’s plans. Paras Dogra, batting on 82, had Sarandeep Singh for company when stumps were drawn. Dogra will now bank on the former India off-spinner to provide resistance against Mumbai’s charge. Dogra happens to be the top-scorer for Himachal in this game, but Mumbai’s sloppy fielding also helped him get this status as he was dropped four times on the day. Earlier, Mumbai added 90 runs to their overnight score of 405 for 6 with the tailenders chipping in with handsome contributions. Agarkar (50) was supported well by Ramesh Powar (28) and Rahil Shaikh (20 not out). Gujarat v Uttar Pradesh in Vadodara, Day 3 Uttar Pradesh 305 and 285 for 8 (Srivastava 67, Parmar 4-93) lead Gujarat 117 by 473 runs Scorecard UP almost shuts Gujarat out of the contest Having secured a massive first-innings lead on the second day, Uttar Pradesh were in no hurry on the third, plodding along at 2.32 runs an over to shut Gujarat out of the match. Their advantage is now an enormous 473 and they still have two wickets remaining, but with Gujarat needing to win outright to progress, there is unlikely to be any declaration forthcoming. Most of UP's batsmen got a start but only opener Tanmay Srivastava went on to a half-century. The pace really slackened after the dismissal of captain Mohammad Kaif (46) with the score on 162. Despite Piyush Chawla's 29-ball 24, only 67 runs came in the next 41 overs, with Parvinder Singh and Bhuvneshwar Kumar crawling to 20s. Wicketkeeper Amir Khan also made slow progress but No. 10 Praveen Gupta was more enterprising, lashing five fours and a six in his 30 - the pair added 56 runs in an unbroken ninth-wicket stand. UP coach Gyanendra Pandey.outlined his strategy for the team on the final day. "We will continue to bat tomorrow and then try to bowl out Gujarat cheaply," he told the Hindu. Another POV U.P. batsmen make merry J.R. Shridharan VADODARA: Uttar Pradesh finished the penultimate day’s proceedings on a resounding note, notching up 289 for eight against Gujarat in the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal at Motibaug Stadium here on Sunday. U.P. is ahead by 477 runs. Parmar’s toil bears fruit On a day, when the U.P. batsmen made merry, Gujarat bowlers toiled hard, but in vain. The only significant performance was by the 21-year-old off-spinner Mohnish Parmar, who bowled unchanged for 28 overs and claimed four for 93. On a slow wicket, which offered not much spin it was a hard day’s outing for both Parmar and leggie Timil Patel. Resuming at 76 for one, Suresh Raina added just two runs before he fell victim to Parmar. Tanmay Srivastava (67, 202m, 149b, 4x4) played a patient knock but a doosra from Parmar saw the end of his gritty innings. Mohd. Kaif (46), who had a miserable outing in the first innings, stayed put in the middle for 119 minutes, before Parmar had him trapped in front. After lunch, Parmar unleashed yet another doosra flummoxing Parvinder Singh. Keen to wrap up the U.P. innings, Gujarat skipper Parthiv Patel took the new ball immediately after tea, but the medium pacers failed to accomplish the task. Amir Khan and Praveen Kumar went hammer and tongs at the bowlers. Praveen Kumar slammed five fours and a six in his unbeaten 30. He smacked 14 runs in one Parmar over that included a huge six over mid-wicket. “We will continue to bat tomorrow and then try to bowl out Gujarat cheaply,†said U.P. coach Gyanander Pandey. Karnataka v Saurashtra in Mumbai, Day 3 Saurashtra 189 and 10 for 2 (Vinay 2-1) need another 315 runs to beat Karnataka 305 and 208 (Akhil 56, Dravid 52, Jobanputra 5-54, R Jadeja 4-58) Scorecard Saurashtra fight but Karnataka firmly in command Saurashtra did well to keep Karnataka to 208 in their second innings, but Vinay Kumar's double-strike at the *** end of the day leaves them with a daunting chase on a fourth-day pitch at the Brabourne Stadium. After their first innings folded ten minutes into the day for 189 - giving Karnataka a lead of 116 - Saurashtra came back to dominate proceedings for most of a day on which 13 wickets fell. Left-arm medium-pacer Sandeep Jobanputra picked his first five-for of the season, supported by first-innings hero Ravindra Jadeja, to keep the opposition in check. Sandeep Jobanputra took five wickets to lead Saurashtra's fightback Jobanputra, who bowled only eight overs in the previous innings after suffering a minor finger injury, quickly swung the momentum Saurashtra's way by removing Karnataka's openers cheaply. A bottom edge from KB Pawan was picked up nicely behind the stumps, and a few overs later Jobanputra delivered the biggest blow when he uprooted Robin Uthappa's leg stump. Uthappa, who top-scored with 139 in the first innings, read the leg-stump line and moved towards off in an attempt to deflect the ball to the on side. Pressure was now on Rahul Dravid, who had looked unconvincing during his 26 in the first innings. But