Ranji Trophy, Super League, 2008-09

[Online]

I'd pay to watch Delhi vs Mumbai. Should be a good one.

pitega saala :yay:

[Mr. Wicket]

I'd pay to watch Delhi vs Mumbai. Should be a good one.

Yup. If any of Rahane, Jaffer, Amol, Dhawan or Manhas really got going, we'd be in for a world class display of batsmanship.

[vadodaravictor]

Yeah, Mumbai Vs Delhi will be awesome. But I still fail to understand why Gujarat cannot come up with a good team while small cities like Baroda have decent teams. Ahmedabad has lot of money & power to put resources into cricket team. Yet I see very few good players from Gujarat Ranji team.

[Dravid]

Yeah, Mumbai Vs Delhi will be awesome. But I still fail to understand why Gujarat cannot come up with a good team while small cities like Baroda have decent teams. Ahmedabad has lot of money & power to put resources into cricket team. Yet I see very few good players from Gujarat Ranji team.

half of guj. pop. is in places like kenya, uk, usa, canada... so, we is getting screwed :hysterical: damn you parents :P

[f.b.m]

Please stop defending Parmar's action. Any info on this Rahane kid? He was in one of the A games against Aus.

[Chandan]

ROUND TWO , DAY 3 Karnataka v Tamil Nadu, Ranji Trophy Super League at Bangalore, 3rd day Spinners leave Karnataka in trouble The Bulletin by Sidharth Monga November 12, 2008 Karnataka 267 (Raghu 76, Suresh 4-58, Balaji 3-46, Ashwin 3-63) and 48 for 0 trail Tamil Nadu 531 by 216 runs Scorecard Getting wickets was hard work on the slow Chinnaswamy turner but Tamil Nadu did just that to come within one good bowling day of taking six points from their Group B match against Karnataka. Led by the persistence of their left-arm spinner, C Suresh, they inflicted a follow-on on Karnataka, who need 216 more to make Tamil Nadu bat, and all but ensured a minimum of three points. C Raghu, Ganesh Satish and Thilak Naidu provided some resistance in the middle order but didn't threaten Tamil Nadu's dominance. The game never looked in danger of slipping out of the visitors' grasp, which owed in part to the accurate bowling by their spinners - Suresh and R Ashwin - who kept one end tied up and forced the batsmen go for extravagant strokes. Robin Uthappa was out first ball in Karnataka's first innings Karnataka batting's misery, which began with captain Robin Uthappa's inability to open on Tuesday - he was hospitalised with a viral fever - reached its height with his golden duck. A visibly weak Uthappa came in to bat at No. 7 today but was given out lbw first ball to Ashwin, a decision he was clearly not amused by - the ball had been angled into his pads and Uthappa pulled out of the shot. By the time he came in, though, Karnataka were already scrapping for one point - at 227 for 5, still 304 behind Tamil Nadu and needing 155 to avoid the follow-on. The day began with KB Pawan unable to carry on the solid, if slow, start he had made on Tuesday. In the fifth over, after scoring 25 in almost two-and-a-half hours, he tried to pull a wide bouncer from L Balaji and top-edged it to the wicketkeeper. Balaji started to get the old ball to hold its line, something he couldn't managed with the new one, and repeatedly troubled new batsman C Raghu. Satish looked more comfortable, and countered by hitting Balaji for two boundaries in over, which resulted in a bowling change. Raghu soon grew in confidence and threatened, with Satish, to put up fight. The problem with their partnership, which lasted 25 overs, was that the runs didn't flow, the strike didn't rotate, and Satish paid the ultimate price. Suresh, taking over from Balaji, who had given away 26 runs in ten overs, got Satish to play in front of his body, and edge the ball to S Badrinath. Satish, playing his second game, fell six short of getting a maiden fifty. Minutes before lunch, Balaji struck again to get another rookie, Manish Pandey. He'd started with a boundary first ball, but was suspect to Balaji's away movement. Dinesh Karthik dropped him when he was on 4, but Balaji got him with a slower legcutter in his next over. Thilak Naidu, the aggressive wicketkeeper-batsman, came out swinging, and heralded the only period in the innings when scoring didn't stagnate. He started with a flicked boundary first ball, and late-cut Satish with finesse for two boundaries. When Naidu came in to bat, Raghu had already scored 43, but by the time Naidu reached 40, he had only 60. Once Naidu fell lbw to Ashwin, the floodgates opened. Uthappa fell next ball, Sunil Raju holed out to mid-on, and three wickets had fallen at the same score in the space of 4.3 overs. Raghu, who kept his end up, ran out of company, and despite a 35-run partnership with Vinay Kumar, Karnataka fell well short of avoiding the follow-on. Raghu got to his 11th half-century, and was the ninth man out. The four-wicket haul was a fair reward for Suresh, who bowled 27 relentless overs for 58. That his fourth wicket came in the 100th over put paid to the chances of getting a second five-for in a row - he had taken five in the first innings against Maharashtra too. In Indian domestic cricket, there is a rule to mandatorily take the new ball after 100 overs, and Balaji finished off the innings by trapping Sunil Joshi lbw in the first over with the new ball. Karnataka had a tricky 14-over period to negotiate before stumps, which they did without incident. They were helped by frequent bowling changes from Tamil Nadu, who opened with Raghu's offspin, and tried five bowlers before stumps. ** How they were out Pawan: pulled a wide bouncer, and managed a top-edge only; the ball stayed in the air for ages before settling in Karthik's gloves Satish: played forward to one from Suresh, which turned and took a thin edge to slip Pandey: was flummoxed by a slower leg-cutter from Balaji, and given out lbw Naidu: padded up to Ashwin, and was given lbw Uthappa: pulled out of a shot, seeing the ball angled down leg, and was given lbw again. Was not happy with the decision Raju: tried to break the shackes and hit Ashwin in the air, but could not clear mid-on Vinay Kumar: lobbed an easy catch to Balaji at midwicket Raghu: looked to cut Suresh, but the ball was too full, and took the edge to slip Joshi: missed a straight delivery, and given out lbw to Balaji Punjab v Rajasthan, Ranji Trophy Super League at Mohali, 3rd day Punjab 232 (Sohal 106, Gajendra Singh 4-67) and 41 for 1 beat Rajasthan 133 (Gagandeep 4-37, Gony 4-39) and 169 (Saxena 83, Kakkar 3-30, Charanjit 3-38) by nine wickets Scorecard Vineet Saxena's 83 failed to avoid a defeat for Rajasthan Vineet Saxena battled hard for his 83, but Punjab wrapped up victory within 57 overs on the third day in Mohali. The disappointment for the hosts would losing a wicket in their fourth innings. An innings or ten-wicket win would have given them six points; instead, they have to settle for five. Beginning the day on 57 for 6, Saxena and Sumit Mathur took their team to 112. Mathur scored 31 off 77 balls, and Pankaj Singh gave Saxena company as they ensured Punjab had to bat again. Saxena's was the penultimate wicket in the innings; he played almost half of the 72.1 overs. Chasing 41, the in-form Sunny Sohal was dismissed early, out to Venugopal Rao as Rajasthan tried six bowlers for 13.3 overs. Another POV Punjab register first win of the season PUNJAB COMPLETED the formalities of their first outright win of this season, defeating Rajasthan by nine wickets at the PCA Stadium on Wednesday. The visitors though fought back through the valiant efforts of Vineet Saxena and Sumit Mathur, they had already lost a wicket too many on Tuesday . Rajasthan’s innings folded up for 169. Saxena made a fighting 83, sharing a vital 72-run stand for the seventh wicket with Mathur to bring some respectability to the total, but in the end, it was all in vain as the visitors had already lost the plot to some accurate bowling from Punjab pacers. Sarabjit Ladda removed Mathur, snapped up by Dharmani at first slip, to end the partnership and also any hope of a miracle. With the scoreboard reading 112-7, the tailenders then combined to help their team score 169 runs and setting Punjab a 40-run target for victory The visitors also got some re . prieves as Punjab fielders failed to hold on to the catches. Punjab completed the formalities with Ravneet Ricky and Ravi Inder Singh remaining unbeaten on 18 and 9, respectively . Mumbai vs Gujarat, Ranji Trophy Super League at Surat, 3rd day Mumbai surge to the top Cricinfo staff November 12, 2008 Mumbai 486 (Jaffer 172, Rahane 104, Muzumdar 61, Parmar 6-143, Makda 3-59) beat Gujarat 203 (Makda 73, Kulkarni 4-70) and 44 (Kulkarni 3-7, Agarkar 3-15, Powar 3-19) by an innings and 239 runs Scorecard After a disappointing 2007-08 Ranji Trophy, Mumbai have bounced back strongly this season, starting with back-to-back wins. Rajasthan were beaten by 237 runs at home, and in Surat, hosts Gujarat, riding on the high of an innings win over Saurashtra, were at the receiving end of an innings-and-239-run defeat. On 77 for 6 in reply to Mumbai's 486, Gujarat lost their overnight batsmen for another 24 runs. However, a 100-run partnership boosted their chances of pushing for a draw. Ashraf Makda made a quick 73, with five fours and four sixes, and Amit Singh held the other end up during his 41. Mumbai eventually wrapped up the innings for 203, and enforced the follow-on after gaining a 283-run lead. The frustrating stand, though, seemed to have buoyed the Mumbai bowlers. In Gujarat's second innings, they didn't let any of the batsmen, barring Singh, reach double figures. Gujarat were skittled out for an embarrassing 44, with Ajit Agarkar, Dhawal Kulkarni and Ramesh Powar taking three wickets, and one for Usman Malvi. Gujarat's 44 was just one run more than their lowest total in the Ranji Trophy, 43 against Bombay in 1958-59. Orissa 302 (SS Das 76, Sehgal 64*, Biswal 62, Jobanputra 4-56, Makvana 4-142) and 4 for 0 trail Saurashtra 620 for 4 by 314 runs Scorecard In 87.4 overs on the third day in Rajkot, Saurashtra managed to take ten Orissa wickets for 257 runs, and a repeat performance on the final day will earn them the full six points from the match. Medium-pacer Sandeep Jobanputra and offspinner Kamlesh Makvana did the damage, picking up four wickets apiece. Resuming on 45 for 0, Orissa's openers pushed to 67 before Bikas Pati was caught behind off Jobanputra. All four wickets for Jobanputra were catches to wicketkeeper Sagar Jogiyani, who took five in the innings. Shiv Sunder Das, the Orissa captain, top scored with 76 and there were half-centuries for Subit Biswal and Saurabh Sehgal, but the visitors needed much bigger scores to get close to Saurashtra's 602. Jobanputra reduced them to 180 for 5 to wreck of hopes of avoiding the follow-on, and Kamlesh Makvana, who bowled 37.4 overs out 101.4 in the innings, then got four wickets to dismiss Orissa for 302. No. 9 Saurabh Sehgal made an unbeaten 64, putting on 61 for the ninth wicket with Preetamjit Das, but he fell short of partners. Orissa safely played out the one over in their second innings before stumps. Other POV Gujarat crumble to Mumbai might, fall to 239-run loss Bharat Sundaresan Posted: Nov 13, 2008 at 0125 hrs IST Surat, november 12 : Gujarat collapsed to a humbling innings and 239-run loss to Mumbai on the third day of the Super Ranji League encounter here on Wednesday. Following on, the hosts were bundled out for a mere 44 runs