Holysmoke Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 No puhhleeez... :(( We need Zak and Sach to preserve their bodies for the Kiwi tour. :hysterical: Jo darr gaya, samjho mar gaya :haha: Link to comment
Holysmoke Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 sentiment = man lives for cricket reality = his body can take only soo much cricket We're not playing Pak series. That would've been sh!tloads of more cricket. Link to comment
Mr. Wicket Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 sentiment = man lives for cricket reality = his body can take only soo much cricket yes, but Ranji cricket does not have the same intensity/demand as a test match or even a few ODIs. Besides, this could mean greatness. Tendulkar very rarely gets to play for Bombay... but when he does he produces absolute magic. Remember the epic innings v. Tamil Nadu? Link to comment
Guest BossBhai Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 -- Removed on request of the user -- Link to comment
Ram Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 Come on guys, we really need to preserve him as much as we can. Its obvious; The lesser the cricket he plays === Better test form. Link to comment
Mr. Wicket Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 well, that's the more famous one. the semi final innings v. TN from 00 is much less known - SRT in the past has expressed that it's one of his favourite knocks, and reports from people who've seen that say it is one of THE great knocks. Pulled Mumbai from the brink, turned around an impossible situation and produced a completely unexpected first innings lead shepherding the tail, and making it one of the most miraculous comeback wins in Mumbai history. Link to comment
Mr. Wicket Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 methinks Sriram is bearing mental scars from this... http://usa.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1999-2000/IND_LOCAL/RANJI/KNOCK-OUTS/BOM_TN_RJI-SEMI2_11-15APR2000.html - and just is terrified of the prospect of what could happen if TN faces SRT again :--D Link to comment
Ram Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 methinks Sriram is bearing mental scars from this... http://usa.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1999-2000/IND_LOCAL/RANJI/KNOCK-OUTS/BOM_TN_RJI-SEMI2_11-15APR2000.html - and just is terrified of the prospect of what could happen if TN faces SRT again :--D The only mental scars that I still carry are those of me getting up at 3 A.M in the morning, only to see India being dismissed for paltry totals and some VERY average Kiwi teams pulling a fast one over us, in their conditions. :(( I am desperate, absolutely DESPERATE, to see us win there this time. And if it means putting Sachin’s and the rest of our quicks’ bodies in deep-freeze till that tour, so be it. :D Link to comment
Chandan Posted December 17, 2008 Author Share Posted December 17, 2008 It'll be terrific if Sachin gets to play even in the final of Ranji, if Mumbai reaches there that is. I think I should do the round up of VIth round. I'll try at least. ROUND VI, DAY 1 Ranji Trophy Super League, 6th round, 1st day Orissa vs Mumbai, Day 1 at Cuttack Kulkarni buoys Mumbai with all-round effort Cricinfo staff December 12, 2008 Orissa 3 for 3 (Kulkarni 2-3) trail Mumbai 180 (Samant 46, B Mohanty 5-50, DS Mohanty 3-28) by 177 runs Scorecard Dhawal Kulkarni's splendid run continued in the first season in the Ranji Trophy © Cricinfo Ltd Dhawal Kulkarni's late fightback with the bat and early strikes with the ball revived Mumbai after the visitors started poorly at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack. After captain Wasim Jaffer took a brave decision of batting first on a green top, Mumbai fell prey to the Mohantys - Debasis and Basanth - who snared eight wickets, with Basanth taking five. They slumped to 22 for 3, before Amol Muzumdar and wicketkeeper Vinayak Samant steadied the innings. They pushed the score to 110, but the Mohantys struck again. Muzumdar, Samant and Rohit Sharma were dismissed in successive overs by Basanth, and they were down to 145 for 8 after Debasis removed Vinayak Mane and Ankeet Chavan. Kulkarni then scored 26 at No. 10 to boost his team to 180, but offspinner Niranjan Behera - the seventh bowler to be used by Orissa - took the final two wickets quickly to end the innings. In his first season in the Ranji Trophy, Kulkarni has made it a habit to strike in his first over of an innings - he has done it five times so far. The sixth took place in Cuttack, with Orissa's openers - Bikas Pati and Behera - out for ducks. Kulkarni's new-ball partner Kshemal Waingankar followed suit, striking with his second ball to leave the hosts in a precarious position overnight. Another POV Kulkarni takes two wickets as Orissa crashes Gautam Sheth Saturday, December 13, 2008 03:09 IST MUMBAI: Dhaval Kulkarni continued to impress, taking two wickets in his and innings’ first over as Orissa crashed to an incredible 3/3 after restricting Mumbai to a paltry 180 on an eventful Day I of the Ranji Trophy Super League Group A match at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Friday. Mumbai’s poor total was mainly due to some splendid bowling by Orissa pace duo Basanth Mohanty and Debashis Mohanty. Mumbai skipper Wasim Jaffer took a brave decision of batting first on a green top. The gamble didn’t pay off as in the second over of the Mumbai innings, Sahil Kukreja became Basanth’s first victim. One-down Ajinkya Rahane tried to stitch a partnership with Jaffer but Debashish had him caught by skipper SS Das and Mumbai were 20 for two. Two runs later, Basanth struck again and Jaffer was caught in front with the scorecard reading a miserable 22 for three in just 9.4 overs. Seasoned campaigner Amol Muzumdar paired up with Vinayak Samant to compile a slow but steady 88-run partnership. Basanth struck once again and ended the partnership, getting Muzumdar caught behind. He cleaned up Samant in his next over. It was not over for Basanth as he got Rohit Sharma caught behind for six. Mumbai were reeling at 118 for six. Vinayak Mane, who opened in the last game against Hyderabad, came at five down. Baroda vs Tamil Nadu, Day1 at Vadodara Baroda 124 for 5 (YK Pathan 31*, Amarnath 3-39) lead Tamil Nadu 117 (Veragi 5-24, Argal 3-39) by seven runs Scorecard There was no Irfan Pathan, but Baroda's medium-pacers dismissed Tamil Nadu for 117 on the first day at the Moti Bagh Stadium to boosts their team's chances of making it to the semi-finals. A tough tie was in the offing for the fifth-placed team - the top three make it to the quarter-finals - against the Group B leaders; however, Salim Veragi and Ajitesh Argal skittled out Tamil Nadu, who chose to bat, for a low score on a lively track to give their team the advantage. The last three wickets for the visitors fell without any runs being added - a hat-trick for Veragi, who completed his maiden five-for in first-class cricket. Three quick strikes from P Amarnath brought Tamil Nadu right back into the contest. Baroda were in trouble at 67 for 5, and things could have been worse if Tamil Nadu captain Dinesh Karthik had hung on to a catch off Pinal Shah with the score at 93. Shah made the most of that drop and added an unbroken 57-run stand with Yusuf Pathan to give Baroda the first-innings lead. Another POV Bowlers call the shots : TN in trouble Special Correspondent Baroda: Tamil Nadu shot back, after being bowled out for 117, to keep Baroda within striking distance at 124 for five in the first innings at close on day one of the four-day Ranji Elite Group ‘B’ league match. Palani Amarnath sowed doubts in batsmen’s minds, mixing outswingers with balls jagging back on a Motibaug wicket offering bounce and lift right through the day. There was no devil in the pitch, as the compact Connor Williams (31 off 88 balls) and the free-stroking Arun Karthik (26 off 57 balls) showed the virtue of patience and shot selection. The two batsmen were the exceptions. The former played close to the body and punished bowlers erring in length. The latter picked the line early and found the fence regularly. Laxmipathy Balaji provided the early breakthrough, scalping Parab while Amarnath removed Williams, Bilakhia and Solanki. Yusuf Pathan (31 n.o., 53 balls, two fours) and Pinal Shah (22 n.o.) were at the crease. Irfan pulls out Earlier, left-arm spinner Rajesh Pawar replaced Irfan Pathan, who pulled out citing stiff joints. In keeping with coach Paras Mhambrey’s policy of giving youth a chance to gain first-class experience, Salim Veragi and Ajitesh Argal (three for 39) operated with the new ball on a lively track. Veragi (five for 24) and Argal (three for 39) justified their selection with the latter helping himself to a hat-trick against the tailenders. Saurashtra vs Delhi, Day 1 at Rajkot Saurashtra 234 for 9 (Chauhan 61, Jadeja 56, Awana 4-57) v Delhi Scorecard Medium-pacer Parvinder Awana took four wickets, and was involved in the run-out of Cheteshwar Pujara, the leading run-getter in the tournament this season, as Delhi restricted Saurashtra to 234 for 9 on the first day at the Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground in Rajkot. Delhi desperately need a win to catch up with the leading pack of Mumbai, Saurashtra and Gujarat, and their bowlers did well after the hosts chose to bat. When Pujara fell, Saurashtra were at 73 for 3. Bhushan Chauhan and Ravindra Jadeja doubled that score, but legspinner Chetanya Nanda struck to break the partnership. Chauhan scored 61 off 153 balls, and Jadeja was removed for 56 by Awana soon after. With Saurashtra's last pair standing, Awana will fancy his chances of grabbing his maiden five-for. Another POV DELHI DELIGHT : Awana on the mark It might not be all over, after all. With their backs against the wall, and quarterfinal hopes hinging on this match, Delhi produced the perfect riposte to gain an invaluable upper hand against Saurashtra. The bowlers have been the only ones in the Delhi team to emerge out of this season with some credit, and on Friday they showed why. Up against an in-form Saurashtra lineup on a batting track, the odds were well and truly stacked against Delhi’s inexperienced attack. But they fought valiantly to reduce the hosts to 234/9 at stumps. Saurashtra skipper Jaydev Shah had no doubt in opting to bat. Openers Chirag Pathak and Bhushan Chauhan started cautiously. The pace duo of Sumit Narwal and Pradeep Sangwan was getting the ball to move rather sharply off the wicket, and Pathak (15) was the first to fall prey to this concerted pressure. They call him the Harolla Express. Always quick but mostly haywire, he used to be banished from all his village Cricket matches for inflicting serious injuries to batsmen with short-pitched deliveries. Parvinder Awana has made rapid strides in a short but eventful career — from a finalist in a speedster hunt to a hat-trick last year — but this season, his bowling has progressed from intuitive to intelligent. On a good wicket for batting, Awana held his pace back and bowled the right lengths to pick up four wickets in 19 overs to keep Saurashtra’s much-vaunted batting line-up down to 234 for nine on the first day of Delhi’s must-win Ranji Trophy match. Despite most of their batsmen being among the runs this season, Saurashtra, in effect, look to Sitanshu Kotak and Cheteshwar Pujara for the runs. Two batsmen who are almost the antithesis of the other, Kotak and Pujara have been instrumental in guiding Saurashtra from Plate League obscurity to the light of the Super League. Neither, however, could stop the Delhi charge. After two early wickets, the loud cheers to welcome Cheteshwar Pujara were replaced by a lull 58 minutes later, as he was run out for 15 after a misunderstanding with non-striker Bhushan Chauhan. Kotak was gobbled up at slip by Shikhar Dhawan off the impressive Parwinder Awana for 3. Saurashtra were struggling at 73/3 when Ravindra Jadeja joined Chauhan. With the danger-man gone, Chauhan and Ravinder Jadeja put on 81 runs for the fourth wicket. Delhi’s bowlers, however, did not give up the fight. Relentless in their attack, they kept coming at the batsmen, making them earn their runs. Finally, leggie Chetnya Nanda got the vital breakthrough when he had Chauhan (61) playing for the turn only to be caught plumb in front. And things