he took off smoothly without any hiccups second time around. An early straight drive off Jobanputra hit the stumps at the non-striker's end, but Dravid got it right when he repeated the stroke, placing it to the right of Jayesh Odedra. Another boundary was conceded a couple of balls later when a Dravid back-foot punch beat the man at cover. Thirty runs came in less than seven overs, but the third-wicket stand was broken when CM Gautam paid for complacency. Having charged Odedra, Gautam tried to slash hard a ball too close to his body but the thick outside edge was picked well by the Shitanshu Kotak, standing at widish first-slip. C Raghu, having begun edgily, started timing the ball better post lunch. He deftly opened the face of the bat against Jadeja's left-arm spin, beating the slip cordon for a couple of fours. Dravid leaned back to strike another four off Kamlesh Makvana, who was easily Saurashtra's worst bowler - he was unsuccessful in the first innings as well. The move to replace him with Jadeja worked instantly as he separated the Dravid-Raghu pairing of 68, the day's most productive. Bowling for the first time from the Club House end, Jadeja got lucky when Raghu spooned a simple catch to first slip. Thilak Naidu then disappointed with the bat for the second time in the game, lobbing an equally simple catch to cover. Karnataka's players might have been on the edge of their seats in the dressing room, but the presence of Dravid, who had nudged his way to a half-century with a push past midwicket, would have been reassuring. However, he betrayed those hopes when miscuing an attempted pull from Jobanputra, the leading edge going straight to mid-off. Throughout his three spells in the day, Jobanputra suffocated batsmen by consistently pitching short of a length and moving the ball away, rarely granting any room. His strategy worked and he was only frustrated towards the end by stodgy resistance from B Akhil and Vinay, who used the long handle to stretch the lead. Most of Akhil's runs came off the sweep though he got a reprieve when Balkrishna Jadeaja dropped him at long leg, off Makwana, when he was on 33. When Jobanputra returned to replace Jadeja, Akhil pulled him through midwicket and followed it with a glide for another four to move closer to fifty. He duly got it with a single. But trying to hit a fuller one from Jobanputra, he was caught behind; by then Karnataka had regained the control of the game. Set 325 to win, Saurashtra had a forgettable start, losing an opener and a night-watchman in the first over of the chase. Vinay, who had already ruffled Saurashtra on Saturday with his swing, was once again successful in moving the ball at good pace and an erroneous decision by the umpire helped him get the initial breakthrough. On the third ball, Chirag Pathak tried to poke at a straighter delivery and missed. The bat had hit the pads on the downswing and umpire Suresh Shastri gave in to the vociferous appeals. There was nothing wrong with the decision of Makwana, who was caught behind off the over's final ball. Another POV Karnataka has the edge Nandakumar Marar GOOD KNOCK: B. Akhil propped up Karnataka’s lead with a half-century.. MUMBAI: Rahul Dravid’s dismissal off the third ball in the 55th over of Karnataka’s second innings may have a significant consequence in the context of their Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Saurashtra. But it is unlikely that ‘Dravid c Pujara b Jobanputra 52’ will have too much of an impact on the lives of either ‘Jammy’ or ‘Jolly’. The stakes will neither rise nor fall for Sandeep Jobanputra with this dismissal, and he seems destined for a long haul at the domestic level. Nor will it have any influence on the national selectors with regards to Dravid when they sit to decide the Indian team for the tour for New Zealand early next year. And while, in all likelihood, the former Indian captain will travel to Chennai for the semi-final and subsequently to New Zealand, the 27-year-old Jobanputra will return home to his second-hand car and Grade IV job with the Railways. The left-arm opening bowler snared five for 54 with an inspired bowling performance, which included the scalp of opposition captain and first-innings centurion Robin Uthappa. B. Akhil led the charge with a free-stroking 56 off 127 balls and Rahul Dravid’s survival skills were put to the test in a careful compilation of 52 off 116 balls on an exciting third day’s play in the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal knockout game at the Brabourne stadium. Karnataka had wrested the first-innings lead worth 116 runs by bowling out Saurashtra for 189 earlier, then found the two batsmen willing to take up the challenge in the second innings on a lively wicket, resulting in 208 on the board. The match moves into the fourth day with Saurashtra, chasing 324 to win outright, lost two