in 23.3 overs in less than a session, and narrowly escaped their lowest score in Ranji Trophy history — 43 against Bombay in 1954. Dhawal Kulkarni and Ajit Agarkar rocked the Gujarat top order, sharing three wickets each, and off-spinner Ramesh Powar polished off the tail with a three-wicket haul. The day though, had started on a positive note for Gujarat, as their tail, led by left-hander Ashraf Makda, kept the Mumbai bowlers at bay and also added crucial runs to their team’s first-innings tally after they lost Mohnish Parmar in just the second over, caught at slip off Sairaj Bahutule at the team’s overnight score of 77. Makda started off aggressively, taking the attack straight to the bowlers, and was later helped by fast bowler Amit Singh’s knock after the fall of the other overnight batsman, Bhavin Thakkar. Only opposition Kulkarni was welcomed to the attack with a huge straight six. Makda then swung Bahutule over the square-leg fence for another six to reach his half-century. Singh also looked comfortable at the crease and hit a few elegant boundaries through the off-side off Powar. The pair brought up their 100 partnership just before lunch, but Usman Malvi went through Singh’s defences in the next over. Wicketkeeper Vinayak Samant then engineered a smart stumping to end Makda’s resistance, and Gujarat were bowled out for 203 in the first innings. Their second innings started on a disastrous note as well, as opener Nilesh Modi fell leg-before on the first ball of Kulkarni’s spell. Captain Parthiv Patel then swished at a Kulkarni delivery outside off-stump and was caught easily by Ajinkya Rahane at gully. A procession of wickets followed, as none of the Gujarat batsmen seemed too intent to spend time at the crease, and Kulkarni and Agarkar ripped through their batting order. Mumbai have 11 points from two games, after gaining a bonus point at Surat, and move onto Delhi with an extremely confident mindset. Uttar Pradesh vs Baroda, Ranji Trophy Super League at Vadodara, 3rd day Baroda 235 and 239 for 4 (Parab 67, Solanki 60*) lead Uttar Pradesh 286 (Srivastava 79, Kaif 51, Praveen 50, IK Pathan 6-85) lead by 188 runs Scorecard It could be an interesting final day's play in Vadodara. Uttar Pradesh had a 51-run first-innings lead, but Baroda ended with 239 for 4 in the second innings, and could make the contest keen by challenging UP to chase a competitive total. Satyajit Parab and Azharuddin Bilakhia shared a 100-run stand, but fell quickly to the spinners. Left-arm spinner Praveen Gupta got his second by removing Pinal Shah for 31, but Rakesh Solanki's unbeaten 60, supported by Shatrunjay Gaekwad's 28, took them to 239. Another POV Baroda cash in on injury-hit UP Sharad Deep Vadodara SPARKLING HALF-CENTURIES by Rakesh Solanki and Satyajit Parab helped Baroda fight back against injury-hit Ut- tar Pradesh on the penultimate day of their four-day Ranji Tro- phy Group ‘B’ Super League match. UP skipper Mohammed Kaif could not be part of the day’s proceedings due to an upset stomach, while allrounder Praveen Kumar broke his left ankle while trying to stop the ball in follow-through. Ravikant Shukla led the team in Kaif ’s absence. In a bid to put pressure on the visitors by posting a challenging second innings total, Baroda batsmen were quick in making runs. Opener Satyajit Parab smashed 11 boundaries in his knock of 67. Later, Solanki too, troubled UP with a fascinating unbeaten 60. With an overall lead of 188, Baroda were 239-4 at stumps with Parab and Gaekwad at the crease. Though UP bowlers had a good start, with Bhuvaneshwar Kumar giving a break through, further success was at a premium. Baroda’s ‘Mr Dependable’, Parab, and Azhar Bilakhia then went on to stitch together a 100-run partnership for the second wicket. The absence of key UP bowlers — Praveen Kumar and Sudeep Tyagi (who remained out of action for a long time due to an injury suffered while batting) — made a huge difference as Baroda batsmen continued to dominate UP. 188 the number of runs Baroda lead UP 100 the number of runs Baroda’s second wicket added Earlier, UP’s first innings folded up for 286, with a lead of 51 runs. Overnight batsman Praveen Kumar continued with his hard-hitting ways, complet ing his maiden half-century of the season. Hyderabad vs Delhi, Ranji Trophy Super League at Hyderabad, 3rd day Hyderabad 334 and 31 for 0 lead Delhi 284 (Bisht 78, Chopra 51, Ashwin 6-52) by 81 runs Scorecard Medium-pacer Ashwin Yadav's six-wicket haul helped Hyderabad gain the first-innings lead against reigning champions Delhi, who slipped to 284 all out from 124 for 3. Puneet Bisht's 78 at No. 7 was the best for the visitors, after Mithun Manhas, Aditya Jain and Rajat Bhatia failed. He put on 81 for the eighth wicket with Chetanya Nanda, who scored 20. At 271 for 7, Delhi were 64 short of taking the leading, but Yadav snuffed out any hopes by removing Bisht and Nanda. He finished with 6 for 52 off 28.2 overs. Hyderabad's openers patiently extended the lead to 81 by close. Another POV Delhi fall short G.S. Vivek Posted: Nov 13, 2008 at 0120 hrs IST Uppal, November 12 : With hands spread like a bird’s wings, Ashwin Yadav celebrated as the middle stump cart-wheeled three times. His Hyderabad team mates tried to pounce on him, but Yadav escaped, darting across to the umpire and asking for the ball, shining on one side and looking scruffed up on the other, as a souvenir of his first five-wicket haul in first-class cricket. On the ball, Yadav scribbled his analysis with a pen — 28-12-52-6. Throughout the day, the paceman had used reverse swing brilliantly to give Hyderabad a vital first-innings lead, and with it, three points in their kitty. While the hosts were applauding each other 51 minutes after tea, the Delhi dressing room was dead silent, mourning a wasted effort. Ashwin had just outdone Punit Bisht’s gritty effort — the Delhi wicketkeeper-batsman was the last man out with Delhi 50 runs short of their primary target. But if Bisht’s 237-minute stay at the wicket for his 78 and his eighth-wicket partnership of 81 with Chetanya Nanda made up for a tantalising third day’s play, by close, the suspense was over. Hyderabad were 31 for no loss, taking their overall lead to 81 with 10 wickets intact as the match went into its inconsequential fourth day. Irresponsible shots Delhi struggled through the first session thanks to a variety of irresponsible shots from their frontline batsmen. On a wicket that is still flat after nine sessions, Delhi’s players seemed more concerned about their batting style rather than the requirements of the match. Encouraged by their frequent bouts of recklessness, the Hyderabad bowlers stuck to an unrelenting line, playing the waiting game. And the dividends came much quicker than expected. Delhi were all out for 284 in 112.2 overs. After Aditya Jain’s troubled stay was terminated with a big thud on his pad from Yadav, the situation demanded Mithun Manhas and Rajat Bhatia to play patiently. Things seemed fine for the first hour but the tendency of dominating the bowlers, and putting a lid on the constant chatter in the field, tempted Bhatia to flash aimlessly at an outgoing delivery. Bisht walked in at 156 but Manhas dragged the ball onto his stumps, playing a lazy backfoot defence to left-arm spinner Lalith Mohan. The match was almost over at that point and Delhi couldn’t digest the lavish biryani laid out at lunch with the score at 186/6. Another tactical blunder, after the choice of a third seamer ahead... Andhra vs Maharashtra, Ranji Trophy Super League at Nasik, 3rd day Andhra 348 and 2 for 0 trail Maharashta 393 (Khadiwale 103, Bhosale 77, Jadhav 63, Shrikhande 59) by 43 runs Scorecard Maharashtra, starting at a comfortable 205 for 1 in Nasik, failed to take a big first-innings lead against Andhra. They were all out for 393, a lead of 45, with legspinner M Suresh taking four wickets to trigger a collapse that saw six wickets fall for 56 runs. Andhra played out one over in their second innings before stumps. Maharashtra's top four managed half-centuries, but five of the remaining batsmen failed to make it to double figures. Rohan Bhosale added five to his overnight 72 and Ameya Shrikhande scored 59, and had it not been for Kedar Jadhav and Ankit Bawne, they might have just conceded the lead. Another POV Maharashtra gains first-innings lead Maharashtra’s top-order batsmen ensured that their side stayed in front against Andhra in the Ranji Trophy super league match at the old golf course ground here on Wednesday. Though Rohan Bhosale added five runs in half an hour to his overnight 72, the in-form middle-order batsmen — Ameya Shrikande and Kedar Jadhav — occupied the crease for a little over three hours and scored half-centuries. The third-wicket pair was not tempted to take risks with an 8-1 negative field, set by Andhra’s captain Gnaneswara Rao when seamer P. Vijayakumar was in action. Match Referee Sanjay Patil had expressed his displeasure, and cautioned the visiting side on Tuesday evening from pursuing such tactics. Missed chances A dour approach did not see Maharashtra advance much from 205 for one in the first hour and Andhra’s fielders too were not alert enough to latch on to the chances that came their way. The change of wicketkeeper from V.M. Sai to L.N.P. Reddy did not help matters as the latter put down a simple chance of Bhosale. But after nearly five hours of watchful batting, Bhosale fended at a sharp rising delivery from Vijaykumar to a close-in fielder. Shrikande (59) and Jadhav (63) helped Maharashtra achieve its primary goal of getting past Andhra’s 348. The 8-1 off-side field produced a wicket when Suresh removed Shrikande. The home team lost two more wickets before Ankit Bawne (44), in the company of the lower- order, took his team past Andhra’s total. Playing for the first innings points resulted in the home team adding 188 runs. With three sessions remaining on the last day, it would be up to Andhra to set an inviting target for the home team. But Maharashtra would be more than happy to take three points to take its tally to four from two matches. Saurashtra vs Orissa, Ranji Trophy Super League at Rajkot, 3rd day Orissa 302 (SS Das 76, Sehgal 64*, Biswal 62, Jobanputra 4-56, Makvana 4-142) and 4 for 0 trail Saurashtra 620 for 4 by 314 runs Scorecard In 87.4 overs on the third day in Rajkot, Saurashtra managed to take ten Orissa wickets for 257 runs, and a repeat performance on the final day will earn them the full six points from the match. Medium-pacer Sandeep Jobanputra and offspinner Kamlesh Makvana did the damage, picking up four wickets apiece. Resuming on 45 for 0, Orissa's openers pushed to 67 before Bikas Pati was caught behind off Jobanputra. All four wickets for Jobanputra were catches to wicketkeeper Sagar Jogiyani, who took five in the innings. Shiv Sunder Das, the Orissa captain, top scored with 76 and there were half-centuries for Subit Biswal and Saurabh Sehgal, but the visitors needed much bigger scores to get close to Saurashtra's 602. Jobanputra reduced them to 180 for 5 to wreck of hopes of avoiding the follow-on, and Kamlesh Makvana, who bowled 37.4 overs out 101.4 in the innings, then got four wickets to dismiss Orissa for 302. No. 9 Saurabh Sehgal made an unbeaten 64, putting on 61 for the ninth wicket with Preetamjit Das, but he fell short of partners. Orissa safely played out the one over in their second innings before stumps. .