tilted in favour of the visitors as Jadeja played on and skipper Jaydev Shah nicked one to the keeper, both off Awana. With the end in sight, Chopra took the second new ball after 82.3 overs and Awana quickly accounted for Sandeep Jobanputra. Last-man Balakrishna Jadeja survived some anxious moments alongside Kamlesh Makwana, but Delhi will be wary of rejoicing just yet. It’s the batsmen who have been flunking the test so far, and they can’t afford another slip-up in the race for qualification. Hyderabad vs Punjab, Day 1 at Hyderabad Hyderabad 246 for 7 (Suman 131, Shinde 57, Ladda 4-51) v Punjab Scorecard Opener TS Suman's century gave Hyderabad a solid start in their Group A match against Punjab, but a late fightback from the visitors had the game evenly poised at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Suman, who was lucky to see an edge dropped in the slips when on 6, got support from No. 5 Amol Shinde, who chipped in with a 57. Suman's cover-drives and pulls were the stand-out strokes and his placement and shot selection was also spot-on. However, his dismissal for 131 triggered a collapse, with four wickets falling for 26 runs. Legspinner Sarabjit Ladda took 4 for 51 - his second four-wicket haul in six first-class matches. Another POV Suman hits belligerent century WELL DONE: Hyderabad opener T. Suman acknowledges his maiden Ranji Trophy century. HYDERABAD: T. Suman batted to his potential to score a belligerent, maiden century (131, 303 minutes, 224 balls, 18 x 4, 4 x 6) and help Hyderabad score 246 for seven at close on the first day against Punjab in the four-day Ranji Trophy Elite Group ‘A’ match at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium (Uppal) here on Friday. The 24-year-old opener thrived on a dropped chance in the slip cordon off Manpreet Singh Gony when he was on six and the team score read 18 for one. Combining authority with wonderful placement, Suman unleashed some of his trademark strokes — walking into the cover-drives and standing up to pull nonchalantly. Significantly, he displayed patience and stroke selection on Friday to stay longer at the crease. The fast bowlers Amanpreet Singh and Gony were treated with disdain by Suman, despite losing partner D.B. Ravi Teja (4) cheaply, poking at an outswinger from Amanpreet. Sarabjit shines The impressive leg-spinner Sarabjit Singh struck the second blow when southpaw Anoop Pai misread a googly to be plumb in front on the backfoot shuffle. Sarabjit repeatedly harrassed the batsmen with his teasing line and length and mixed his googlies pretty effectively. He foxed captain N. Arjun Yadav to lean forward for a defensive push only to be caught behind smartly by Uday Kaul. At the other end, Suman continued to play some amazing strokes and punished the erring spinners – Sarabjit Singh and left-armer Varun Khanna — by hitting them for four big sixes. Big partnership During the 134-run stand for the fourth wicket between Suman and the gritty Amol Shinde (57, 236 minutes, 177 balls, 6 x 4), it looked Hyderabad was on course for a big score. Suman was lucky to survive another chance at 64 when his uppish off-drive was floored at cover off Sarabjit. Suman completed his maiden Ranji century by onn-driving and leaning into an exquisite cover-drive off Amanpreet in one over. And once Suman departed, going for a big hit only to see Ravi Inder Singh jump in the air just in time to pluck a difficult catch off Sarabjit, Punjab fought its way back into the game. Shinde was run-out trying to steal a non-existent leg-bye even as the bowler Amanpreet was appealing for a lbw decision. Ravi Inder’s diving throw, running in from gully, left Shinde stranded at the striker’s end. Sarabjit Singh finished the day with a four-wicket haul. Maharashtra vs Railways, Day 1 at Ratnagiri Maharashtra 13 for 1 trail Railways 212 (Goud 75, Sanyal 70, Fallah 5-49) by 199 runs Scorecard Railways, who are still in the reckoning for a quarter-final place from Group B, were one of four teams to be dismissed on the first day in the sixth round of matches. Left-armer Samad Fallah took five, and he was well supported by fellow medium-pacers Mun Mangela and Aditya Dole as Railways were dismissed for 212. Railways, who were asked to bat by the hosts in Nasik, were propped up by seventies from Yere Goud, who recently played his 100th Ranji Trophy game, and Sanjib Sanyal. Wickets, though, tumbled at the start and end of their innings: the last six crashed in the space of 25 runs. Railways got one breakthrough, that of Rohan Bhosale, before close, and will look to dismiss Maharashtra cheaply on the second day. Gujarat vs Rajasthan, Day 1 at Jaipur Gujarat 111 for 3 (NK Patel 51*) trail Rajasthan 136 (Singh 4-31, Trivedi 3-27) by 25 runs Scorecard It was another dismal batting performance from Rajasthan in Jaipur. They were bundled out for 136, and an unbeaten half-century from Niraj Patel put Gujarat on course to take the first-innings lead. Gujarat captain Parthiv Patel decided to let his bowlers make first use of the pitch, and the move paid off. Rajasthan managed to survive 14.1 over without losing a wicket, but Gujarat's bowlers chipped away once the first breakthrough was achieved. Only four batsmen made it to double-figures, with opener Vineet Saxena top scoring with 39. Medium-pacers Amit Singh and Siddharth Trivedi shared seven wickets between them, and part-timer Priyank Kirit Panchal chipped in with two in five overs. Gujarat were reduced to 58 for 3 in reply, but Niraj and Bhavik Thaker, Gujarat's leading run-getter this season, ensured they lost no more wickets before stumps. Another POV Singh, Trivedi put Gujarat in command Jaipur: Fine bowling display by Amit Singh (4 for 31) and Sidhartha Trivedi (3 for 26) and an unbeaten half century by Neeraj Patel (51 not out) helped Gujarat take a commanding position against Rajasthan in their Ranji Super League match here on Friday. Put in to bat on a grassy wicket which also had uneven bounce at least in the morning session, the hosts struggled to cope with the fiery Gujarat bowlers and were bundled out for a paltry 136 at the KL Saini stadium at Mansarovar. Openers Vineet Saxena (39) and Manish Sharma (16) did show courage but the middle order including skipper Venugopal Rao (6) failed yet again. Pankaj Singh (18) and Mohammad Aslam (14) in the lower order threw their bat around to add some precious runs and helped Rajasthan reach 136. In reply, Gujarat lost Nilesh Kumar Modi (2) early in their innings but ended the day on 113 for three. When Rajasthan got rid of Priyank Panchal (17) and Parthiv Patel (6), Gujarat were in a spot of bother but Neeraj Patel (51 not out) and Bhavik Thaker (22 not out) added 53 runs for their unbeaten partnership for the fourth wicket to propel Gujarat to a strong position. A couple of dropped catches too added to Rajasthan's woes. Neeraj was let off when Vineet Saxena could not grab a half chance at the slips off Shailendra Gehlot. Neeraj was on 27 and team total on 58 at that time. Karnataka vs UP, Day 1 at Bangalore Karnataka 277 for 6 (Uthappa 65, Raghu 64, Chawla 2-59, Praveen 2-61) v Uttar Pradesh Scorecard Honours even on day one Sidharth Monga at the Chinnaswamy Stadium December 12, 2008 Robin Uthappa top-scored for Karnataka with 65, of which 52 came in boundaries © Nishant Ratnakar/ Bangalore Mirror One hundred and thirteen: That was the tangible cost of the chances Uttar Pradesh missed on a day in which they failed to hold on to three of the seven catches that came their way. But while UP fielders were intent on letting Karnataka run away with the game, the hosts were in benevolent mood too: some unnecessary shots let UP back in, two of them by the openers who were both dropped during their pieces. Whereupon UP pulled the plug on the scoring, and slowly made their way back to the end the first day on even terms, despite a half-century from the third beneficiary, C Raghu. On a batting beauty, UP would have expected better from their star fielding line-up having put Karnataka in. They were perhaps looking for an outright win, which would allow them to breathe easy during the next round when they won't be playing. Their progress this season, however, will depend on other results in Group B. RP Singh and Bhuvneshwar Kumar opened the bowling, but did not get much help from the pitch. The odd delivery swung - especially one from RP which prompted a loud lbw appeal against Robin Uthappa - but by and large it was a comfortable opening spell for the batsmen. CP Gautam, on debut replacing KB Pawan who failed recover from his shoulder injury, glanced the day's first boundary in the second over. Uthappa kept RP interested, playing and missing twice in the fifth over. Those two breaks in concentration, however, were followed by a flicked boundary as Karnataka reached 44 without loss. Praveen Kumar's introduction paid off almost immediately as Gautam slashed at a wide one, edging it hard and high to gully, where Shivakant Shukla let the ball go through his hands. In Praveen's next over, Uthappa played at a wide delivery in the same direction, and Shukla managed to get his hands to this one, before again spilling it. Their respective scores were 18 and 29 then. Uthappa immediately shifted a gear and went on the aggressive. There was the odd loose shot, but also fluent flicks and hard drives through cover. Two overs from RP, back for a second spell, neatly summed up the hit-and-miss nature of Uthappa's innings. The batsman first went for a big drive, missing it completely, but managed to flick the next ball through midwicket. In the next over he went an aerial, though ended up hoicking it just over mid-off. Two balls later he steered through third man to bring up his half-century, off 60 balls with 10 boundaries. Just when all was going well for Karnataka, however, Gautam handed UP another chance, similar to the one he had offered before. The bowler was Praveen, the shot similar, but the gully fielder had changed. Tanmay Srivastava held on to the sharp low offering, the total on 98 in only the 21st over. Four balls later, Uthappa tried one shot too many, and edged a short and wide delivery from RP to bring two new batsmen at the crease. Uthappa's 65 came off 69 deliveries, 52 of them in boundaries. Praveen and RP then seized the opening, and bowled with heart and accuracy. Deepak Chougule and Raghu were examined thoroughly, with bouncers, cutters, and the little swing the two bowlers could muster. The next eight overs featured plays and misses, hits on the body, an edge short of slips and one through them, and only five runs. The pressure told as Raghu, in the first over of Bhuvneshwar's new spell, edged only for Mohammad Kaif to spill a low chance at first slip. Raghu was yet to open his account. Finally, off the 24th ball he faced, he got off the mark and slowly but surely, together with Chougule, got his side out of strife. Just before the partnership could really threaten, Choughule swept all over a Piyush Chawla delivery, and was out lbw. Karnataka promoted Thilak Naidu ahead of Manish Pandey, and from 135 for 3, Raghu and Naidu made UP work really hard through the afternoon. While Naidu played a subdued knock, choosing to leave balls outside off stump, Raghu looked solid after the early reprieve, hitting some wonderful boundaries. To counter the hint of reverse from Bhuvneshwar, Raghu repeatedly walked down the track, playing and missing at a couple just before tea, eventually reaching a well-made half-century off 122 balls. However, against the run of play, Naidu hit Praveen Gupta straight to Suresh Raina at cover, as UP went in to the tea break confident. Just after tea, Raghu followed Naidu into the pavilion, falling lbw to Chawla. After a 78-run partnership two wickets had fallen for three runs, and for the second time in the day UP threatened to storm back into the match, but Manish Pandey made a Raghu-like start, thwarting another UP comeback and restoring balance to the match. He got his first run off the 22nd ball he faced, accelerated thereupon, using his half-sweep-half-push to good effect. Minutes before stumps, the final balancing act of the day was enacted with Pandey chasing a wide delivery from Praveen. While the Karnataka batsmen didn't really look the gift horse in its mouth, they weren't entirely the thankless hosts either. Link to comment