wickets for 10 at close. Run-making is not easy on the track offering help for pace and spin. Saurashtra bowlers turned the heat in an all-out effort after having lost the race for first innings lead early on day three. Left-arm fast bowler Sandeep Jobanputra’s early blows and left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja’s knack of teasing the batsmen with turn meant batting continued to be hazardous. Sensible play Robin Uthappa’s early exit, walking across to tackle Jobanputra and finding his leg stumps uprooted, meant the responsibility was on Dravid to guide his team to a fighting total. The India batsman displayed decisive footwork and excellent judgement of line from the outset against swing bowlers. C. Raghu grew in confidence as the two put on 68 runs for the fourth wicket. With wickets falling at the other end, Dravid opted for sensible play against Jobanputra and Jadeja. A mistimed pull against Jobanputra ended his knock, thrusting Akhil into the spotlight against a charged-up Saurashtra.The in-form Karnataka number seven went on to play a delightful knock, smashing seven effortless boundaries in 199 balls before becoming one of five Jobanputra victims. Jadeja chipped in with four strikes for a match haul of nine wickets. Saurashtra will look up to this talented and hard-hitting all-rounder to lend his might with the bat on the final day. Jobanputra said Dravid was the biggest scalp of his first-class career so far, and struggled to recollect anyone else even close to that league. And the only name he could think of was that of former Baroda batsman Jacob Martin’s whom he’d dismissed on his first-class debut. He revealed that he was rather fortunate to pick up the wicket, as it came off a bouncer, which didn’t come off. “But somehow it worked in my favour as he failed to control his pull. If I would have gotten it right, maybe the ball would have flown over the ropes,†he said, adding that Sunil Joshi’s wicket, which came three balls later, was more pleasing, especially in the context of the game. Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja narrowly missed a ten-wicket match haul, but picked up crucial wickets in the middle, ending with 4-58, to add to his 5-82 in the first innings. Jobanputra admitted that the prospect of Saurashtra chasing down the remaining 315 runs was a tall order. “Kotak will have to play one of his famous dogged innings and hold up one end, while the other attacking batsmen go for the runs,†he said. Tamil Nadu v Bengal in Bangalore, Day 3 Bengal 345 and 134 for 4 (Shukla 43*, Tiwary 42) lead Tamil Nadu 306 (SS Kumar 75, Balaji 47, Mukund 47, Karthik 46) by 173 runs Scorecard Timely Tiwary keeps Bengal ahead Bengal put in a big-hearted performance in the field in the first session to secure a crucial first-innings lead in their quarter-final against Tamil Nadu at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Tamil Nadu came back strongly with quick, early wickets, but Bengal - with their openers absent ill - batted long enough to make sure they didn't squander the advantage completely. Manoj Tiwary starred with both ball and bat to firm Bengal's grip on the match Manoj Tiwary provided the inspirational breakthrough with the ball and the Tamil Nadu batsmen also obliged the fielders by playing foolishly. They were left with half an hour less than five sessions to try and reverse the result, but Tiwary and Laxmi Shukla kept their bowlers at bay. Tiwary fell to a sweep off R Ashwin, but Shukla stayed unbeaten at stumps. All the crucial action, though, was concentrated in the first session, which started with a foolish run-out of Ashwin. Tamil Nadu started the day 157 short, with five wickets in hand, and Ashwin hit a boundary to midwicket to kickstart their pursuit. In the same over though, he flicked one towards midwicket and chose to run the third on the throw. The return came in accurately, first-bounce and right over the stumps, Ashwin proving he was not the fastest runner going around. A streaky partnership between Suresh Kumar, 40 overnight, and C Ganapathy followed. Unlike the previous batsmen, they didn't let the scoring stagnate for long periods. The partnership did feature a few edged boundaries: three went either wide of slip or past gully. Interspersed with well-timed shots, the stand started taking Tamil Nadu close. The pace bowlers had tired by then, and the new ball was seven overs away. That was a crucial period of play when Tiwary and Ritam Kundu, the off-break bowler, bowled together. Tiwary produced the magic delivery to break the partnership, sneaking in a topspinner after having ripped a couple of legbreaks. Suresh got a faint inside edge onto the pad, which flew to slip. He scored 75, yet again missing the elusive maiden century and after a 64-run partnership, Tamil Nadu were still 87 short. The next eight minutes featured extreme