[Chandan]

Few interesting news about the Ranji trophy till now: Pathan shouts at fans, gets hugged by admirer PTI Tuesday, November 11, 2008 22:25 IST VADODARA: In what turned out to be an eventful day for India discard Irfan Pathan, the pacer was left to face an inquiry by match referee for arguing with fans during his side's Ranji Trophy match against Uttar Pradesh, besides getting hugged by a female admirer. Pathan, who had a good day on the field picking up five wickets on Tuesday, went out of the ground during the match apparently to argue with fans who were shouting out his name in the parking area. Match referee Rajendra Singh Jadeja said he would investigate Pathan's actions and submit a report to the BCCI after speaking to Pathan and the umpires. Some fans had got into an argument with Pathan's driver near the ground. Pathan rushed out on hearing about the incident, Baroda Cricket association sources said. He argued with the fans there before a female admirer all of a sudden caught hold of his collar and asked him to dance with her. She was immediately separated from the pacer and escorted away. Pathan, on his part, refused to talk on the twin incidents. "I will talk later," was his curt reply when asked for a comment. Switch in time for Ashwin G.S. VIVEK UPPAL, SPENDING time in the gym has become mandatory for any aspiring cricketer. For Ashwin Yadav though, it’s not about the weights — his memories of early fitness involve climbing ropes and doing dandbaithaks, for those were part of his strengthening routines as a young wrestler. Yadav, who picked up six wickets to bowl Hyderabad to a crucial first-innings lead against Delhi, hails from Begambazaar in Hyderabad, a locality famous for its wrestling tradition. “My father, my grandfather, forefathers, my brothers are all wrestlers... but wrestling didn’t interest me because it holds no prospects as a career. So I left it and began to play cricket.” At 5’4”, fast bowling is not an obvious option, but the early training must have helped. For on Wednesday, the former wrestler bowled long hostile spells at decent pace to stop Delhi in their tracks. “Who says short guys can’t bowl quick. God didn’t give me height, but my deliveries skid off the wicket and moved a lot. I also use reverse swing well,” he says. Tips from Laxman INTERESTINGLY, Ashwin was introduced to cricket by his cousin Rajesh Yadav, who’s a childhood friend of VVS Laxman. Yadav had seen him pull off some tricks with a tennis ball at the neighbourhood park. Ashwin’s connection with Laxman goes further. “I bowl to him every day at the nets and bowling to him has helped me a lot. That has taken away the fear of bowling to big names.” There was another useful tip. “He told me that all good batsmen wait for the ball to be bowled outside their stump line to hit. ‘Always bowl wicket to wicket’.” His new nickname in the dressing room is hat-trick — because the 24-year old has already picked up two hat-tricks in the last two months against Orissa and the Sri Lanka A side. Ask about his idols and he names Ajit Agarkar — “I can’t wait to play Mumbai” — and less surprisingly, Brett Lee. There are traces of the Australian in his own bounding run-up. His career switch has worked for him so far, but Ashwin’s aiming a few notches higher. Hyderabad's rise after last year's exodus to ICL Arjun Sen Hyderabad “WE HAVE the team to reach the final,” says Hyderabad selector Youraj Singh as he watches his young side battling it out with champions Delhi at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Such a statement from Singh would have been met with incredulity and sniggers last season. After all, Hyderabad had just lost eight first team players to the Indian Cricket League, leaving the selectors with no option but to fall back on a bunch of teenagers to make up the numbers and play the Ranji Trophy . “We didn’t have eleven players to make up the state team after so many of our players left for the Indian Cricket League,” Singh says. “We decided to call up the U-19 and U-22 players and throw them in the deep end.” It was a move that many believed would lead Hyderabad towards the ignominy of relegation. And, had it not been for their arch rivals Andhra beating Bengal, Hyderabad were destined for the drop. “We achieved our aim – to stay up,” says Singh. “We knew it would be tough for the inexperienced youngsters to come in and compete in the Ranji Trophy at once.” Last season may not have been the best in terms of where Hyderabad finished, but it proved to be the ideal learning curve for the youngsters. “It gave the boys belief that they could stand their own at the highest level. They were confident,” Singh says. And it was this new-found con fidence which led Hyderabad to the U-22 South Zone title. Buoyed by their Ranji display, the players beat traditional powerhouses Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to go all the way to the title. That win, Singh says, was the start of the revival in Hyderabad cricket. “The boys started gelling together, there was a new-found cohesiveness in the team. They were confident of their ability to take on the best.” This season has started with a lot of that promise. First, playing away at Orissa, Hyderabad managed three points on the back of a first innings lead, and then, Hyderabad’s youth brigade assured themselves of three vital points with a well-deserved first innings lead against the champs. High after bettering Waughs' mark Subhash Rajta New Delhi CHETESHWAR PUJARA has a penchant for tall scores. And this is nothing neve The Saurashtra batsman scored his first triple-hundred in an under-14 age-group match against Baroda when he was only 13. And the habit he inculcated in his early teens has persisted. He has scored three triple centuries - two in CK Nayadu (u-22) and the other against Orissa in Ranji Trophy - in the last month. And the icing on the cake, his triple hundred against Orissa saw him marching into the record books for stitching together a 520-run fifth wicket partnership with Ravindra Jadeja. "It's a huge feat to better a record standing in the name of Steve Waugh and Mark Waugh," said Pujara. The world record and the big scores he often comes up with speak volumes of his unflappable focus and concentration, along with an insatiable hunger for runs. How does he stay so focused? "I am a religious person. The trait keeps me calm and composed and it reflects in my game as well," he said. His father Arvind Pujara, however, puts it down to his hard work and hunger to succeed. "He's simply crazy about the game and puts in so much effort. And it's the reward of the hard work he has put in that he is reaping now" he said. Nonetheless, scoring three triple centuries in such a short span would have tested his mental and physical strength. "Yes, it's indeed tough. But then one has to be focused, determined and strong enough to handle all this," he said. The other striking feature of his batting is its correctness. But the moment one tries to get him talking about it, he wastes no time in reminding people that he can improvise and change gears when required, perhaps fearing that he might be pushed into a Test-only bracket. "Right preparation is the key to succeed in any format and I feel comfortable in any format," he said. As for his India chances, the ultimate dream of any aspiring cricketet: the middleorder batsman feels he is getting runs at the tight time. "I am doing my job and I am sure the call would come one day if I keep doing well," he said.