zubinpepsi Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 isnt this all old news.. all the matches got over 2 days ago... Link to comment
Chandan Posted December 17, 2008 Author Share Posted December 17, 2008 isnt this all old news.. all the matches got over 2 days ago... It is for those who are interested in knowing the detailed reports, not just the scorecards which are available on cricinfo anyway! Link to comment
zubinpepsi Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 ^^ aww ok.. Thanks.. Link to comment
rkt.india Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 hello anyone got the video of Atul sharma which Ian Pont mentioned? Link to comment
Chandan Posted December 17, 2008 Author Share Posted December 17, 2008 ROUND VI, DAY 2 Ranji Trophy Super League, 6th round, 2nd day Orissa vs Mumbai, Day 2 at Cuttack Mumbai 180 and 133 for 1 (Rahane 75, Kukreja 53) lead Orissa 108 (H Das 62*, Kulkarni 5-27, Waingankar 2-10) by 205 runs Scorecard At the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, Group A toppers Mumbai finished the second day with a tight grip on their match against Orissa. Dhawal Kulkarni took his third five-for of the season as Orissa, starting at a precarious 3 for 3, were skittled out for 108. The visitors' top order then extended the 72-run first-innings lead to over 200, with Sahil Kukreja and Ajinkya Rahane scoring unbeaten half-centuries. Kulkarni's effort was backed up by two-wicket hauls from Kshemal Waingankar and Rahil Shaikh, but Mumbai should have got a lead of around 150. They had Orissa at 26 for 8, but wicketkeeper Halhadar Das' unbeaten 62, well supported by Basanth Mohanty's 27, ensured the hosts got past the 100-mark. Waingankar finally had Mohanty caught behind; for Orissa, captain Shiv Sunder Das, who injured himself on the first day, did not bat. Vinayak Mane fell for a duck but Kukreja and Rahane took Mumbai to 133 for 1 in 46 overs. Kukreja made 53 off 165, while Rahane scored 75 off 98. Another POV Mumbai bounce back at Barabati Gautam Sheth Sunday, December 14, 2008 03:18 IST Kulkarni takes a fiver as Orissa bowled out for 108 MUMBAI: In a comeback of sorts, visitors Mumbai came down hard on Orissa as they shot down the hosts for 108 runs, taking a crucial 72 runs lead in the first innings of their Ranji Super League match at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Saturday. The visitors made amends for their first innings by posting respectable 133-1. Going into Day Three, Mumbai enjoy an overall lead of 205 runs. The lead could have been bigger if not for a 82-run partnership between Halhadar Das and Basanth Mohanty. They took Orissa from a hopeless 26-8 to 108. Dhawal Kulkarni was the wrecker-in-chief for Orissa as the pacer recorded his his third five-wicket haul of the season. Ajinkya Rahane complimented the bowling effort by scoring an unbeaten 75. After reducing Orissa to 3-3 at stumps on Day One, it got worse on Day 2 as they crumbled to 26-8. The top eight batsmen dismissed could only manage 11 runs from the bat, five of them could not even open their account. Kulkarni started the Day Two carnage by bowling S Biswal on the second ball of his first over for a duck. The scorecard looked a miserable 4-3. Four overs later P Jayachandra became Kulkarni’s fourth victim. PM Mullick too could not stand Kulkarni’s fiery spell. He was Kulkarni’s 31st victim of the season. Halhadar Das provided the resistance. He had an able partner in No 9 Basanth Mohanty and together they stitched together a useful partnership. Das was flamboyant in his approach knowing he had nothing to lose. He scored his runs (62) at a quick pace with the help of seven boundaries and two sixes. Their partnership lasted for almost 20 overs before Kshemal Waingankar got his second wicket having Mohanty caught behind. Baroda vs Tamil Nadu, Day 2 at Vadodara Tamil Nadu 117 and 301 for 3 (Karthik 111*, Prasanna 92) lead Baroda 166 (YK Pathan 35, Amarnath 5-60) by 252 runs Scorecard Tamil Nadu seize advantage with quick turnaround Cricinfo staff December 13, 2008 Dinesh Karthik scored an unbeaten ton as Tamil Nadu took the upper hand in Vadodara © AFP Tamil Nadu, the Group B leaders, staged a fine comeback on the second day of their match against Baroda at the Moti Bagh Stadium. Shot out for 117 in their first innings, the visitors kept Baroda, who began the day on 124 for 5, to 166. The TN batsmen then seized the advantage by briskly piling 301 for 3 in their second innings by stumps. For Baroda to build a significant lead, Yusuf Pathan was the key, but L Balaji dismissed him early. Pinal Shah and Swapnil Singh added 30 for the seventh wicket before P Amarnath trapped Swapnil for his fourth wicket of the innings. In the same over, Amarnath completed his second five-for, and eight runs later offspinner R Ashwin ended the innings. TN's openers wiped out the first-innings deficit. However, both Arun Karthik and Abhinav Mukund were dismissed in the 16th over. Baroda, though, had to wait another 200 runs for the next wicket as R Prasanna and captain Dinesh Karthik put TN in the ascendancy. Prasanna fell eight short of his century. He hit 14 fours, so did Karthik in his unbeaten 111 - which came at a strike-rate of 76.55 - as his team closed the day firmly in command. Another POV Tamil Nadu moves into a strong position BARODA: Captain Dinesh Karthik’s unbeaten century and his third-wicket stand of 200 with R. Prasanna (92) ensured that Tamil Nadu moved into a dominant position at 301 for three at close on day two of its Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match against Baroda on Saturday. Karthik (111, 145b, 228m, 16 x 4) first broke free from the shackles imposed by strike bowler Rajesh Pawar, and then used the reverse sweep to taunt off-spinner Yusuf Pathan. Tamil Nadu is now 252 runs ahead in the second innings. Baroda, bowled out for 166 earlier for a 49-runs first innings lead, now has two days to break down TN’s resistance. The game swung the visitors’ way due to a patient opening wicket stand of 64 from Arun Karthik and Abhinav Mukund. Pawar strikes Baroda captain Connor Williams opted for Pawar to make things happen. The left-arm spinner responded with Arun Karthik’s wicket while his partner Mukund was run-out four balls later. Earlier in the day, Amarnath yanked the visitor back on track, claiming five for 60 to restrict the home team’s ambitions. He was well supported by C. Ganapathy, L. Balaji and R. Ashwin. Saurashtra vs Delhi, Day 2 at Rajkot Delhi 215 for 2 (Dhawan 83*, Kohli 69, Chopra 58) trail Saurashtra 241 (Chauhan 61, Jadeja 56, Awana 5-60) by 26 runs Scorecard Delhi raced towards a first-innings lead with their top three batsmen scoring half-centuries after Saurashtra were bowled out for 241 on the second day in Rajkot. Medium-pacer Parvinder Awana picked up the final Saurashtra wicket in the fourth over of the day to get his maiden five-wicket haul. Aakash Chopra and Shikhar Dhawan then dominated the proceedings by adding 96 for the first wicket. Chopra was caught off Rakesh Dhruv for a 132-ball 58 but his dismissal did not slow down Delhi. Virat Kohli and Dhawan added 112 together at more than three runs an over before Kohli was run out by Cheteshwar Pujara late in the day. Kohli went after Dhruv, cutting him for two fours to third man and pulling him to midwicket. He also hit the ball over mid-on and then jumped out of the crease to lift it over the sight-screen. At stumps, Dhawan was unbeaten on 83 off 235 balls, an innings that included six boundaries. Another POV Delhi lay the foundation DELHI’S woes have largely been the result of their batsmen failing to score big. While the bowlers have held their own, the batsmen have fallen short. On Saturday, however, they came with vengeance. Taking 18 minutes, seven runs and 3.3 overs on Saturday morning, Parvinder Awana got his first five-wicket haul as the last set of Saurashtra batsmen went out. Once Parwinder Awana removed Balkrishna Jadeja in his second over of the day to grab a fiver and end the Saurashtra innings at 241, the responsibility of seizing control lay squarely on the batsmen. For once, they answered their team’s call. A strong foundation stone for Delhi’s progress, at last, has been laid to build a big score, but the challenges towards the *** end of the season have altered a bit — it’s now about completing pending projects within the four-day deadline. At 215 for two, Delhi showed the will through 84 overs on the second day of their Ranji Trophy match against Saurashtra’s first innings score of 241. But the visitors will need a radical jump in their scoring rate and work out the precise moment of declaration for an outright win within the 180 remaining overs. Openers Aakash Chopra and Shikhar Dhawan have not been at the top of their game this season. A pale shadow of the destructive pair they had formed last season, it was imperative for the two to spend time in the middle and get their feet moving. The skipper and his deputy played and missed plenty against the left-arm pair of Sandeep Jobanputra and Balkrishna Jadeja, but suppressed their hunger for shots till lunch. Scoring at just two runs an over, the pair took time to build a partnership. Finding the boundaries hard to come by, despite the healthy number of loose deliveries from the bowlers, Chopra and Dhawan stuck to singles. The duo managed only 56 runs in 26 overs before lunch. After lunch, with their eye in, they began to find the runs with relative ease. The two had put on 96 when Chopra (58) edged Rakesh Dhruv to slip. It has not been an easy season for Dhawan. He broke his thumb while with India, was dropped from Delhi’s last match and has been in the midst of a slump in form. An attacking batsman, Dhawan had to work extra hard here. Once he had grafted his way to a halfcentury, the crisp cover drives and ferocious cuts were back and so was the confidence. Kohli punishes Virat Kohli scored a boundary off just his second ball and went on to make use of every loose ball that leaked from the otherwise tight bowling of Kamlesh Makhwana and Dhruv. Kohli got to his fifty in just 85 balls, with a straight six off Dhruv, but was unfortunately declared run out on 69 by umpire Umesh Sood to a direct throw from Cheteshwar Pujara at point even though the replays suggested otherwise. Kohli was disappointed, more so as he was unable to take advantage of three dropped catches — Bhushan Chauhan dropped him on 35 and 67 at covers and point, respectively off Dhruv, and Kotak couldn’t react to an edge at slip off Makhwana when he was on 38. Kohli’s second-wicket partnership with Dhawan was worth 112 runs. Through the entire course, Dhawan played an uncharacteristic innings of 83 from 235 balls and he went further into the shell after his half-century as he approached his first three-figure mark of the season with just six boundaries. On Sunday, Dhawan’s progress to his century against the second new ball, and Delhi’s approach would relate an interesting opening session. Hyderabad vs Punjab, Day 2 at Hyderabad Punjab 150 for 6 (Goel 44, Shanker 2-31) trail Hyderabad 335 (Suman 131, Qadri 80, Shinde 57, Ladda 4-72, Gony 3-91) by 185 runs Scorecard Hyderabad are likely to gain a first-innings lead over Punjab, who lost six wickets for 150 runs in reply to the hosts' 335. At the start of the day, Punjab may have felt their task would have been easy, needing only three wickets to bowl out Hyderabad, who resumed on 246. With two wickets in the first 12 overs of the day, it looked like advantage Punjab with Hyderabad were in danger of being bowled out under 300. But Syed Qadri and Shiv Shanker frustrated the visitors for 12.1 overs and added 51 for the tenth wicket. Shanker batted for nearly an hour for his 7, while Qadri spent more than two hours for his 80. He pulled Amanpreet Singh for four and lofted legspinner Sarabjit Singh for six over long-on. Punjab started solidly in reply, reaching 78 for 1 before they lost three wickets for 23 in the next ten overs. Uday Kaul and Amit Kakkar added 46 runs before Kakkar and new batsman Varun Khanna fell in successive overs. Another POV Quadri is Hyderabad’s hero Principal Correspondent HYDERABAD: The diminutive Ahmed Quadri turned out to be the unexpected hero of the second day for Hyderabad as it seized the initiative first by scoring 335 and then