panic. Ganapathy stepped out to defend a delivery from Kundu and missed the straighter one, to be stumped by miles. In the next over, L Balaji hit one delivery towards mid-on and Tiwary - trying to field it - ran into non-striker C Suresh, appearing to push him. Tthe batsmen still went for the single, Ashok Dinda hit the middle stump at the striker's end, and Tamil Nadu had lost three wickets at the same score. It felt as if Tamil Nadu allowed Bengal's hustle in the field to push them around. Balaji proceeded to deal a few hefty blows, which - incredibly - spread the field, and batted throughout with boundary riders. He got good support from P Amarnath, who blocked one end, getting his first run off the 32nd ball he faced. Balaji had scored 41 by then. But whatever Balaji did score came from high-risk shots, and he finally perished, holing out to Shukla, who took a good catch running backwards. Of Tamil Nadu's 306, 210 runs came in boundaries and sixes; in physically running 86 they sacrificed three batsmen. The running, or the lack of it, might yet hurt them badly. Balaji's extended resistance had some hidden benefit as well: Rohan Bannerjee, Bengal's opener, fell ill during the extra time spent on the field and during lunch threw up and was unavailable to open. The other opener, Arindam Das, already had a bad stomach, and Bengal had to promote Wriddhiman Saha and Avik Chowdhury. Therein lay Tamil Nadu's only chance. Ganapathy got Chowdhury with a bouncer even before Bengal had scored a run, which brought in a determined Tiwary. Balaji produced a good over to Saha, beating him twice, before finally getting an edge. Tiwary and Shukla batted aggressively, rather than play for time. Tiwary's pace was pushing the lead out of reach when he played one sweep too many, and top-edged Ashwin to short fine leg. Dibyendu Chakrabarty too fell to the sweep, although replays showed the ball had struck him just outside off. Tamil Nadu got one more chance half an hour before stumps, when Kundu pulled Ashwin straight to Amarnath at fine leg, but the fielder failed to sight the ball because of the sun. Kundu had scored four then, and Bengal were only 153 ahead. Shukla took the responsibility, not getting bogged down either, ending the day at 43 and buying some time for the openers to recover. When they got Balaji's wicket half an hour after lunch, Bengal fielders celebrated mildly. But by stumps they had by no means put it across Tamil Nadu. Either which way the match goes tomorrow big celebrations are expected Another POV Bengal puts TN on the backfoot K.C. Vijaya Kumar Bengal take the lead, TN hang on Balaji helps Tamil Nadu score 306 in its first innings CRUCIAL STRIKE: Bengal wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha celebrates after stumping Tamil Nadu’s C. Ganapathy. Bangalore: The Ranji Trophy Super League quarter-final between Bengal and Tamil Nadu was heading towards an exciting finish as both the teams were locked in an interesting bat and ball contest. Bengal have got an overall lead of 173 runs with six wickets remaining as they got a 39-run lead after Tamil Nadu’s first innings folded for 306 on the penultimate day of the four-day match. Tamil Nadu battled hard though Bengal had a marginal advantage in the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal at the Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Sunday. At close on the third day, Bengal was 134 for four in its second innings and has an overall lead of 173 after L. Balaji’s 47 (79b, 5x4, 2x6) helped Tamil Nadu score 306 in its first innings. Resuming at 188 for five, Tamil Nadu lost R. Ashwin, who failed to beat Ritam Kundu’s throw. Suresh Kumar (75, 130b, 11x4, 1x6) and C. Ganapathy (29) then shared a 64-run seventh-wicket partnership before three wickets fell in succession. Suresh Kumar succumbed to Manoj Tiwary though there were doubts about whether the ‘snick’ had ballooned off the pad. Immediately, Ganapathy got stumped and C. Suresh became Tamil Nadu’s third run-out victim. At 258 for nine, Balaji struck the loose deliveries and shielded Palani Amarnath while Bengal skipper L.R. Shukla claimed the new ball but set defensive fields as the last-wicket pair put on 48 runs. However in the post-lunch session, Balaji fell with a hoick and Bengal grabbed a 39-run lead. Bad start The Bengal second innings suffered a false start as regular openers Rohan Banerjee and Arindam Das were indisposed and Ganapathy startled Avik Chowdhury with a bouncer but Saha and Tiwary (42) slammed sixes off R. Ashwin before Tamil Nadu briefly came back. Balaji drew a snick from Saha while Ashwin scalped Tiwary and Dibyendu Chakrabarty. At close, Shukla’s unbeaten 43 and Palani Amarnath’s fumble while attempting to catch Kundu, lent hope to Bengal though the script might change if the Tamil Nadu bowlers can trigger a collapse on Monday morning.