[Chandan]

ROUND TWO , DAY 4 Karnataka v Tamil Nadu, Ranji Trophy Super League at Bangalore, 4th day Karnataka cling on for a draw The Bulletin by Sidharth Monga November 13, 2008 Tamil Nadu 531 (Vidyut 193, Karthik 149, Kumar 90) drew with Karnataka 267 (Raghu 76, Suresh 4-58, Balaji 3-46, Ashwin 3-63) and 269 for 4 (Pawan 84, Pandey 57*, Ashwin 3-71) Scorecard Having been bowled out cheaply in the first innings, the Karnataka batsmen applied themselves better and hung on for one point from their Group B match against Tamil Nadu. The empty stands and the general relaxed atmosphere that comes with a Ranji match took away from the tense middle session during which Karnataka lost KB Pawan and Robin Uthappa in quick succession. The fire and ice combination of C Raghu, who played his second solid innings of the match, and rookie Manish Pandey, who got a quick half-century, saw Karnataka to what eventually was a comfortable draw. The teams decided to call the match off with 11 mandatory overs to go. Two seasons ago, this final day would not have meant much for a team that had fallen behind in the first innings - Karnataka in this case. The points system earlier used to reward two points to the team that would get the first-innings lead, and none to the other team. From last season on, though, the respective rewards became three and one, and gave the trailing team an incentive to hang on for a draw, which is what Karnataka did today. They started the day with all their wickets in hand, but very little confidence after a feeble first-innings performance, when they fell behind by 264 runs. KB Pawan, who made a second good start of the match, didn't repeat his mistake and went on to play a long innings. He didn't have Bharat Chipli's company for long, though. He added 10 to his overnight 23, and holed out to mid-on in R Ashwin's second over of the day. Yo Mahesh took an impressive catch running backwards, keeping his eyes on the ball throughout. R Ashwin's 3 for 71 during Karnataka's second innings couldn't hand Tamil Nadu the five points as the match ended in a draw in Bangalore Ganesh Satish, Karnataka's new No. 3, playing only his second match, combined well with Pawan to keep the bowlers out for more than 27 overs. While the intent was to draw the match, the two didn't let the scoring stagnate, and hence didn't let the bowlers get into a rhythm where they could bowl continuously in the areas they wanted. Satish got off the mark by sweeping Ashwin for a boundary, Pawan followed suit with a steer through the thirdman area. He brought up his half-century with a late-cut, his seventh boundary in more than two hours of batting. Pawan brought up the half-century of the partnership with a pull off L Balaji, and two balls later Satish smashed a slower ball through extra cover. Just before lunch, though, Satish was given out lbw off an Ashwin offbreak, another contentious decision, because this one might have been going down the leg. Robin Uthappa, Karnataka's captain who has been down with a viral fever, went in at No. 4, but that was the time when Tamil Nadu were starting to build momentum and push for an outright result. Minutes after lunch, Pawan edged C Suresh through to Dinesh Karthik. Three overs later, Uthappa failed to clear mid-on - perhaps the weakness because of the illness coming through. A minimum of 42 overs were left at the time, and four to five fielders in the face of the batsmen were expected throughout. Raghu stayed cool then: he shut the scoring, kept getting down to the pitch of the spinners, and kept defending solidly. The spinners tried bowling round the stumps - over the wicket in Suresh's case - but couldn't extract a loose shot out of him. The slips, the silly point, and the forward shortleg, all kept waiting but didn't come into play. For 134 minutes, Raghu was a picture of determination and coolness. Of the first 91 balls he faced, he scored only 11, but in the context of the match every ball faced was like a run scored. The first ball after tea, his 92nd, he flicked for a four, and then scored another boundary, before the match was called off. Pandey, from the other end, cashed in on the aggressive fields, and struck cleanly to get his second half-century in as many Ranji matches. He swept the spinners to the midwicket boundary with ease, twice stopping the shot half-way through: a half-sweep-half-push. But the timing on those shots was good enough to carry the ball to the boundary. The two stayed undefeated, Raghu on 21 off 112 balls, and Pandey on 57 off 77. Tamil Nadu, who enforced a follow-on for the second time in a row, failed to get 20 wickets again, but with would have made fair strides in the Group B points table with the three points. ** How they were out Chipli: tried to hit Ashwin to the mid-on boundary, but didn't connect properly. Yo Mahesh took a superb catch running backwards Satish: beaten by an offbreak, but wasn't happy with the lbw decision: this one might have down the leg Pawan: played forward to C Suresh, but the break on the ball took the edge Uthappa: looked for a big hit down the ground, but couldn't clear the mid-on Punjab v Rajasthan, Ranji Trophy Super League at Mohali, 3rd day Punjab 232 (Sohal 106, Gajendra Singh 4-67) and 41 for 1 beat Rajasthan 133 (Gagandeep 4-37, Gony 4-39) and 169 (Saxena 83, Kakkar 3-30, Charanjit 3-38) by nine wickets Scorecard Vineet Saxena's 83 failed to avoid a defeat for Rajasthan Mumbai vs Gujarat, Ranji Trophy Super League at Surat, 3rd day Mumbai surge to the top Cricinfo staff November 12, 2008 Mumbai 486 (Jaffer 172, Rahane 104, Muzumdar 61, Parmar 6-143, Makda 3-59) beat Gujarat 203 (Makda 73, Kulkarni 4-70) and 44 (Kulkarni 3-7, Agarkar 3-15, Powar 3-19) by an innings and 239 runs Scorecard Uttar Pradesh vs Baroda, Ranji Trophy Super League at Vadodara, 4th day Baroda 235 (Solanki 71, Praveen 5-70) and 314 (Solanki 71, Parab 67, Chawla 4-122) drew with Uttar Pradesh 286 (Srivastava 79, Kaif 51, Praveen 50, IK Pathan 6-85) and 151 for 6 (Kaif 45*, Veragi 3-58) Scorecard Uttar Pradesh were lucky to gain three points from the Group B match in Vadodara. Chasing 264, UP had slipped to 97 for 6, but captain Mohammad Kaif, batting low at No. 7, and wicketkeeper Amir Khan played out 30.5 overs to ensure a draw. Mohammad Kaif scored a vital 45 not out as Uttar Pradesh held on to three points in Vadodara UP gained three points by virtue of their first-innings lead, and have six points from two games, the same as group leaders Punjab. Twelve wickets fell on the final day. Baroda, resuming on 239 for 4, lost their final six wickets in 22.4 overs. For the second time in the match, Rakesh Solanki fell for 71. UP were faced with a target of 264, but lost Tanmay Srivastava, their top scorer in the first innings, in the third over. With a run-rate around four needed, UP chose to play it safe, but they found themselves in trouble at 67 for 4 after 21.4 overs. Medium-pacer Salim Veragi struck twice, and the two Irfan Pathans took one apiece. Tahir Abbas and Piyush Chawla put on 30, but the two fell in the space of five deliveries. Kaif, though, played a steady hand, scoring 45, and at the other hand, Amir Khan saw off 90 deliveries for an unbeaten 7. Another POV Kaif denies Baroda a win 14 Nov 2008, 0019 hrs IST, VADODARA: The stage was set for an exciting final day of the Ranji Trophy tie between Baroda and Uttar Pradesh on Thursday and the home team tried their best to win the match. However, Uttar Pradesh, thanks to a defiant Mohammed Kaif, managed to hold their nerves and drew their second match of the season. The lack of good bowling attack from both ends proved to be a major hindrance for Baroda who had removed six UP batsmen after setting them a target of 264. UP captain Kaif (45 runs, 99 balls) stood in the way of Baroda’s victory as he resisted the home team’s bowling attack till the very end. UP finally ended at six down for 151. Earlier in the day, Baroda batsmen, who started with an 239 for four, attempted to score as quickly as possible. Rakesh Solanki was the top scorer in