restricting Punjab to 150 for six at close in the four-day Ranji Trophy Elite Group ‘A’ match at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium (Uppal) here on Saturday. Growing in confidence with each match, the 26-year-old Quadri came up with a splendid knock (80, 170min, 127b, 9x4, 1x6) farming the strike impressively batting with the tail. In great form Quadri, who has hit a century and a half-century this season, played a crucial innings. He scored 62 of his runs today and in style too. Quadri rocked back onto the backfoot to pull fast bowler Amanpreet Singh to the fence and then lofted leg-spinner Sarabjit Singh over long-on for a huge six. Thanks to his knock, Hyderabad has posted what could turn out to be a match-winning total. Maharashtra vs Railways, Day 2 at Ratnagiri Railways 212 and 48 for 0 lead Maharashtra 244 (Shrikhande 113, Jadhav 41, Sanyal 4-26, Harvinder Singh 3-48) by 16 runs Scorecard Railways' quest for a quarter-final place was jolted by their failure to get the first-innings lead, but they still have a chance of pushing for victory in Ratnagiri. Maharashtra took a slender 32-run lead thanks to Ameya Shrikhande's 113, but the Railways openers, Sanjay Bangar and V Cheluvaraj, patiently wiped out the deficit before stumps. Resuming on 13 for 1, a 70-run stand between Kedar Jadhav and Shrikhande took Maharashtra to 114 for 2, before Jadhav became the first of four wickets for Sanjib Sanyal. The hosts slipped to 158 for 6 with Sanyal striking two further blows, but Digambar Waghmare gave Shrikhande company as they took their side into the lead. Former India bowler Harvinder Singh then took two wickets, and Sanyal completed his career-best figures - Another POV Shrikhande helps Maharashtra take lead Ratnagiri: Hosts Maharashtra grabbed a slender 32-run lead over Railways in their Ranji Trophy Elite Division Group B tie at the Chatrapati Shivaji Stadium here on Saturday. Replying to the visitors' modest first innings tally of 212, Maharashtra were in a spot of bother at 158 for six before one-down batsman Ameya Shrikhande, who top-scored with 113, and Digambar Waghmare (22) put on a crucial half-century stand to take them past Railways' total. The home team, starting the day at 13 for no loss, were dismissed for 244 in 69.4 overs before Railways finished the second day of the four-day match at 48 without loss with openers Sanjay Bangar (23) and Vairamudi Cheluvaraj (25) at the crease. Maharashtra, struggling at 44 for two, rode on Shrikhande's century and his 70-run stand with an attacking Kedar Jadhav, who made 41 in 61 balls with 10 fours. The 22-year-old Shrikhande, who made his Ranji debut against Karnataka at this ground last year, struck 14 fours and a six in his 274-minute innings to steady the innings after the loss of openers Harshad Khadiwale and Rohan Bhosale with only 44 on the board. A slump saw the home team lose four wickets in a clutch in just over 21 overs before the innings was revived for the second time by the seventh wicket stand of 58 between the century maker and Waghmare. For Railways, right arm medium pacer Sanjib Sanyal was the most successful bowler with four for 26 while Harvinder Singh, who sent back Shrikhande to finish with 3 for 48, and Bangar (2 for 62) did their bit. Gujarat vs Rajasthan, Day 2 at Jaipur Rajasthan 136 and 148 for 7 (Chanwaria 79*, Amit 4-21) lead Gujarat 227 (N Patel 51, Thaker 52, Aslam 4-22) by 57 runs Scorecard Gujarat look set to move up the points table. Amit Singh took his match tally to a career-best eight wickets as Rajasthan stumbled to 148 for 7 in their second innings, a lead of only 57 runs. Bhavik Thaker made 52 and Mohnish Parmar scored a run-a-ball 36 to give Gujarat a first-innings lead of 91. The two were dismissed by left-arm spinner Mohammad Aslam, who took two lower-order wickets to end with 4 for 22. Rajasthan's second innings started off worse than their first - they lost three wickets for 38 runs, including two in successive overs from Amit. Debutant Vinod Chanawaria held on at one end but kept losing partners. Siddharth Trivedi joined the wickets list by removing Rajesh Bishnoi (23) and Vaibhav Deshpande (24). Amit returned to bowl Vikram Singh and Sumit Mathur for ducks and at stumps Chanawaria had No. 9 Pankaj Singh for company. Another POV Rajasthan staring at defeat against Gujarat Despite a fighting unbeaten 79 by debutant Vinod Chanwaria, Rajasthan were staring at yet another humiliating defeat at the close of second day of their Ranji Super League match against Gujarat here on Saturday. The visitors tightened the screw by scoring 227 in their first innings to take a 91-run lead and then marched towards an outright victory by reducing Rajasthan to 148 for 7 in the home team's second innings at close of play on Saturday. Rajasthan are ahead by just 57 runs and only three second innings wickets in hand. Vinod Chanwaria was still holding the fight for Rajasthan with a well-made unbeaten 79. At the other hand Pankaj Singh (2) was giving him company. For Gujarat, Amit Singh (4/21) and Sidartha Trivedi (2/36) again proved too hot to handle by the hosts batsmen. Rajasthan were rocked early by Makda and Amit who generated good pace and bounce to reduce Rajasthan second innings to 38 for 3. Rajesh Bishnoi (23) resisted for a while before Chanwaria and Vaibhav Deshpandey (24) added 82 runs for the fifth wicket. But, thereafter Rajasthan batsmen could not stand up to the visiting bowlers. Earlier, the visitors resumed their first innings at the overnight score of 111 for three and despite losing Neeraj Patel (52) and Digant Popat (9) early reached 227 due mainly to fine efforts by Bhavik Thaker (52) and Mohnish Parmar (36). Veteran left arm spinner Mohammad Aslam (4 for 22) was the pick of Rajasthan bowlers. Sumit Mathur and Shailendra Gehlot scalped two wickets each while Vinod Chanwaria and Pankaj Singh claimed one wicket each. Karnataka vs UP, Day 2 at Bangalore Uttar Pradesh 44 for 1 (Tanmay 29*, Raina 11*, Aiyappa 1-3) trail Karnataka 511 (Akhil 135, Uthappa 65, Joshi 64, Raghu 64, Raina 2-7) by 467 runs Scorecard Akhil and the tail frustrate UP Sidharth Monga at the Chinnaswamy Stadium December 13, 2008 Robin Uthappa top-scored for Karnataka with 65, of which 52 came in boundaries © Nishant Ratnakar/ Bangalore Mirror Karnataka's lower order took full toll of a supremely benign Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch to post in excess of 500; their first 400-plus total of the season. B Akhil scored his maiden first-class century, Sunil Joshi his third half-century in as many matches, and they gave their top order a lesson in not throwing away good starts. UP bowlers toiled for 168.5 overs - at times without inspiration, the second time they have been made to bowl 150 overs in an innings in the last three years, both occasions coming this season. In reply they limped through their 17 overs to 44 for 1, and if they are to overhaul Karnataka's total, they will need to cross 500 for the first time this season. Akhil had not been a part of the Karnataka squad for the first two matches, in which they scored two points. His comeback to the side - on the back of a stupendous first-division season - was considered a big gamble (in his previous 44 matches, his best had been 80). On today's evidence, the gamble seems to be paying off. He had been in for more than an hour by stumps yesterday, having made a patient start for 22. He would have known that on this pitch 500 would be the par score. Joshi had just joined him, with the sixth wicket falling five overs before stumps. The two made a tentative start on the second day: Joshi edged Bhuvneshwar Kumar wide of second slip in the second over of the day, and in the next over Akhil edged RP Singh to just short of Mohammad Kaif at first slip. Both those exchanges fetched Karnataka boundaries and that was the closest UP got to taking a wicket for the next 40 overs. Akhil got the partnership going with a square cut and a leg glance off Bhuvneshwar's successive overs to see him out of the attack. A powerful square cut off RP, played later than an orthodox one so that he could beat the cover-point, took him to within one of 50, which he got with a dab to mid-on later in the over. UP were frustrated by then, and went on to their version of leg theory. They had the medium-pacers bowling into the batsmen's pads with a 6-3 leg-side field. Two of the on-side fielders were mid-range short leg and midwicket. Akhil once managed to thread that gap to increase the frustration, and later cover-drove a wide half-volley to bring an end to the plan. When the spinners were brought on, Joshi got into the act, employing the sweep and the cover drive to good use. One slog-sweep off Piyush Chawla just managed to clear the mid-off, but apart from that his innings was risk-free. His half-century added gloss to what has already been a good season. He has now scored 226 runs and taken 20 wickets in five matches. Kaif brought himself on for a few overs before lunch without effect. If things weren't bad enough for UP, Akhil reverse-lapped Praveen Gupta with ease five minutes before lunch. Just after lunch, though, a bowling change finally worked for UP as Suresh Raina beat Joshi with a straighter delivery from round the stumps. Joshi had scored 64 by then, and with Akhil he had added 135 runs. Akhil continued to get similar support from the new man, Sunil Raju. Soon UP went back to the defensive, bowling outside leg with strong leg-side fields. The only period of contest during the eighth-wicket partnership came when Praveen Kumar gave Raju some short-pitch stuff, and a few verbals. Thilak Naidu shouted from the dressing room advising Raju to not listen to Praveen while the crowd (50 people) got into action every time a bouncer was bowled and Raju survived that play. Akhil slog-swept Gupta over midwicket to reach his century in what was a chanceless innings featuring shots all around the ground. The pitch didn't ask many questions of him, and he didn't get himself into any trouble either. The partnership between Akhil and Raju continued to bloom, but as it approached 100 Raju was beaten by Chawla and caught in front. The next bowling change worked for UP: in the next over Raina found Akhil to be a bit complacent, and got an edge to an attempted cut. He missed 150 by 15 runs, and Karnataka were still 28 short of 500. Some more frustration awaited UP, though, as R Vinay Kumar and NC Aiyappa hit their way to a 39-run partnership. They hit three boundaries each before the second new ball claimed Aiyappa. While Tanmay Srivastava made a positive start to the innings, picking Vinay Kumar off his legs for a first-ball four, Shivakant Shukla's horror match continued. He had dropped two catches yesterday, and took ages to get going with the bat today. After he took 26 balls to get off the mark, he faced four more balls before top-edging a hook to give Aiyappa an easy return catch for his 100th first-class wicket. Raina, the new man, was troubled in the beginning by Raju's offbreaks, and survived a stumping when the third-umpire ruled in his favour while his foot was on the line. He was on 3 then, and hit two beautiful boundaries, one to the last ball of the day. Link to comment