[Feed]

'Ball please' 'Ball please' is not the most referred to phrase in cricket, but is being heard often in Ranji Trophy games these days, reports Atreyo Mukhopadhyay. More... New balls, please... Atreyo Mukhopadhyay, Hindustan Times Bangalore, December 28, 2008 First Published: 22:59 IST(28/12/2008) Last Updated: 23:02 IST(28/12/2008) 'Ball please' is not the most referred to phrase in cricket, but is being heard often in Ranji Trophy games these days. With the quarter-finals on, it has become a chorus and the call is being made in different tunes of frequency across the four venues hosting these games. The ball being shown to the umpires and them signalling for a fresh one is a common sight. Although the occurrence is not unusual, its regularity is. The question is whether all's well with the SG Test balls used in first-class and national-level matches in India? The Bengal-Tamil Nadu match in Bangalore has seen this 12 times in three days, even in the third and sixth overs of an innings. This count is nine in Ahmedabad, five in Vadodara and four in Mumbai. The point is, this is not new. The HT Correspondent following the UP team this season is witness to about 50 such incidents and also heard a match official of saying that the use of fake balls is rampant. The BCCI says it's up to the manufacturers to ensure quality, ruling out exploring other options. A match referee in one of the games featuring Uttar Pradesh said the original balls supplied by the BCCI are not used. He said in some places, association officials make a profit by selling the SG Test balls and provide cheaper, poor quality balls. “SG provides the best quality cricket balls in the country. The frequent changing of balls has come to our notice and we have told the manufacturers about this. Let the associations write to us and we shall look into it," said a BCCI official not willing to be quoted. Officials of SG could not be contacted. It must be noted that the demand for balls is exceedingly high and the difference in India and some other countries is here these are handmade. The Kookaburra for instance, is machine made. Also, the huge quantity means it's that much tougher to ensure the best of quality control. In Vadodara, local officials felt this was happening because the balls were "dry" and appeared outdated. "We can't blame the ground or pitch as it is happening in all matches. I find it mysterious," said a Baroda Cricket Association official. In Ahmedabad, a Himachal Pradesh player was surprised: "This is the first match this season that we are facing this problem. The stock of balls is of poor quality. Even after hitting the edge of the bat hard, it is getting disfigured." In Bangalore as TV commentator, former Delhi and India medium-pacer Vivek Razdan was surprised too. “It's unusual to see it being replaced so many times.” He felt it can be difficult for the bowling side, which tries to maintain a ball by keeping the shine on one side. “The new ball may not have the same kind of shine on one side." The BCCI is trying to improve the standard of domestic cricket by offering better pay for players and making it more visible by making provisions for live coverage. This is one aspect it might pay attention to because it concerns a very basic condition of proper play.