the second innings too as he scored 71 runs from 169 balls. Hyderabad vs Delhi, Ranji Trophy Super League at Hyderabad, 4th day Hyderabad 334 (Pai 130, Abhinav 76, Sangwan 4-86) and 230 for 3 (Teja 113*, Arjun 54*, Manhas 3-52) drew with Delhi 284 (Bisht 78, Chopra 51, Ashwin 6-52) by 81 runs Scorecard Hyderabad had secured the first-innings lead, and they batted out 75 overs on the final day to secure their three points. Beginning the day on 31 for 0, Hyderabad's openers managed a century stand. T Suman was the first to fall, lbw for 52, and Mithun Manhas struck two further blows. There were no more successes for Delhi, with opener Ravi Teja scoring a century. He added an unbroken 115 with captain Arjun Yadav, who chipped in with 54. Another POV Sore Delhi lose the plot G.S. Vivek Posted: Nov 14, 2008 at 2335 hrs IST Uppal, November 13 : The fourth day of this Ranji Trophy tie wasn’t exactly a tense battle, it was more an example of how dreary the prevailing rules and regulations can make proceedings. With Hyderabad already having taken the first innings lead and three points on Wednesday, there was once again little left to play for on the final day here in Uppal. Unlike the Punjab bowlers last week, the Delhi side were in no trouble with their over-rates and didn’t want to bowl any more than the minimum of 75 overs before the scheduled call-off time, set at an hour after tea. And so, Aakash Chopra rose to the occasion, using his imagination to keep all those watching irritated. As the afternoon wore on, the Delhi team’s behaviour bordered on the ridiculous — there were incessant, frivolous, on-field exchanges over, among other things, choice of songs to be sung, and what part-time bowlers should be employed. With ’keeper Puneet Bisht wanting a break, a lengthy chat about who should don the gloves was caught on the stump microphones (Eventually, Shikhar Dhawan took over). They might have picked up just one point for their troubles, but their body language on the final day didn’t match the tag of defending champions. The beneficiaries In the middle of all this, D Ravi Teja kept his concentration, and mixed it up with a few doses of aggression, to post his third first-class ton, while skipper Arjun Yadav completed his own half-century as the fourth-wicket pair put on 115 runs to take Hyderabad’s second innings score to 230/3 in 90 overs. Teja was unbeaten on 113 while Arjun finished on 54. Overnight batsman T Suman too helped himself to 52, but first innings centurion Anoop Pai and No 3 Rushi Raj both missed out. Pai was dismissed for a blob during an inspired spell of off-spin bowling from Mithun Manhas, who despite battling a bad back, picked up three wickets in nine overs to provide a sense of purpose to a day that otherwise kept Delhi occupied figuring out ways to reach the airport before a big political rally caused traffic jams. What went wrong? Narender Singh, the specialist off-spinner, was left out of the playing XI at the last minute to make way for an extra seamer. Watching part-timer Manhas extract turn and bounce, it’s fair to say the move backfired. The visitors slipped as much due to...their choice of combination as Ashish Nehra’s insistence on taking a heavy load early in the season, rather than picking and choosing his games. But the most glaring mistakes were committed by the batsmen, as they tried too hard to dominate. The selection committee meets on Friday to pick the side against an in-form Mumbai at the Kotla next week, and they must get things right, for it isn’t too often that Delhi are up against the wall on home turf.... Injuries blight Delhi Ashish Nehra did his right hamstring in the first innings and on Thursday wicketkeeper Puneet Bisht twisted his knee. Nehra managed only 10.2 overs in the match, not even taking the field in the second innings. Bisht did not return after the tea break and Shikhar Dhawan kept wickets. While Bisht should be fit to play against Mumbai, Nehra is a serious 'doubt'. Andhra vs Maharashtra, Ranji Trophy Super League at Nasik, 4th day Andhra 348 (Watekar 142, Fallah 6-102) and 210 for 5 dec (Sumanth 58*, Reddy 53) drew with Maharashtra 393 (Khadiwale 103, Bhosale 77, Jadhav 63, Shrikhande 59) and 27 for 1 Scorecard It was a dull day in Nasik, with Andhra, having conceded the first-innings lead, batting out nearly the whole day with the chance of winning the game remote. Resuming on 2 for 0, Andhra played out 80 overs before declaring, setting Maharashtra an improbable 166 from the remaining overs in the day. Hemal Watekar, the first-innings centurion, fell cheaply, but partnerships of 78, 42 and 56 for the second, third and fifth wickets made sure there was no collapse. LNP Reddy and B Sumanth made half-centuries, while legspinner Digambar Waghmare took 2 for 33 off his 18 overs. Maharashtra's first-innings centurion, Harshad Khadiwale, also failed as his team reached 27 for 1 in eight overs. Another POV Match ends in a draw Special Correspondent Nashik: Maharashtra’s Rohit Motwani was let off with a reprimand by Match Referee Sanjay Patil for directing foul language at Andhra seamer Kalyankrishna. Playing in his second Ranji Trophy match here at the Old Golf course ground, Motwani, hooked two short deliveries from Kalyankrishna for a six and four and swore immediately. The umpires Vishwas Neruurkar and Milind Patak intervened to prevent things going out of control on a day when the two teams seemed to lack energy and enthusiasm to raise the level of play. Draw offer rejected At the start of the 15 mandatory overs Andhra accepted an offer from the umpires to bring an end to the proceedings, but Maharashtra, like in the previous match against Tamil Nadu, rejected the same and continued to bowl. “We did not want the mockery of cricket to continue. There was no point in continuing the match and we took the offer from umpires, but Maharashtra did not,” said Andhra coach M.V. Narasimha Rao. Obviously piqued by Maharshtra’s decision, Andhra batted for five mandatory overs and declared its second innings at 210 for five. Maharashtra which collected three points from the drawn match has four from two matches, while Andhra has two from as many matches. Saurashtra vs Orissa, Ranji Trophy Super League at Rajkot, 4th day Saurashtra 620 for 4 (Pujara 302*, Jadeja 232*) beat Orissa 302 (SS Das 76, Sehgal 64*, Biswal 62, Jobanputra 4-56, Makvana 4-142) and 234 (Jadeja 5-44) by an innings and 84 runs Scorecard Saurashtra seal win Saurashtra were made to fight till the end for their win in Rajkot, a comprehensive innings-and-84-run rout of Orissa. After piling up 620 for 4, Saurashtra patiently pegged away at the wickets, taking ten wickets each on the final two days to gain six points. Battling for a draw was Orissa's only option, who began the day trailing by 314 runs with ten second-innings wickets in hand. Bikas Pati and Shiv Sunder Das, the Orissa captain, were involved in a 67-run stand for the second time in the game. Pati, the first to fall, scored 44 off 49 in the stand, while Das was run out for half of Pati's score. Niranjan Behera and Halhadar Das were the only other batsmen to go past 20, and Orissa's second innings lasted 85.1 overs - they played 101.4 in the first. The final wicket gave Ravindra Jadeja, whose 232 not out was his maiden first-class ton, his career-best figures. Another POV Saurashtra humble Orissa Rajkot: A five-wicket haul by Ravindra Jadeja enabled hosts Saurashtra humble Orissa by an innings and 84 runs on the fourth and final day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group match here on Thursday. Orissa, who were following on after being bundled out for 302 on Wednesday in reply to Saurashtra’s 620 for four declared, were dismissed for 234 in the second innings. Jadeja, who scored an unbeaten 232 in Saurashtra’s first innings and added a record-breaking 520 runs for the fifth wicket with Cheteshwar Pujara (302 not out), was the pick of the bowlers with figures of five for 44. He was ably supported by fellow spinners Rakesh Dhruve (2/18) and Kamlesh Makwana (2/92).