Chandan Posted December 17, 2008 Author Share Posted December 17, 2008 ROUND VI, DAY 3 Ranji Trophy Super League, 6th round, 3rd day Orissa vs Mumbai, Day 3 at Cuttack Mumbai 180 (Samant 46, B Mohanty 5-50, DS Mohanty 3-28) and 361 for 5 dec (Rahane 201, Jaffer 66, Kukreja 53) beat Orissa 108 (H Das 62*, Kulkarni 5-27, Waingankar 2-10) and 118 (Jayachandra 72, Shaikh 3-30) by 315 runs Scorecard Mumbai secure quarter-final spot Mumbai also secured their spot in the final eight with a thumping 315-run win over Orissa at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack. Ajinkya Rahane scored a career-best 201 at a brisk pace - 244 balls - to set Orissa a daunting target of 434. The hosts crumbled for 118 - ten more than their first-innings effort. Mumbai were leading by 205 overnight, and more than doubled that lead in 52.5 overs on the third day. Opener Sahil Kukreja fell on his overnight score of 53, and Rohit Sharma was out for 22, but Rahane found a partner in captain Wasim Jaffer. The duo have been involved in a few big partnerships previously, and they added 173 before Jaffer fell for 66. The declaration came soon, when Rahane was dismissed. For Orissa, two top-order batsmen, Bikas Pati and Shiv Sunder Das, did not bat - Das was injured on the first day. Stand-in opener Pinninti Jayachandra made 72, but there was not much from the rest as they were bowled out in 33.1overs - the final three wickets fell without a run being added. Another POV Mumbai magic : Mumbai win big after Rahane’s double century Bharat Sundaresan Posted: Dec 15, 2008 at 0026 hrs IST Cuttack: The writing was on the wall for Orissa by the time Mumbai set them an improbable target of 434 to chase, and Ajinkya Rahane notched up his maiden double-century. And the visitors’ experienced bowling attack ensured that the ink dried quickly, as they polished off the hosts for 118 for a mammoth 315-run victory at the Barabati Stadium under fading light on Sunday. Apart from a difficult caught and bowled opportunity on 110, which was grassed by Sukanta Khatua, Rahane’s knock was chanceless. The 20-year-old right-handed batsman, who now tops the batting charts for runs in the Ranji Super League this season with 762, smashed the Orissa bowlers all over on way to a sublime 201 in just 249 balls, which included 24 hits to the fence. There was also a huge six off left-arm spinner Dhiraj Singh, which sent the viewers in the make-shift press box running for cover. Rahane lost overnight partner Sahil Kukreja early, as the opener was trapped by Debashish Mohanty for 53. This brought in Rohit Sharma, who started off with two cracking boundaries off Mohanty. But it was short-lived, as Sharma edged a ball from Basant Mohanty to ’keeper Halhadar Das for 20. Captain Wasim Jaffer then joined Rahane, who quickly reached his fourth century of the season. The pair raised the tempo of the innings, notching up yet another century stand between them. After Jaffer threw his wicket away, Rahane scrambled home for a quick single, and brought up the 200-run landmark. Orissa started off on the wrong foot yet again, as opener Bikas Pati was ruled out with a dislocated shoulder. P Jayachandra proved to be the only real high-point for the hosts, as he made an aggressive 72. Sheikh was the pick of the bowlers in the second innings as he finished with 3-30, while Chavan had figures of 2-19 in his 11 overs. Baroda vs Tamil Nadu, Day 3 at Vadodara Tamil Nadu 117 (Amarnath 5-24, Argal 3-39) and 402 (Karthik 123, Prasanna 92, Argal 4-59) beat Baroda 166 (YK Pathan 35, Amarnath 5-60) and 94 (Gaekwad 37*, Balaji 5-47, Ganapathy 4-47) by 259 runs Scorecard Tamil Nadu secure quarter-final spots Cricinfo staff December 14, 2008 L Balaji's five-wicket haul wrapped up an easy win for Tamil Nadu in Vadodara © AFP A 259-run win at the Moti Bagh Stadium, and the five points from it, helped Tamil Nadu book their spot in the quarter-finals. Baroda's bowlers came back strongly after leaking 301 runs in 73 overs on the second day, but Tamil Nadu's medium-pacers were even better, bundling out the opposition in 24.5 overs to set up victory with a day to spare. Tamil Nadu started with a 252-run lead, but they lost seven wickets for 101on the third day. The overnight pair of Dinesh Karthik and S Vidyut extended their partnership to 77 before falling in quick succession. Suresh Kumar and R Ashwin then added 41 for the sixth wicket but medium-pacer Ajitesh Argal and left-arm spinner Swapnil Singh took the last five wickets for 19 runs. Set a target of 354, Baroda were rarely in the hunt as Tamil Nadu's medium-pacers maintained a testing off-stump line. P Amarnath, who took five in the first innings, dismissed Connor Williams for 3, and in the next over L Balaji made it 14 for 3. Azharuddin Bilakhia and Shatrunjay Gaekwad were the only pair to offer some resistance. Balaji removed Bilakhia after a 25 that included six boundaries, and C Ganapathy snuffed out chances of a fightback with three wickets in four balls. Ganpathy finished with four, and Balaji took two in the 25th over to complete his 15th first-class five-for. Gaekwad was not out on 37, while Karthik, the Tamil Nadu wicketkeeper and captain, claimed five catches in the innings to follow up his century. Another POV TN steamrolls Baroda BARODA: Tamil Nadu’s pace attack rose to the challenge for the second time in three days; this time steamrolling Baroda in the second innings for a resounding 259-run victory in their four-day Ranji Trophy Elite Group B fifth round match. Laxmipathy Balaji (five for 47) and Palani Amarnath (one for 23) kept the home batsmen guessing around the off-stump, while Chandrasekhar Ganapathy (four for 24) dealt the knockout blows to dismiss Baroda for 94 after tea on day three. Dinesh Karthik’s ruthless 123 earlier on the same Motibaug wicket, spread over two days, had stretched the visitor’s total to 402 in the second essay, a lead of 353. The Tamil Nadu captain’s responsible batting was, however, lost on Yusuf Pathan, the Baroda vice-captain. Walking in at 50 for four and more than a day’s play remaining, Yusuf launched into the bowling as if cornered. Balaji could have nailed him on zero when a lofted drive arched towards R. Ashwin at mid-on. But the fielder fumbled. Pathan’s reckless 17-ball stint ended when C. Suresh held him at deep fine leg off Ganapathy. Balaji and Amarnath startled the Baroda openers with pace and lift, while Ganapathy moved the ball enough to keep ’keeper Karthik and the slip fielders busy. For Baroda, except Azhar Bilakhia, the others appeared clueless. Bilakhia lashed six boundaries in a stroke-filled 25 from 24 balls. Youngsters Argal (four for 59) and Swapnil Singh (two for 60) kept their side in the hunt, only for the experienced batsmen to give it away. TN increased its tally to 20 after five games, Baroda remains on nine. Saurashtra vs Delhi, Day 3 at Rajkot Saurashtra 241 and 46 for 2 (Narwal 2-19) trail Delhi 384 (Dhawan 93, Kohli 69, Chopra 58, Nanda 47) by 97 runs Scorecard A desperate Delhi will begin the final day in Rajkot hoping to take the remaining eight wickets in Saurashtra's second innings as quickly, and cheaply, as possible. Delhi have three points assured from this game after they gained the first-innings lead, but a win will give them two more points - three if they win by an innings or ten wickets - and deny Saurashtra, another quarter-final contender from Group A, the one point they stand to earn from a draw. At 215 for 2, Delhi needed only 27 to overhaul Saurashtra's first-innings score, and their overnight batsmen - Shikhar Dhawan and Mithun Manhas - secured the lead. However, Dhawan (93) and Manhas (32) fell with the score on 255. Two more wickets down for 18 runs, and Delhi were in trouble of being bundled with not much of a lead. Allrounder Rajat Bhatia made 36 to push to score past 300 along with Chetanya Nanda, who stayed till the end to take Delhi to 384. Nanda made 47 off 115 balls, putting on 58 for the ninth wicket with Pradeep Sangwan, who scored 35 off 39. Saurashtra crawled to 46 in 25 overs before stumps. Sumit Narwal removed both openers - Chirag Pathak falling lbw after playing across the line while Bhushan Chauhan was caught behind. The onus will be on Cheteshwar Pujara, their leading batsman this season, and the experienced Shitanshu Kotak to bat out for a draw. Another POV Delhi’s day of reckoning AFTER THE lull, the storm. Delhi's Ranji Trophy season has, so far, been a sorry tale of missed opportunities and conceded advantages. A series of deflating draws had left them with the rather difficult task of coming here and beating a Saurashtra side that has steadily moved from mere pretenders to the crown to genuine contenders. After the third day, however, it were the men from the Capital who were in pole position to wrap up the game and go into the last game with five, possibly six, priceless points from Rajkot. When play ended on Sunday, Saurashtra, having given away a 143run lead, were 46/2 in their second innings. Shitanshu Kotak (14) and Cheteshwar Pujara (7) were in the middle. Delhi were bowled out for 384 in their first innings. The thought of Sitanshu Kotak’s dead bat and Cheteshwar Pujara playing with a full face can give nightmares to bowlers. Saurashtra would require the two to combine well in the middle as they look to claim a solitary point for a way into the quarter-finals. Delhi need an outright win, and a classic final day awaits the two teams on Monday — with Delhi still 97 runs ahead after Saurashtra ended Day Three at 46/2. It will be a fascinating contest of stubbornness with the bat and variety from the bowler’s hand. There were quite a few shots that missed the outside edge on Sunday, a couple of chances that fell short, as well as a dropped catch. Wicketkeeper Bisht dropped a skier off the second ball of the Saurashtra second innings, but Sumit Narhwal did snare Chirag Pathak leg before not long after as the hosts lost their first wicket for four runs in reply to Delhi’s score of 384. Bisht made amends when he dived low on his leg-side to send back Bhushan Chauhan as Narhwal stuck again and Delhi ended the day on a strong note. Shaky start The visitors, though, didn’t have the ideal start. Delhi took the lead at the end of the eighth over, but Shikhar Dhawan could add just ten more to his overnight score before edging to wicketkeeper Sagar Jogiyani, who enjoyed being part of four dismissals. Striving to score big and briskly against the hard second new ball, Delhi were suffocated with the defensive field settings. Mithun Manhas, Yogesh Nagar and Punit Bisht were all back in the dressing room well before the first session concluded, left-arm seamer Balakrishna Jadeja slanting across the right-handers to grab two. Needless run-out Rajat Bhatia was needlessly run-out after three majestic boundaries and a six in his knock of 36, but the lower order lent a helping hand. Pradeep Sangwan hit a few lusty shots in a quickfire 35 from 39 deliveries while Chetnya Nanda played a responsible and effective innings of 47 before being the last man out as the teams took tea 18 minutes before schedule. The leg-spinner looked completely unhappy with his decision and got docked 50 per cent of his match fee. But more than his antics, the team management would be worried over his bowling form. Rajat Bhatia, meanwhile, is due to attend a hearing on Monday morning for getting into an altercation with Kotak in the final session of play. Sangwan has been largely under-utilised this season after a drastic dip in fortunes and his natural inswing, but Delhi’s depleting bowling stock would now put too much burden on their premier fast bowlers Parvinder Awana and Narhwal. Hyderabad vs Punjab, Day 3 at Hyderabad Hyderabad 335 and 68 for 2 (Pai 31*) lead Punjab 291 (Kaul 106, Goel 44, Sidhana 41, MP Arjun 3-54, Ashwin Yadav 3-68, Shanker 3-76) by 112 runs Scorecard Hyderabad are likely to bag three points from their match against Punjab at home. They took the first-innings lead at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, and the match is set to finish as a draw unless something dramatic happens on the final day. Punjab, though, did run Hyderabad close for the first-innings points. Wicketkeeper Uday Kaul scored a century, adding 89 runs for the sixth wicket with Mayank Sidhana, the other overnight batsman. But Sidhana's wicket triggered a mini-collapse; MP Arjun struck twice to reduce Punjab to 241 for 9, still 94 short of Hyderabad's total. Kaul, though, got support from Amanpreet Singh. He made 15, but the 50-run stand was not enough for them to take the lead. Hyderabad lost two wickets early in their second innings, but recovered to close the day leading by 112. Another POV Hyderabad takes first innings lead Principal Correspondent GOOD KNOCK: Uday Kaul’s brilliant century proved insufficient for Punjab to prevent Hyderabad from taking the first innings lead on Sunday. HYDERABAD: Punjab’s Uday Kaul scored a brilliant century but his effort was not good enough to prevent Hyderabad from taking a vital first innings lead on the third day of the four-day Ranji Trophy Elite Group ‘A’ match at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium (Uppal) here on Sunday. The 21-year-old, left-handed Kaul (106, 376 minutes, 279 balls, 8x4) was confidence personified in scoring his fourth Ranji hundred. In the company of the compact debutant Mayank Siddana (41, 162 minutes, 108 balls, 3x4), he put on 86 