[Guest Hiten.]

Sarkar put everything in all of his deliveries and yet manages a speed of 120 kmph :giggle:. The ball carries towards the keeper on a second bounce

[Shane]

Score updates ne1 ???

[Chandan]

Current score: Bengal 345 & 187 Tamil Nadu 306 & 83/0 (18.0 ov Day 4, Lunch time score: Karnataka 305 & 208 Saurashtra 189 & 124/3 (38.0 ov): Pujara :54*, Kotak 58* Himachal Pradesh 250 & 287 Mumbai 495 & 43/1 (13.4 ov): Mumbai wins by 9 wickets Uttar Pradesh 305 & 375 Gujarat 117 & 3/1 (5.0 ov)

[Chandan]

Now Mumbai- HP match is over in the 1st session of the final day. What'd have the selectors seen?

[Guest Hiten.]

WOW @ Balaji's wickets.

[Rajan]

End of over 22 (3 runs) - Tamil Nadu 97/1 (130 runs required) M Vijay 57* (74b 9x4 1x6) S Badrinath 9* (7b 2x4) A Mukund b Sarkar 31 (0m 51b 6x4 0x6) SR: 60.78 Fow: 84/1 (18.5 ov); Partnership: 84 runs, 18.5 overs, RR: 4.46

[Guest Hiten.]

Shukla: "Ek ghante mein baarish aane waali hain". Captain of Bengal tigers. Quite a shame.

[Guest Hiten.]

RDB is quite a bulky fella and still manages to bowl at mid 120's. WTF ?

[Shane]

Shukla: "Ek ghante mein baarish aane waali hain". Captain of Bengal tigers. Quite a shame.

Dadi pupil !!! :winky:

[Guest Hiten.]

TN vs Bengal a quite pathetic piece of cricket I was watching for a 'big' match' (atleast the TN run chase). Bengal have no bowlers who can clock 130+ on consistent basis and I have not seen much of their spinner. I quit watching the pathetic souls fighting for a semi-final berth.

[Rajan]

122-2, Vijay out-73 Bose to Vijay, OUT, gone! Vijay goes! full outside off with a hint of away movement, Vijay is tempted to play an expansive drive, gets a thick outside edge and Tiwary, standing at a widish first slip, makes no mistake holding on to a sharp chance. Can Bengal trigger a collapse here? M Vijay c Tiwary b Bose 73 (0m 87b 12x4 1x6) SR: 83.90 Badri 17 off 16 balls and Dinesh karthik in.

[Rajan]

sun is shining as brightly as it ever was today. quite sunny. dont think there will be any rain today.

[Guest Hiten.]

122-2, Vijay out-73 Bose to Vijay, OUT, gone! Vijay goes! full outside off with a hint of away movement, Vijay is tempted to play an expansive drive, gets a thick outside edge and Tiwary, standing at a widish first slip, makes no mistake holding on to a sharp chance. Can Bengal trigger a collapse here? M Vijay c Tiwary b Bose 73 (0m 87b 12x4 1x6) SR: 83.90 Badri 17 off 16 balls and Dinesh karthik in.

do you want a link ? I would recommend not to watch. boring piece of sh it, i tell you

[zubinpepsi]

do you want a link ? I would recommend not to watch. boring piece of sh it' date=' i tell you[/quote'] B_B, can u pass me one? jus wanna see how it is...

[Rajan]

100 to win-40 overs. TN shud win this one.

[Rajan]

93 needed in 38 overs. Badri in good nick.

[msb1991]

Just caught a few overs of Bose's bowling and it is obvious that he could bowl quicker if he so wished. However, he visibly restricts his own pace by not swinging either the bowling arm or the non bowling arm through completely. This is a biomechanical nightmare but could practically increase his accuracy and seam position greatly. What he needs to understand though is that 130kph is the minimum pace for a international fast bowler.

[zubinpepsi]

was jus catchin up TN innings.. Vijay looked really a class batsman..