[Chandan]

A Review of Ranji performance after Round II Narwal called up for Bhandari AMIT BHANDARI has been dropped from the Delhi squad for their crucial Ranji match against Mumbai which starts on Sunday and will be replaced by Sumit Narwal. Bhandari, who started the match against Punjab, was left on the bench for the Hyderabad game, his place going to Parwinder Awana. Speaking about the decision, Delhi skipper Aakash Chopra said: “It will be difficult to accommodate Bhandari in the eleven, so we decided that, instead of keeping an experienced player like him on the bench, we would not include him in the squad.†Chopra added that Bhandari had been dropped “only for one match.†Delhi coach Vijay Dahiya, too, echoed a similar thought. “We have to give an opportunity to players to prove themselves and Narwal is a player who took his chances last time around, so we decided to give him a go,†said Dahiya. “As far as Bhandari goes, we all thought it wouldn't be right to bench a senior player like him.†A Delhi selector, however, had a completely different take on the issue. “Bhandari doesn’t figure in to the scheme of things at the moment and this move was a long time coming.†Saurashtra vs Orissa (Kandheri Cricket Stadium, Rajkot) :Round of applause for world record partnership IN THE first round last week, Saurashtra suffered an innings defeat at the hands of Gujarat. This round, Saurashtra recovered tremendously by winning by an innings and 84 runs against Orissa. The match will more be remembered for the world record 520-run partnership for the unseparated fifth wicket between Cheteshwara Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja. Pujara scored his third triple century within a month, the earlier two coming in the Col CK Nayudu under-22 games. His 302 not out was his career best. Jadeja, who had scored his maiden first class century by making 232 not out, had a fine run with the ball too, picking up five wickets in Orissa’s second innings. Brief scores: Saurashtra: 620/4 decl. (Pujara 302*, Jadeja 232*) beat Orissa: 302 (SS Das 76, Biswal 62, Sehgal 64; Makvana 4-142) and 234 (Jadeja 5-44) HT’s players of the match : Cheteshwara Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja Hyderabad vs Delhi (Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad): LEFT-HANDED Anoop Pai's 130 and his partnership with wicket-keeper batsman Abhinav Kumar (76) helped Hyderabad seize the early advantage against a Delhi attack that lost Ashish Nehra due to hamstring. The home team held their nerves and helped by wicket-to-wicket bowling by medium-pacer Ashwin Yadav, who bagged his maiden five-wicket haul in first class cricket — 6 for 52, took the first innings lead and earn a honourable draw. With the match out of Delhi’s control, Hyderabad batsmen helped themselves to meaningful practice in the second innings with Ravi Teja scoring an unbeaten century. Brief scores: Hyderabad: 334 (Anoop Pai 130, Abhinav 76; Sangwan 4-86) and 230/3 (T Suman 52, Ravi Teja 113*) drew with Delhi: 284 (Chopra 51, Dhawan 47, Bisht 78; Yadav 6-52) HT’s players of the match : Anoop Pai and Ashwin Yadav Punjab vs Rajasthan (PCA Stadium, Mohali) Just a shade unlucky were Punjab, who missed their bonus point despite defeating Rajasthan in three days. Facing a victory target of 41, Punjab could have earned the extra point had they not lost a wicket. Unfortunately, the first innings centurion Sunny Sohal fell but more importantly, Punjab won, handing Rajasthan their second successive defeat. For the second successive game, Rajasthan’s Vineet Saxena top-scored for the side but the rest including their imported captain Y Venugopal Rao were found wanting. Rajasthan, who were lucky to survive in the Super League last season, will have to seriously bring their resources together in the remaining matches if they have to remain among the country’s top 15 teams. Brief scores: Rajasthan: 133 (Gagandeep 4-37, Gony 4-39) and 169 (Saxena 83; Charanjit 3-38, Kakkar 3-30) lost to Punjab: 262 (Sohal 106; Gajendra 4-67) and 41/1 HT’s player of the match: Sunny Sohal Karnataka vs Tamil Nadu (M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore) TAMIL NADU gave their coach WV Raman almost a heart attack for the kind of start they had on the first morning. Abhinav Mukund, triple centurion against Maharashtra, captain S Badrinath and wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik were back in the pavilion without entering the double digits and the total reading at 51 for 3. But Karnataka let slip the advantage as debutant exciting batsman Arun Karthik (149) and established left-hander Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan (193) scored big hundreds to take TN to a healthy score. Karnataka were lucky to escape with a draw after following on. Brief scores: Tamil Nadu: 531 (Karthik 149, Vidyut 193, Suresh 90; Vinay 3-90, Joshi 4-136) drew with Karnataka: 267 (Raghu 76; Balaji 3-46, Suresh 4-58, Ashwin 3-63) and 269/4 (Pawan 84, Pandey 57*; Ashwin 3-71) HT’s players of the match: Arun Karthik and Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan Baroda vs Uttar Pradesh (Moti Bagh Stadium, Baroda) OMITTED FROM the India ODI team, Irfan Pathan made his presence felt in the domestic fixture by picking up 6 for 85. But his effort was not enough to stop visitors Uttar Pradesh from taking the first innings lead in the drawn encounter. Praveen Kumar, also left out from the ODI side, took 5 for 71 to help UP restrict Baroda to 235. Praveen came good with the bat to score a quick 50 at number nine to help UP move past Baroda’s total. UP rode well on Tanmay Srivastava’s 79 and captain Md Kaif’s 51. Baroda put up an improved show in the second innings, and with time run ning out, they could not force a victory. Facing a target of 264, UP managed 151 for 6. Brief scores: Baroda: 235 (Solanki 71; Praveen5-71) and 314 (Parab 67, Solanki 71; Chawla 4-122) drew with UP: 286 (Srivastava 79, Md Kaif 51, Praveen 50) and 151/6 (Veragi 3-58). HT’s player of the match: Praveen Kumar Maharashtra vs Andhra (Golf Club Ground, Nasik) THE YOUNG Maharashtra outfit continued to impress with the bat to hold Andhra for a draw and take the first innings points. Andhra, led single-handedly by hemal Watekar’s 142, made a fighting 348. Left-arm medium-pacer Samad Fallah impressed with the ball by taking six for 102. Opener Harshad Khadiwale was equal to the task by scoring his second Ranji hundred and with support from the top-order, Maharashtra overwhelmed Andhra's first innings score. There was little to choose between the two teams in the second innings. Brief scores: Andhra: 348 (Watekar 142; Fallah 6-102) and 210/5 decl.: 210/5 decl. (Prasad Reddy 53, Sumanth 58 n.o.) drew with Maharashtra: 393 all out (Khadiwale 103, Bhosale 77, Shirkhande 59, Jadhav 63; M Suresh 4-75) and 27/1 HT’s player of the match: Harshad Khadiwale Mumbai vs Gujarat (Lalbhai Contractor Stadium, Surat) MUMBAI CONTINUED from where they left against Rajasthan, crushing Gujarat by an innings and 239 runs in the first of their three back-to-back away games. Gujarat, who let slip the advantage after winning the toss and electing to field, did not learn from their first innings mistakes, being bowled out for just 44. While captain Wasim Jaffer (172) and Ajinkya Rahane (104) batted Gujarat out of the match on the first day, their efforts were well supported by bowlers, all of whom got into the groove. However, the star bowler was Dhawal Kulkarni, who ended with seven wickets against Surat. Brief scores: Mumbai: 486 (Jaffer 172, Rahane 104, Muzumdar 61; Parmar 6-143) beat Gujarat: 203 (Makda 73, Singh 41; Kulkarni 470) and 44 (Agarkar 3-15, Kulkarni 3-7, Powar 3-19). HT’s players of the match: Wasim Jaffer and Dhawal Kulkarni Frazer sacked, Taposh new Ranji coach Jaipur: Fed up with the tension between skipper Venugopal Rao and coach Ian Frazer, Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) sacked the Australian from his post and appointed chief curator Taposh Chatterjee in his place. Rao and Frazer had been at loggerheads for a while on team matters and the differences had reached a point where Rao had threatened to quit. Sources said RCA was not happy with the tension between the two and felt it was the main reason behind the lacklustre performance of Rajasthan in the Ranji Super League where the team lost its first two matches by huge margins. Sources close to Frazer, however, said that it was Frazer who had volunteered to step down when he was told by the RCA that Rao was mulling to quit.

[Sooda]

Good to see IKP back bowling well, decent knock to go with it- a call up for the ODIs perhaps in store one hopes.. Kumar too I hope. I have never heard of Irfan S Pathan!

[Guest HariSampath]

Gujarat being mowed down by Mumbai....and this state has THREE Ranji teams, how pathetic. And also, it was this same Gujarat that thrashed Saurashtra by an inngs...puts many performances in perspective

[cricketman]

Check out Pujara: three triples in a month!

[h4te]

Check out Agarkar: three triples in a month!

FIXED!

[Guest HariSampath]

Check out Pujara: three triples in a month!

2 of the triple 100s were in U-22 games in the west zone, and this 300 was against a weak side Orissa. Pujara is not yet a contender for the national team. He would have to score consistently against tougher bowling and then play India A etc , against some international bowling before staking a serious claim. Right now he has just got a couple of headlines, thats all. He is nowhere in contention.