runs. Fast bowler M.P. Arjun sent back Siddana in the first over after the break. The hard working fast bowler Ashwin Yadav then forced Manpreet Gony to drag one on to his stumps. In the next over, Arjun could have dismissed Kaul (then on 71) but Amol Shinde missed a simple catch in the slip cordon. Kaul then in the company of Amanpreet Singh put on 50 for the last wicket to take the score to 291. Strangely, D.B. Ravi Teja (as stand in captain for the injured N. Arjun Yadav), did not give even a single over to off-spinner Ahmed Quadri on Sunday. Even though the lead issue was decided, Punjab fast bowlers Gony and Amanpreet Singh bowled their heart out to trouble the openers T. Suman and Ravi Teja. Maharashtra vs Railways, Day 3 at Ratnagiri Maharashtra 244 and 34 for 0 (Khadiwale 20*) need another 269 runs to beat Railways 212 and 334 for 6 dec (Goud 89, Sanyal 82, Kartik 56) Scorecard The battle between Railways and Maharashtra is set for an intriguing finish. Railways, who need a win to boost their chances of progressing, set Maharashtra a challenging 303 to win. In reply, Maharashtra's openers were off to a steady start, putting on 34 in their eight overs. Railways' openers began the day with a 16-run lead in Ratnagiri - they had wiped out the first-innings deficit the previous evening - but both fell early. Mun Mangela struck twice to reduce the visitors for 59 for 3. However, as in the first innings, Yere Goud and Sanjib Sanyal rescued their side. They had scores in the 70s then, and this time both moved on to the 80s but failed to go beyond. The two batted 47.1 overs for their 141-run stand. As in the first innings, Sanyal was the first to fall, and Goud the sixth man out. Left-arm spinner Murali Kartik came up the order and boosted the run-rate with ten fours in his 49-ball 56. There was a quick cameo from Deepak Yadav before Railways declared at 334 for 6. Another POV Railways set Maharashtra 303 target Ratnagiri: Set to score 303 to win their Ranji Trophy Elite Division Group B tie against Railways, Maharashtra made 34 without losing a wicket at close on the third day of the four-day match here on Sunday. Railways declared their second innings closed at 334 for six after resuming at their overnight 48 for no loss to leave the home team bat for eight overs before stumps. The visitors lost openers Sanjay Bangar and V Cheluvaraj soon after resumption of play on Sunday morning as well as the wicket of Harshad Rawle for a duck to totter at 59 for three. Yere Gaud (89) and Sanjib Sanyal (82 with 12 fours) steadied the innings with a stand of 141 runs for the fourth wicket. After the fall of Sanyal, who batted for three hours, Gaud, who occupied the crease for nearly five hours and hit nine fours, put on a rollicking 97-run stand with Murali Kartik, who made a breezy 49-ball 56 with ten fours, in 18.3 overs. The fifth wicket stand between Gaud and Kartik enabled Railways to apply the declaration before stumps, but their aim to get an early wicket or two of Maharashtra did not bear fruit as openers Harshad Khadiwale (20) and Rohan Bhosale (9) remained unbeaten. Railways, who conceded a narrow 32-run lead to the hosts, have ten points to their credit and need at least an outright victory to keep their chances of entering the knock-out rounds alive, while Maharashtra, with only four points so far, are aiming to deny them the victory. Gujarat vs Rajasthan, Day 3 at Jaipur Gujarat 227 (Thaker 52, NK Patel 51, Aslam 4-22) and 99 for 3 (Panchal 44) beat Rajasthan 136 (Saxena 39, Singh 4-31) and 186 (Chanwaria 88, Singh 7-31) by seven wickets Scorecard Gujarat have almost firmed their place in the quarter-finals, and will be assured of a top-three finish from Group A if Delhi fail to win by an innings or ten wickets on Monday. Rajasthan began in Jaipur with a slender lead of 57 with three wickets left in the second innings, and Gujarat medium-pacer Amit Singh scalped all three to finish with figures of 7 for 31, his first five-wicket haul in first-class games. It also completed his maiden ten-wicket haul - he had taken 4 for 31 in the first innings. Singh's 7 for 31 is the third-best figures for a Gujarat bowler; Jasubhai Patel had two eight-wicket hauls during his career. For Rajasthan, debutant Vinod Chanawaria was the last man out, falling 12 short of his maiden first-class ton. A ten-wicket win would have given Gujarat a bonus point and a spot in the quarter-finals, but Sumit Mathur removed Nilesh Modi early. He took the second wicket as well, but Gujarat were already 80 chasing 96, a target they achieved with seven wickets and a day to spare. Another POV Gujarat humiliate Rajasthan by 7 wickets Jaipur: A fine bowling spell by lanky medium pacer Amit Singh (7-31) helped Gujarat humiliate Rajasthan by seven wickets on the third day of the Ranji Super League match at KL Saini stadium at Mansarovar on Sunday. The visitors shot out Rajasthan for 186 in the home team second innings before notching up the victory target of 95 runs in just 34.3 overs to complete a comprehensive victory in less than three days. Gujarat bagged five points from this win to take their tally to 23 and are now assured of a quarterfinal berth. On the other hand, Rajasthan were relegated from the elite group with just two points from six matches. Gujarat lost Nilesh Modi early in the run chase for five but Priyanka Panchal (44) and Neeraj Patel (31) propelled the visitors towards victory by stroking freely against Rajasthan medium pacers who failed to exploit the conditions. Soon after lunch, the Gujarat duo fell in quick succession but Sunny Patel (8) and Digant Popat (8) remained unbeaten to guide their team to 99 for 3 to set up the win. Earlier, Rajasthan who had conceded a first innings lead of 91 runs, resumed their second innings at their overnight score of 148 for seven. Vinod Chanwaria, who was unbeaten on 79 overnight, continued to thwart Gujarat bowlers but Pankaj Singh (28) fell after resisting for 36 minutes. Shailendra Gehlot (0) could survive only two balls. With only last man Aslam left at the other end, Chanwaria tried to go for his shots and reach the elusive hundred on debut but was caught by Nilesh Modi for 88 off Amit Singh. Chanwaria needed 182 balls for his 88 and hit 13 fours and a six. Karnataka vs UP, Day 3 at Bangalore Uttar Pradesh 295 for 2 (Srivastava 154*, Kaif 103*) trail Karnataka 511 by 216 runs Scorecard Srivastava and Kaif keep UP in the hunt Sidharth Monga at the Chinnaswamy Stadium December 14, 2008 Tanmay Srivastava's fluent unbeaten century gave UP a chance of getting the first-innings lead© Nishant Ratnakar/ Bangalore Mirror Tanmay Srivastava and Mohammad Kaif played in their last league match of the season just as they did in their first. Srivastava scored a fluent century, Kaif's effort was more circumspect, and between them they put on an unbeaten 242-run stand. Uttar Pradesh lost only Suresh Raina on the day, moving towards Karnataka's 511 in what has essentially become a first-innings match. In the first match, against Andhra, the two had added 285 to get UP a first-innings lead. Here they batted together for 349 minutes, and ended the third day 217 short of a first-innings lead that will enhance their chances of making the quarter-finals. The pair were brought together by the dismissal of Raina who looked uncomfortable against the short stuff. He fended NC Aiyappa on a few occasions but finally got going with a trademark cover drive. The next ball, another bouncer was, however, top-edged to Sunil Raju at fine leg. UP had added nine to their overnight 44 for 1 by then. UP arrived needing an outright win to be safe, but could have been in danger of collapse. The good thing was, however, that two of their most reliable batsmen were out in the middle, on a pitch for which you could take along camping material when going in to bat. Srivastava had progressed almost unnoticed to 29 yesterday, and continued in similar fashion today. Kaif was not as comfortable to begin with, inside-edging R Vinay Kumar past Thilak Naidu early. In Vinay Kumar's next over he took a blow on the body, before pulling out an exquisite punch-drive straight down the ground. Kaif continued in his careful way while Srivastava kept capitalising on error. The partnership began slowly, reflecting Kaif's cautious start. In the first 17.3 overs, the two added only 27, Kaif scoring 12 off 59. After the first drinks break, though, having sized up the pitch, the batsmen started scoring more freely. Kaif cover-drove Aiyappa, Srivastava square-cut Sunil Joshi to reach his half century, and followed it up with two boundaries in the next over. Vinay Kumar, brought in for a spell just before lunch, managed to trouble Kaif again, the only period of contest between bat and ball through the day. He beat Kaif with one that held its line in the first over, got an outside edge that avoided the slips in his next, and then beat him with a straighter delivery again. From the other end, though, Srivastava took Sunil Raju for three lovely cover-driven boundaries. He hit one between mid-off and extra cover, the next to the right of cover, and another stepping down and hitting inside out. The two had added 91 by lunch, 31 of those scored by Kaif. Resuming on 92, Srivastava got a streaky outside edge to move to 99, and then took a single to just wide of mid-off to reach his third first-class century. The century gift was four overthrows. Post-lunch, Kaif looked more positive, while also blunting the bowling. Joshi bowled one over of instant replays: the ball always full, Kaif always getting his front foot down to the pitch of the ball, defending it straight back, the ball stopping just by Joshi. Mohammad Kaif's circumspect hundred frustrated Karnataka © AFP Karnataka's fields were confoundingly defensive for a team who had made 511 and a run-rate of less than three suggested as much. Srivastava played most of his innings with a deep point in place, and singles were readily available for him. Kaif would go back into his defensive mode, before suddenly stepping out and hitting the spinners over the in-field. The immediate response to such hits was sending a fielder back, and then Kaif would go back to picking up his singles. By tea, Karnataka were a tired lot, having tried seven bowlers without much success. The partnership had reached 173 in 66.3 overs. Srivastava had slowed down a bit to reach 125, and Kaif had sped up a bit to reach 70, off 214 deliveries. Post-tea Kaif gave Karnataka their last chance of the day. He stepped out to hit C Raghu, but failed to connect well enough and hit it just wide of mid-off. Ganesh Satish, substituting for Uthappa, dropped the catch. After that Kaif stepped up another gear, moving from 88 to 100 with three boundaries: a pull, a leg glance, and a perfectly-placed cover-drive. One of the UP fans in the crowd chose to make his presence in the ground felt then, fully clothed thankfully, and came and shook both batsmen's hands and ran away peacefully. Srivastava reached the last milestone of the day, converting his second century of the season into a second 150. Although they were still short of taking three points by some way, they got some good news from elsewhere. Baroda, one of their competitors for the quarter-final spot, lost outright to Tamil Nadu and were almost knocked out of the reckoning. UP, though, have a brittle middle-order and will need more from Kaif and Srivastava to take three points from here. Link to comment
fineleg Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 L. Balaji gets 5-47 :two_thumbs_up: Hope he gets his old form back, was a very good prospect for India before injury Link to comment
Laaloo Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 Kulkarni's physique is much like Agarkar's. :D Link to comment
Chandan Posted December 18, 2008 Author Share Posted December 18, 2008 ROUND VI, DAY 4 Ranji Trophy Super League, 6th round, 4th day Orissa vs Mumbai, Day 3 at Cuttack Mumbai 180 (Samant 46, B Mohanty 5-50, DS Mohanty 3-28) and 361 for 5 dec (Rahane 201, Jaffer 66, Kukreja 53) beat Orissa 108 (H Das 62*, Kulkarni 5-27, Waingankar 2-10) and 118 (Jayachandra 72, Shaikh 3-30) by 315 runs Scorecard Baroda vs Tamil Nadu, Day 3 at Vadodara Tamil Nadu 117 (Amarnath 5-24, Argal 3-39) and 402 (Karthik 123, Prasanna 92, Argal 4-59) beat Baroda 166 (YK Pathan 35, Amarnath 5-60) and 94 (Gaekwad 37*, Balaji 5-47, Ganapathy 4-47) by 259 runs Scorecard Saurashtra vs Delhi, Day 4 at Rajkot Delhi 384 (Dhawan 93, Kohli 69, Chopra 58, Nanda 47) and 132 for 0 (Dhawan 84*, Chopra 42*) beat Saurashtra 241 (Chauhan 61, Jadeja 56, Awana 5-60) and 274 (Jadeja 143, Awana 5-77) by ten wickets Scorecard Delhi stay alive with resounding win Cricinfo staff December 15, 2008 Delhi have bounced back the way champions are expected to. A win was what last year's winners sorely needed to keep their title defence alive, and they battled hard to beat hosts Saurashtra at the Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground. Shikhar Dhawan's quickfire 84 guided Delhi to a resounding ten-wicket win Saurashtra began the final day with two second-innings wickets down, trailing Delhi by 97 runs. They would have been confident of their chances, with Cheteshwar Pujara, who's scored heavily in Rajkot this season, and the experienced Shitanshu Kotak resuming the innings. However, Delhi found a hero in Parvinder Awana, who picked the right day to complete his maiden first-class ten-wicket match haul. Awana, who took a maiden five-for in the first innings, gave his team the upper hand by dismissing Kotak and Pujara in successive overs. Left-arm seamer Pradeep Sangwan soon made it 86 for 5 when he snared Jaydev Shah, the Saurashtra captain; Delhi were still 57 runs in the lead. Allrounder Ravindra Jadeja had a double-century in an earlier game, and under pressure he came up with a brisk 166-ball 143. He took charge of the innings, adding vital partnerships with Sagar Jogiyani (26) and Rakesh Dhurv (17). At 212 for 6, a lead of 69 and 40-odd overs completed, Saurashtra weren't safe yet. Jadeja needed support at the other end, but Awana once again did his two-in-two trick: Dhurv and Kamlesh Makvana were removed in consecutive overs. Running out of partners, Jadeja needed to score as many runs as possible. Saurashtra's final two pairs put on 56, with the two tailenders contributing only three. Jadeja was last man out, caught-and-bowled to Awana, setting Delhi 132 to win. With 27 overs to reach the target, it was Shikhar Dhawan, the top scorer in their first innings, who gave the Delhi innings the much-needed impetus. He smashed 84 off 68 balls, with eight fours and two sixes, and more importantly, stayed unbeaten. Aakash Chopra - who made 42 off 64 - stayed with Dhawan to help Delhi gain a vital bonus point by virtue of a ten-wicket win. Delhi, now fourth in the standings, will play their final league game against Rajasthan, who have already been relegated to the Plate League, while Saurashtra, who have a one-point edge in third place, host Hyderabad. Second-placed Gujarat could be upstaged if results don't go in their favour, but they will start the final round as favourites to reach the quarter-finals. Another POV Delhi smile, finally : Thumps Saurashtra by 10 wickets THEY HUFFED and they puffed, but once Delhi finally kicked the door open, they took over Saurashtra’s bastion in style. Though it has taken them some time and a lot of effort, the champions are right back in the race for the quarterfinals after a 10-wicket crushing of Saurashtra. It was difficult to pick one as the stand-out performer — Parvinder Awana, Ravindra Jadeja or Shikhar Dhawan. Awana’s five-wicket haul uprooted the Saurashtra middle-order on Monday, Jadeja’s counter-attacking 143 from 166 balls gave a bit of hope to the hosts, and Shikhar Dhawan’s outrageous hitting helped hunt down the 4.8 runs-an-over target of 132 with ridiculous ease, extending Delhi’s defending champions tag at least until the last league match. Together, the trio staged an entertaining final day’s play as Delhi also took a bonus point with their 10-wicket victory. Having bowled the hosts out for 274 in their 2nd innings, Delhi needed 132 off 27 overs for a win. Delhi openers Aakash Chopra and Shikhar Dhawan wasted little time in getting to work, bludgeoning the Saurashtra attack to overhaul the target in just 21 overs. Dhawan, in particular, looked back to his best, smashing his way to 84 n.o. off just 62 balls. Dhawan seemed to develop a special liking for Balakrishna Jadeja’s steady left-arm seam, carting him for big sixes and four boundaries in a three-over opening spell that cost 34 runs. Jolted by the sheer audacity of the Delhi run chase — they raised 77 in the first 10 overs — Saurashtra contributed to Dhawan’s 29-ball half-century with needless overthrows, full tosses and short-pitched deliveries. The skipper-deputy duo became cautious towards the end, but when the opening pair had walked out in the fourth innings, they had little options but to go for the offensive with 27 overs left in the match. Meanwhile, Dhawan signalled his intent right from the start, smashing Balkrishna Jadeja for a couple of cracking fours — over mid-on and third man — and then followed it up with a massive six. Saurashtra should have removed Dhawan in his first over had Chirag Pathak held on to a simple chance at square-leg. But he didn’t, and Dhawan made him pay Dhawan tore . into the bowling with aplomb. With Chopra playing the perfect foil to Dhawan’s carnage, Delhi moved to the target and, more pertinently back in contention. Jadeja leads fightback Ravindra Jadeja had opted for that attitude earlier in the afternoon. The left-hander arrived in the middle of a superlative spell from Awana with the old ball. With Saurashtra five down, Jadeja led the fightback, hitting anything banged short or wide, picking up maximum runs on the off-side with his delectable backfoot play as he put on 87 runs with Sagar Jogiyani. Jadeja scored his second century of the season in just 110 balls even as Awana returned for his second spell to bag two more wickets. Once Yogesh Nagar got rid of Jobanputra with Saurashtra at 253/9, Jadeja quickly switched gears, killing time and holding strike. Delhi finally took the second new ball after 85.4 overs and Awana got his second consecutive five-wicket haul when he took a soft return catch to end Jadeja’s defiance and allow his batsmen to go for the kill. Delhi now need to win their last league match, and hope that Saurashtra, one point ahead of them in the points tally with 18, don’t get an equal five in their game against Hyderabad. Hyderabad vs Punjab, Day 4 at Hyderabad Punjab 291 (Kaul 106, Goel 44, Sidhana 41) and 211 for 1 (Inder Singh 112*, Sohal 91) beat Hyderabad 335 (Suman 131, Quadri 80, Shine 57, Ladda 4-72) and 164 (Pai 50, Ladda 5-39) by nine wickets Scorecard If Delhi kept their hopes alive, so did Punjab. They will, however, need a lot of luck if they are to qualify in the top three from Group A. Punjab took Hyderabad's remaining eight second-innings wickets in 46.2 overs on the final day at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, and a unbroken 197-run second-wicket stand saw them reach their target in 36.2. Hyderabad started the day leading by 112, and their overnight pair of Anoop Pai and Amol Shinde extended it to 155. Legspinner Sarabjit Ladda, though, triggered a collapse. Shinde was caught by Ravi Inder Singh for 43, and Abhinav Kumar was dismissed in the same manner nine runs later. Pai was bowled by Ladda on 50, and the wickets of Syed Quadri and Arjun Yadav saw the bowler complete his maiden five-for. MP Arjun resisted with his 25, before left-arm spinner Varun Khanna closed the innings with two wickets in two balls. Chasing 209, Punjab lost opener Karan Goel early, but Inder Singh and Sohal's scores 112 and 91 were enough to seal the deal. Punjab now have 12 points from six games, and will need to win with a bonus point against Mumbai - already in the quarter-final - and pray that Saurashtra lose and Delhi are kept to one point in the final round of matches. Another POV Punjab stuns Hyderabad by nine wickets win Principal Correspondent CELEBRATION TIME: Punjab’s Sunny Sohal and Ravi Inder Singh are cheered by their mates after the win over host Hyderabad on Monday.. HYDERABAD: Punjab fought back to record a nine-wicket victory over Hyderabad thanks to an impressive spell by leg-spinner Sarabjit Singh (five for 39) and then a brilliant century by Ravi Inder Singh (112 n.o., 109b, 12x4) in the Ranji Trophy super league Group ‘A’ match at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here on Monday. It was a pathetic batting display by Hyderabad against quality bowling by Sarabjit. He started the slide in the morning by removing Amol Shinde (43, 111, 4x4) with a typical leg-spinner’s dismissal — the ball spinning away to take the edge even as the batsman leaned forward to be caught at slip. Big blow Then, Sarabjit struck another big blow by cleaning up the well-set southpaw Anoop Pai (50, 143b, 5x4) with a beauty of a top-spinner which had the batsman clueless. The two decisive blows soon saw Hyderabad being bundled out for 164 in the 10th over after the lunch break. Abhinav Kumar, Ahmed Quadri and captain N. Arjun Yadav paid dearly for their adventurism. Punjab needed 209 runs from 41 possible overs. And, the chase was on from the beginning as opener Sunny Sohal (91 n.o., 100b, 8x4) came up with some pleasing drives on either side of the wicket. Fast bowler S. M. Shoaib trapped Karan Goel leg-before in the third over . But it soon became a grand show by Ravi Inder who thrived on the largesse of Shinde at slip. The latter dropped him in fast bowler Ashwin Yadav’s first over with the batsman on 19. But, soon the gritty left-hander treated the bowling on merit and never missed punishing the erring bowlers to score his third Ranji century in his second season. . Punjab now has 12 points from six matches while, Hyderabad has 10 from similar number of games with one more round to go. Maharashtra vs Railways, Day 4 at Ratnagiri Railways 212 (Goud 75, Sanyal 70, Fallah 5-49) and 334 for 6 dec (Goud 89, Sanyal 82, Kartik 56) drew with Maharashtra 244 (Shrikhande 113, Sanyal 4-26) and 251 for 5 (Jadhav 114*, Bawne 52) Scorecard An unbeaten century from Kedar Jadhav ensured Maharashtra earned three vital points in their bid to avoid relegation to the Plate League. The draw now leaves Railways needing a win against Group B leaders Tamil Nadu to qualify for the quarter-finals. If Railways win by an innings or ten wickets, they will gain a bonus point and move ahead of Uttar Pradesh, who are currently in second place but have completed their league games. Just a win will leave them hoping that Maharashtra take the first-innings lead or score a victory over Karnataka in their last game. Maharashtra, resuming the day on 34 for 0, needed 269 more on the final day to win. But they chose caution over glory, not risking the three points (for the first-innings lead) already in the bag: a loss would have seen them get none. Openers Harshad Khadiwale and Rohan Bhosale doubled the overnight score before Khadiwale was bowled by Anureet Singh. Ameya Shrikhande, whose first-innings ton had given his team the advantage, was quickly dismissed for 13, but Jadhav and Ankit Bawne frustrated Railways. The two put on 143, but more significantly their stand lasted 55.5 overs. Bawne was trapped leg-before by Sanjay Bangar, the Railways captain. Nikhil Paradkar then played out 25 deliveries for his 1, and Rohit Motwani 16 for his 1 not out as Jadhav remained steady at the other end. Maharashtra scored 24 runs in 15 overs after Bawne fell. Jadhav finished on 114 off 252 balls, with 15 fours and a six. Another POV Maharashtra draw with Rlys to earn 3 points Ratnagiri: Kedar Chavan's unbeaten century helped Maharashtra stave off Railways' bid for outright victory in their Ranji Trophy Elite Division Group B match at the Chatrapati Shivaji Stadium, here on Monday. Chavan was at the crease for 340 minutes for his unbeaten 114 that included 15 fours and a six. And it was match-saving fourth-wicket partnership of 143 runs with Ankit Bawne (52 in 242 minutes) that ensured three points for the hosts who had taken a 32-run lead over Railways. At stumps on the final day on Monday, Maharashtra were 252 for five with Chavan, who faced 252 balls, and Rohit Motwani (1) at the crease. Earlier, the visitors fancied their hopes of turning the match around capturing the top three Maharashtra wickets with only 84 on board after the home team resumed their second innings at the overnight score of 34 without loss chasing 303 for victory. But