[Chandan]

Anureet Singh: Delhi’s loss & Railways’ gain Vinayak Bhushan Padmadeo Posted: Nov 11, 2008 at 2326 hrs IST New Delhi, November 10 For four years, Anureet Singh bowled at Delhi’s pre-Ranji camp, but wasn’t named in their team. But in only his second year with the Railways, he has already made his place in the Ranji side. Anureet made a dream debut for Railways as he took six for 49 against Karnataka in Bangalore last week. He admitted to being a bit apprehensive. “I was a bit nervous as I was bowling the second over of the match. But once that was completed, I was ok,” Anureet says. Tired of being repeatedly shunned by Delhi, Anureet tried his luck with the Railways. Singh was picked up for the Railways Under-22 side that was being coached by Abhay Sharma at the time. “He did well for the U-22 side and when I was made the coach of the senior team. I pitched in for his selection,” Sharma said. Sharma had to fight for Singh’s inclusion in the Ranji squad, as selectors weren’t keen. “Initially, the selectors weren’t keen on his inclusion, but thankfully they heeded to my request and he was brilliant in his first match,” Sharma adds. Before all this, Sharma saw to it that Anureet was on Railways’ pay rolls and played the zonal-railways tournament to impress the Railways Sports Promotion Board. Once it was done, Anureet’s passage to the senior squad was a cakewalk. “Anureet was played ahead of Santosh Saxena, who has been a regular in the team for the last seven-eight years. He repaid my faith in him,” Sharma says of his protégé. Interestingly, Anureet credits Sharma for his match haul of 6/49. “Abhay sir found that my landing foot was going across and that’s why I was drifting down leg in Karnataka’s first innings. His inputs made me change the stride and I got those wickets in the second innings,” Singh says. Recalling his struggles with Delhi, Singh says: “I was called for the trials for four years. I played in the trial matches and took wickets regularly. But somehow, my name was never on the team sheet. But I have moved on and I am happy playing for Railways.” Anureet Singh in focus NEW DELHI: Two years ago he came to the Railways’ ‘nets’ with dreams of making it big. Now he carries the ambitions of Railways in a season of hope. Anureet Singh, the lanky fast bowler, would be the man to watch out for at the Karnail Singh Stadium when Railways meets Baroda in the Ranji Trophy super league contest here from Sunday. The humble background was a driving force for Anureet. From his non-descript address in east Delhi, he worked hard and made a huge impact on his first-class debut this season when he claimed six for 49 in Karnataka’s second innings. Coach Abhay Sharma had seen a spark in the boy and is convinced he has the potential to “go far.” Line and length is Anureet’s strong point and he likes to hit the deck because he is deceptive off the pitch and has to bowl in the right areas to get the best results. Railways claimed three points from its last match even as Baroda, which conceded the first innings lead to Uttar Pradesh in its only match, would be hard pressed to deliver in the absence of Munaf Patel and Yusuf Pathan. The teams have played the Ranji Trophy finals in 2001 and 2002.

[Chandan]

Previews of Round III Problems galore for UP Sharad Deep Ghaziabad A green top is likely to spice up the contest between two well-matched sides as Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu lock horns in their Ranji Trophy super league Group ‘B’ match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Cricket Stadium here on Sunday. Having earned six points each from two games, both sides will try to collect as much points as possible from this tough game and strengthen their bid for a quarterfinal berth. The sight of a prominent grass cover on the track must be pleasing to the eyes of the fast bowlers in both the camps. On paper, the two teams have depth in their seam-attack. But the host must be eyeing a positive result as its pacemen have contributed heavily to the side’s success this season. Home team's problems OVER-DEPENDENCE on skipper Mohd Kaif, middle-order batsman Suresh Raina and opener Tanmay Srivastava has been Uttar Pradesh’s biggest cause for concern in recent years. The three have been doing the bulk of the scoring for the past three seasons, including 2005-06, when they won their maiden Ranji Trophy title With Raina doing national duty against England — the last year’s runners-up now have only Kaif and Srivastava to look up to in the batting order. Things are expected to remain the same when they take on Tamil Nadu in their Group B super league match at the Nehru Stadium here from Sunday. Barring Kaif, who has 200 runs to his name, and the lefthanded opener Srivastava (236 runs in three innings), others failed to impress with the willow. Anshul Kapoor, despite getting opportunities at the top of the order, has so far scored 6, 0, 21 in three outings. Thanks to his poor run, the team management may replace Kapoor with Shivakant Shukla; the left-hander had a good season in 2005-06 both in under-22 and Ranji Trophy. While seamer Sudeep Tyagi is not in the best of form, there are also doubts over all-rounder Praveen Kumar’s fitness — he has suffered an ankle injury on the third day of their match against Baroda. Piyush Chawla’s six-wicket haul against Baroda was one of the few positives for UP. As for the Dinesh Karthik-led Tamil Nadu, both their batsmen and bowlers performed well against Maharashtra and Karnataka, and will go into match as firm favourites. Murali Vjay started with a bang, scoring a double century, Abhinav Mukund has a triple ton to his name while S. Vidyut, Arun Karthik and Suresh Kumar are also in great form. As far as the bowling is concerned, C. Suresh (9 wkts), R Ashwin (9) and Lakshmipathy Balaji (5), have been impressive. Karnataka v Andhra: Struggling teams aim to bounce back The Big Picture Rahul Dravid's inclusion will boost an inexperienced Karnataka batting line-up © AFP It's virtually a bottom-of the-table clash when Karnataka take on Andhra in Mysore. The good news for both the teams is that since there have been no outright results in their group yet, they are still only four points behind the leaders. Andhra's troubles so far this season have been mainly because of their ineffective bowling attack: their batsmen have run up scores in the region of 350 in both matches but Andhra have ceded the vital first-innings lead on both occasions, costing their side four points. While Karnataka's bowling hasn't been in top form this season, their real area of concern is the inexperienced batting; they folded for 127 against Railways and were forced to follow-on against Tamil Nadu. The specialist batsman with most matches under his belt is 23-year-old captain Robin Uthappa, with no other senior pro to guide the newcomers in the line-up. That drawback has been addressed by the inclusion of Rahul Dravid, who will be looking to play himself into form after an extended fallow period on the international circuit. Players to watch Besides Dravid, the other man to watch in the Karnataka side is Uthappa, who finds himself in the doldrums as far as national selection is concerned. When he was dropped from the ODI side after a promising beginning in 2006, he made his case with a spectacular Ranji season, amassing 854 runs to lead the batting charts. Uthappa started this season in a similar vein, with a superb Challenger Trophy and a century against Railways before being laid low by a viral fever. He has been declared fit for this match and how he fares will have a large bearing on Karnataka's performance. For Andhra, 24-year-old legspinner M Suresh has made a great start to the season; the two best bowling performances in his first-class career have been in the two matches he's played this season. There was also a doughty 46 at No. 8 against Uttar Pradesh, which boosted Andhra's total to a challenging 349. Team Karnataka (from): Robin Uthappa (capt), Rahul Dravid, KB Pawan, C Raghu, G Satish, Thilak Naidu (wk), Manish Pandey, Sunil Joshi, Vinay Kumar, NC Aiyappa, Sunil Raju, S Aravind, Deepak Chougule, KP Appanna, CM Gautam. Andhra (from): Y Gnaneswara Rao (capt), AG Pradeep, D Kalyankrishna, Hemal Watekar, LNP Reddy, DP Vijaykumar, GV Saratbabu, ASK Verma, Manoj Sai (wk), I Raju, Achyut Rao, Ravi Shankar, M Suresh, A Veera Babu. Mumbai vs Delhi : Big game hunting WINNING, IT is believed, is not everything in sport. It is the ambition, and not the outcome, that counts. Try telling that to the Mumbai or Delhi players. For when it comes to Delhi v Mumbai, winning is all that matters and nothing else suffices. It is the big one. Defending champions Delhi take on the might of Mumbai and neither wants to lose. Judging exclusively on the starts these two teams have had to the season, it would be safe to say Mumbai are the favourites. But, like so many times before in this rivalry, the formbook could amount to precious little. Delhi haven’t looked like defending champions in the first two games of the season. Their batting has flattered to deceive, often trying to dominate opposition bowling attacks far too quickly, while the bowling has been off-colour. Four points from two matches isn’t the kind of return skipper Aakash Chopra would have wanted, and with the dropping of veteran pacer Amit Bhandari grabbing all the headlines instead of the cricket, the hosts know they must win against Mumbai and get the season back on track. A task easier said than done. Already missing four key players – Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Ishant Sharma and Virat Kohli, Delhi were dealt another massive blow at Hyderabad when Ashish Nehra did his right hamstring in. While the team insisted that a final call on Nehra’s inclusion in the playing XI would be taken on Sunday, it would be of little surprise to see him sit this one out. If Nehra doesn’t make it, Delhi’s pace attack will consist of the relatively inexperienced trio of Pradeep Sangwan, Parwinder Awana and Sumit Narwal. Delhi’s batsmen have let the team down in both matches so far, and need to get their act together as soon as possible. For Mumbai, however, there seem to be no such concerns. Wasim Jaffer’s men have got off to a flier this season, winning both their matches – against Rajasthan and Gujarat – with a bonus point. Sitting pretty on top of the group with 12 points, Mumbai could be just a win away from qualifying to the quarterfinals. Despite Rohit Sharma away and all-rounder Abhishek Nayar down with dengue, Mumbai look the balanced of the two teams. And perhaps, it was this all-round strength of the opposition that had the Delhi thinktank in two minds about the kind of wicket they want. Jaffer leads the batting and will expect able support from Sahil Kukreja and Ajinkya Rahane. Though Ajit Agarkar skipped practice on Saturday with fever, he is expected to shoulder the fast bowling load along with the highly rated Dhawal Kulkarni. This match is about much, much more than the six points. It is about pride, bragging rights and proving a point. Communication gap NOT THAT the players needed any charging up, but the Delhi v Mumbai game got just that little bit more interesting when a ‘communication gap'’ within the DDCA resulted in the Mumbai team unable to practice on Friday. The visitors, who had expressed to get an extra session in on Friday evening, were left waiting in front of their hotel for almost an hour for a team bus that never arrived! It was worse for the players who had decided to take a car to the ground in the hope that their kits would follow in the bus. The team management tried to contact the DDCA, but to no avail. And that wasn’t the only trouble Mumbai faced since landing in the Capital, the team shifted from the hotel they had been booked in at Karol Bagh, apparently ‘appalled at the lack of fa cilities’. Upbeat Railways look to upset Baroda Heena Zuni Pandit New Delhi IN WHAT is expected to be an interesting encounter, Railways meet Baroda in a Group ‘A’ match at the Karnail Singh Stadium on Sunday. Railways, high after earning three points on the basis of a firstinnings lead in their drawn match against Karnataka, will take to the field with the same line-up. With Yere Goud — who scored a century against Karnataka — in good form and Sanjay Bangar too making handsome contributions, Railways are expected to give Baroda a run for money. “Everyone is in good form and the boys are confident,†said coach Abhay Sharma. With their batsmen yet to strike form, Baroda will again depend on their bowlers, especially, Irfan Pathan. The left-arm seamer had an impressive outing in the last match against Uttar Pradesh, picking up seven wickets. Even though they have just one point to show for, Baroda cannot be taken lightly as they have the players to turn the table. While Baroda would love to see their batsmen score some runs, they will have to be careful against Murali Karthik, who already has a 5-wicket haul in the season. Asked about his team’s strategies, Sharma said: “Instead of thinking about the game, we will concentrate on the first session because I think that will be crucial for us.†Teams (from) Railways: A Pagnis, SB Bangar, K Sharma, HD Rawle, S Sanyal, YKT Goud, M Rawat (w-k), Raja Ali, M Kartik, H Singh, A Singh; Baroda: C Williams, SS Parab, A Bilakhia, RK Solanki, PR Shah (w-k), SA Gaekwad, IK Pathan, K Panchal, RV Pawar, IS Pathan, SY Veragi. IN WHAT is expected to be an inter- esting encounter, Railways meet Baroda in a Group ‘A’ match at the Karnail Singh Stadium on Sunday. Railways, high after earning three points on the basis of a first- innings lead in their drawn match against Karnataka, will take to the field with the same line-up. With Yere Goud — who scored a century against Karnataka — in good form and Sanjay Bangar too making handsome contributions, Railways are expected to give Baroda a run for money. “Everyone is in good form and the boys are confident,†said coach Abhay Sharma. With their batsmen yet to strike form, Baroda will again depend on their bowlers, especially, Irfan Pathan. The left-arm seamer had an impressive outing in the last match against Uttar Pradesh, picking up seven wickets. Even though they have just one point to show for, Baroda cannot be taken lightly as they have the play- ers to turn the table. While Baroda would love to see their batsmen score some runs, they will have to be careful against Murali Karthik, who already has a 5-wicket haul in the season. Asked about his team’s strate- gies, Sharma said: “Instead of thinking about the game, we will concentrate on the first session be- cause I think that will be crucial for us.†Teams (from) Railways: A Pagnis, SB Bangar, K Sharma, HD Rawle, S Sanyal, YKT Goud, M Rawat (w-k), Raja Ali, M Kartik, H Singh, A Singh; Baroda: C Williams, SS Parab, A Bi- lakhia, RK Solanki, PR Shah (w-k), SA Gaekwad, IK Pathan, K Panchal, RV Pawar, IS Pathan, SY Veragi. Saurashtra meets Punjab Rajkot: Cheteshwar Pujara has been in good form for Saurashtra this season. But Pujara will face a test against Punjab’s robust seam attack in Manpreet Gony and Gangandeep Singh in the third round of the National cricket championship that gets underway here from Sunday. Punjab captain Pankaj Dharmani said his young team would be facing Saurashtra for the first time in the championship and he has had a look at Pujara and Jadeja’s batting on television. Sunny Sohail (110 against Delhi and 106 against Rajasthan) has been in sizzling form and some of the others too have been in good nick, so have been seamers Manpreet Gony and Gagandeep Singh. The teams (from): Punjab: Pankaj Dharmani (capt.), Karan Goel, Ravinder Singh, Sunny Sohal, Ravneet Ricky, Ankur Kakkar, Taruwar Kohli, Uday Kaul, Siddharth Kaul, Amanpreet Singh, Manpreet Gony, Gagandeep Singh, Charanjit Singh, Sarabjit Ladda and Varun Khanna. Saurashtra: Jaydev Shah (capt.), Sagar Jogiani, Kanaiya Waghela, Sitanshu Kotak, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravindra Jadeja, Pratik Metha, Balkrishna Jadeja, Bhushan Chauhan, Sandeep Jobanputra, Sandip Maniar, Rakesh Dhruv, Kamlesh Makwana, M. Dodia and Jayesh Odedra. Umpries: G.A. Pratapkumar and Sameer Bandekar; Match Referee: Sunil Gudge. — Special Correspondent Hyderabad takes on Gujarat Principal Correspondent AHMEDABAD: A confident Hyderabad will take on Gujarat, which is struggling to recover from the humiliation it suffered at the hands of Mumbai in the previous match, in the four-day Ranji Trophy Super League match at the Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, here from Sunday. Arjun Yadav-led Hyderabad, having taken the vital first innings lead against Orissa and Delhi in the first two matches, will be looking for a solid start from openers T. Suman and D. B. Ravi Teja. “The pitch looks good and the ball seems to carry with some bounce,†said coach Kanwaljit Singh after the training session. “We are pleased with the way things have gone for us so far. We will continue to look for the collective effort from the boys,†he said. With hard-hitting all-rounder Amol Shinde likely to recover after missing the previous game with a twisted ankle, Hyderabad will finalise its playing eleven only tomorrow. With fast bowlers M. P. Shoaib, M. P. Arjun and Ashwin Yadav expected to provide the early breakthroughs, the spinners — left-armer A. Lalith Mohan and Ahmed Quadri — should rise to the expectations. In batting, the team may look to experienced Arjun Yadav and aggressive Ravi Teja. Gujarat coach Ashok Patel feels that his team has a long batting order which should come good on a “perfect batting†strip. “It is important to forget what happened in the previous match (when Gujarat was bowled out for a miserable 44 against Mumbai to suffer an innings defeat) and look for the job on hand,†was his advice to his players. The teams (from): Hyderabad: N. Arjun Yadav (capt.), D. B. Ravi Teja, T. Suman, D. Rushiraj, Abhinav Kumar (wk), M P. Arjun, Amol Shinde, M.P. Shoaib, Ashwin Yadav, A. Lalith Mohan, Vishal Sharma, P. Akshath Reddy, Ahmed Quadri and Vijay Goud. Coach: Kanwaljit Singh. Manager: Chitti Sridhar. Gujarat: Parthiv Patel (capt.), Neeraj Patel (vice-capt.), Nilesh Modi, Priyank Panchal, Bhavik Thakur, Sunny Patel, Digant Popat, Rajesh Tabiar, Timil Patel, Mohnish Parmar, Anupam Patel, Siddarth Trivedi, Ashraf Mokda, Amit Singh and Eswar Choudhary. Chief coach: Ashok Patel.

[cricketman]

Expecting a Dravid double here. Hopefully.

[ludhianvi]

Some good matchups in the third round : Mumbai vs Delhi UP vs TN Punjab vs Saurashtra It will be interesting to note the performance of Pujara as he'll face a relatively sterner bowling attack. With the exodus of as many as 12 players from the Punjab team to the ICL, Punjab has a relatively young team with an average age of only about 23.

[Guest HariSampath]

Expecting a Dravid double here. Hopefully.

sorry dude....Dravid got a pathetic 39 off 95 balls....after playing 34 overs against an Andhra attack...

[h4te]

Ranji scores, live anywhere? are ranji scores updated live, or atleast by session anywhere? cricinfo only reports at the end of each day. :((