Chavan and Bawne, who struck only three fours in his 165-ball knock, stalled their progress. The draw helped Maharashtra boost their tally to seven points with one match in hand in the seven-match group while Railways stayed fourth with eleven points from five ties. Railways take on pool leaders Tamil Nadu in the last league tie at Chennai from December 18 and Maharashtra travel to Bangalore to face Karnataka in their final league engagement. Gujarat vs Rajasthan, Day 3 at Jaipur Gujarat 227 (Thaker 52, NK Patel 51, Aslam 4-22) and 99 for 3 (Panchal 44) beat Rajasthan 136 (Saxena 39, Singh 4-31) and 186 (Chanwaria 88, Singh 7-31) by seven wickets Scorecard Karnataka vs UP, Day 4 at Bangalore Karnataka 511 (Akhil 135, Uthappa 65, Raghu 64, Chawla 3-141) drew with Uttar Pradesh 567 (Srivastava 159, Kaif 112, Chawla 96, Aiyappa 3-108) Scorecard Chawla takes UP closer to quarter-final spot Sidharth Monga at the Chinnaswamy Stadium December 15, 2008 Piyush Chawla's 96 handed UP a valuable three points© Nishant Ratnakar/ Bangalore Mirror While all about him were losing their heads, and their wickets, Piyush Chawla kept his, to score a crucial 96 and take Uttar Pradesh a step closer to the quarter-finals. Coming in just before lunch, with UP still 143 short of Karnataka's 511, he strung together a partnership with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, then saw two wickets fall to let Karnataka back in. UP were 55 behind when No. 10 Amir Khan came out but the two batted sensibly for the much-needed three points in this, their last league game. UP now have 17 points, three ahead of third-placed Karnataka and six ahead of Railways, who need a win with a bonus point in their last match - away to table-toppers Tamil Nadu - to deny UP a place in the last eight. While the good news for UP came from Ratnagiri, where Maharashtra denied Railways an outright win, it wouldn't have counted for much had their batsmen not delivered in Bangalore. If they do make it to the quarters, UP will owe a lot to Chawla, given that the middle and lower-middle order failed to build on the 247-run partnership between Tanmay Srivastava and Mohammad Kaif. Their early dismissals, without adding much to their overnight centuries, slowed down the scoring - UP managed nine runs in the first 45 minutes and lost both set batsmen - put the middle order under pressure. Parvinder Singh and Bhuvneshwar Kumar got a partnership going, with Parvinder the surer of the two. However, just before lunch Parvinder played with hard hands at one from Balachander Akhil that stopped a touch. While NC Aiyappa accounted for Srivastava, Akhil removed Kaif. Karnataka's tactics of drying up the runs looked to be working in the first session: 83 runs were scored in 35 overs for the loss of three wickets. But Chawla, though batting at No. 7, played as well as any batsman in this contest, and manipulated the field to keep picking up singles and twos, while hitting the odd shock boundary. Bhuvneshwar, who made a circumspect start - his high bat swing coming from point causing him troubles - didn't throw away the start either. Bhuvneshwar, who started off as a No. 10 batsman, has scored important 20s and 30s for UP this season, but is usually criticised for his slow batting and failure to make big scores. He insists he is better than that, and he got a special applause from his team-mates when he reached 50 at a time when they most needed it. The sixth-wicket partnership had added 60 runs in quick time, and Karnataka were looking short of inspiration when Vinay Kumar struck in the first over of his afternoon spell. He beat Bhuvneshwar's high back lift with an in-coming delivery, and started the big turnaround. Praveen came in, went for a big hit first ball, and holed out to mid-off. RP took guard to face the hat-trick ball, and not only did he survive, but calmed the UP nerves with a patient 30-run partnership with Chawla. Before madness struck again. Vinay Kumar was in the middle of an inspired spell - the third over before tea - when RP got a tickle down the leg side for four. Perhaps that gave him confidence, but the result was another catch - to midwicket this time. Vinay Kumar was rejuvenated, as were Karnataka, and Chawla stood helplessly at non-striker's end, on 49. Amir Khan, the wicketkeeper who started his career as an opener, but now bats in the tail, was just the man UP needed. Earlier in the season, he had scored an unbeaten 7 in close to two hours to save the match against Baroda. He came out with the same intent today. Every ball he defended was met with a huge cheer from the UP dressing room. At the other end, Chawla trusted his partner enough to not farm the strike, and backed his own ability enough to keep going for the boundaries as well. He hit Sunil Joshi for a straight six, smartly late-cut Sunil Raju for a four, and kept flicking the pace bowlers over midwicket for boundaries - he hit 12 in all. The pitch was still flat, the field was back on to the defensive, and all UP had to avoid was silliness and panic. None of that came through, as the batsmen were prepared to play out maiden overs before picking the right delivery to hit. Karnataka brought on offspinner Raju, the only bowler to have got any purchase from the wicket but had not been used all day, with 16 runs still required. The one moment of indiscretion came when Chawla stepped out to hit him over the top, but didn't connect properly. And the ball eluded Aiyappa running in from mid-off. Chawla put his head down again, only to release all the tension three overs later. With a six over mid-off, off Raju, Chawla took UP beyond 511 and his own score past his previous-best of 82. He celebrated it with a six off the next ball. He then late-cut the next ball for four to move into his 90s. Despite the match having entered the mandatory overs, UP decided to let him go on for a maiden century, but Karnataka spread the field and didn't let it come easy. Frustrated, he holed out off Uthappa, but UP decided to let Amir go for his half-century - he needed 20 then. Even Amir missed the landmark by three, but the two will know they did the best they could to get more shots at landmarks this season. Link to comment
Chandan Posted December 18, 2008 Author Share Posted December 18, 2008 The two stars of Round VI had to say these things about their performance: It is my best knock so far: Rahane Taus Rizvi Monday, December 15, 2008 03:32 IST MUMBAI: Ajinkya Rahane believes in keeping things simple. And this simplicity has only worked in favour of the 20-year-old who scored his career’s first double hundred on a difficult wicket against a Debashish Mohanty-led attack, helping Mumbai register their fourth outright win in the Group A of the Ranji Trophy Super League, beating Orissa on the penultimate day of the four day tie at the Barabati Stadium, Cuttack, on Sunday. The youngster, who was unbeaten on 75 overnight, slammed a classy 201 off 244 balls that saw Mumbai give Orissa a stiff target of 434, which was difficult for the hosts as they succumbed to Mumbai’s pace attack, led by the young Dhawal Kulkarni. Rahane had two century partnerships in his mammoth knock. First, the second wicket partnership of 145 runs with opener Sahil Kukreja followed by a 173-run stand with skipper Wasim Jaffer. Rahane described his double ton as a crucial. “It is one of the best knocks I have played in my career. This is my first double hundred and it couldn’t have come at a better time. It was crucial as we were all out for 180 in the first innings, and despite getting a 72-run lead we had to put up a good total in the second innings to press for a win,†Rahane told DNA from Cuttack. The youngster said he did not go for any extra and just kept things to the basics. “My plan was to keep it simple and play my natural game - on the merit of the ball and not go for rash shots. The patience paid off,†he added. Playing against the likes of experienced seamer Mohanty on a grassy wicket was an useful experience for Rahane. “I did not think who was bowling in the opposition. With the assistance from the wicket, they bowled well in the first innings. I learnt from my mistakes of the first innings and didn’t want to repeat them. My aim was just to stand there and give Mumbai upper hand,†he said. After Sunday’s knock, the Mumbai lad has become the leading run scorer in Ranji Trophy with 762 from six outings, however, he is modest to talk about it. “My job is not yet over. We have just played league and qualified for the quarterfinals and it will be important to score in the knockout stages, which is crucial,†he felt. Rahane says everything is going according to plans. “My aim is to play for India. I am going on the right track but my priority is to score runs in crucial matches,†said Rahane. Coach Pravin Amre too was impressed with the way Rahane has been shaping up. “Rahane was picked up for the India A team’s tour of Australia. He squandered the opportunity but came back strongly in the domestic circuit. He worked on his mental aspect and the approach. He is a talented player with the right technique and a good opening material for India. He has a bright future if he continues this,†Amre said. Awana keeps it simple G S Vivek Posted: Dec 16, 2008 at 2341 hrs IST Rajkot : Delhi pacer hopes his 10-wicket haul against Saurashtra will help further his career Parvinder Awana is simplicity personified in a complex cricketing world. The 22-year old prefers not to see the wicket before a match, allows his skipper to choose his bowling end and doesn’t think much when he’s bowling, except following one self-made rule — keep hitting a particular length. “When you look at the wicket, you tend to develop notions about it. I just like to bowl in a rhythm, with full force all the time and get wickets. Yes, I am a bit superstitious of bowling from the same end throughout a match because I feel cosy and comfortable on the same run-up,†he says, after bowling 43 overs — from the same end, both with the old and the new ball. Awana admits his match-winning effort in Delhi’s crucial away tie against Saurashtra could be his turning point. “This ten-wicket haul helped my team get out of a difficult situation and may get me into the North zone team. There have been two distinct landmarks in my cricketing career so far — I got into the team because of the speedster contest where I was a finalist, then my hat-trick helped me get another game last season. Hopefully, this performance against Saurashtra would take me further,†he says. Coming from a small village Harrolla near Noida, Awana admits he was anxious about his performance this time around. “I called up home and told them I was slightly tense, because I knew I was bowling well but not getting wickets. ‘Just bowl and leave the rest to God,’ they told me. I did just that,†he says. Awana picks Ravinder Jadeja’s dismissal as the best of the match. “It was my tenth and will remain special. He was playing really well and looked like walking away with the match, and I was edgy about getting my tenth. I almost thought I had missed it,†he admits. After a splendid performance in the semi-finals last year, Awana saw the final — and the initial matches this season — from the bench, but has no qualms about waiting for his turn. “Ishant is the first choice seamer, Nehra bhai is much senior and a class material. Sumit (Narhwal) also did well so I have had to wait for my turn. Honestly, I was a little surprised when I was called up to play the Hyderabad game in the morning but I guess it was a lucky break for me. From thereon, I had decided to bowl quick, clocked in excess of 138 kmph, and keep my place in the team. I am happy to have done that, “ he says, though admitting that the biggest lesson he’s learnt from this game is to bowl quick only in patches and check his pace to get some lateral movement. Awana and Narhwal together form Delhi’s new pace pair. “We complement each other well. Sumit is the senior so he advises more. We play together even for our company so the understanding is better. As they say, fast bowlers hunt in pairs, I guess I have found my partner,†he concludes before rushing to board the team bus. In two days’ time, Awana would be required to enact an encore to get Delhi into the quarter-finals. Link to comment
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