Zal Irani Trophy, 2009

[yoda]

I am so looking forward to the 20-20 Champions League than the 50-50 Champions Trophy.

[Chandan]

Zal Irani Trophy, 2009 Netravalkar in Mumbai squad Mumbai: Left-arm seamer Saurabh Netravalkar has been named in the Mumbai squad for the Zal Irani Cup to be played against Rest of India at Nagpur from October 1 to 5. Netravalkar who will turn 18 on October 16 was in the India under-19 team for the Youth Test and one-day matches in Australia last April. He was a member of the Air India (Red) team that won the BCCI Corporate Trophy in Bangalore recently. Mumbai team: Wasim Jaffer (capt.), Ajit Agarkar (vice-capt.), Sahil Kukreja, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Prashant Naik, Vinayak Samant (wk), Ramesh Powar, Iqbal Abdulla, Dhaval Kulkarni, Rahil Shaikh, Murtaza Hussain, Sushant Marathe, Saurabh Netravalkar, Onkar Khanvilkar. Coach: Pravin Amre.

[Sachinism]

Irani Cup: Mumbai vs Rest of India - 1st Oct - Nagpur Match facts October 1-5, 2009 Start time 09.30 am (0400 GMT) Big picture The Irani Cup, that old institution which once made and broke careers, has unexpectedly found a fresh lease of life and interest because of the current bowling crisis that ails India. There are a bunch of contenders in Sreesanth, Munaf Patel and Sudeep Tyagi who have an opportunity to showcase their talent. The first step in an inevitable comeback from injury for Virender Sehwag will also be in focus. And then there's Rohit Sharma. No one doubts his talent but not everyone is convinced about his commitment. This game, the start of the upcoming first-class season, will give Rohit a chance to silence his critics. He has lost some weight during pre-season training and the Mumbai insiders say he is hungry as well. He has started the comeback process with another good step: acceptance of his mistakes during his stint with the senior team. "I tried to be what I wasn't," he said recently. There are also the usual suspects: S Badrinath for instance. No one questions his commitment but many seem to be a touch hesitant in giving him the India cap. He is old, they say; he isn't. He doesn't seem to have that X-factor to play for India, they say, but Badrinath is trying hard to prove them wrong. Perhaps that's his lot, but he doesn't think so and is ready to wage yet another battle for a national call-up. It's an opportunity for the left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha as well. He doesn't quite know why he was dropped by the national selectors but realises he has to raise his game above Amit Mishra's. There is also Manoj Tiwary who seems to have got past the disappointments of ill-timed injuries that derailed his career and is itching to move on. Rest of India's opponents are Mumbai, that great Ranji side of the past, wondering how their future will be. They are a proud team, as evidenced by the few words Wasim Jaffer spoke about winning the Irani Cup, but they a team lacking the superstars that once made winning the Ranji Trophy almost a mere formality. They still are a strong side, after all they are the reigning champions, but the aura isn't there anymore. They are similar to Australia, and are keen to make a fresh start. They have begun by dropping Amol Muzumdar, the old warhorse, and Sairaj Bahutule. Only four men with links to the past remain: the captain Jaffer, Ajit Agarkar, Ramesh Powar and that faithful servant of Mumbai cricket, Vinayak Samant. Team news Irfan Pathan will miss out because of the same knee injury which had kept him out of the Corporate Cup. Rest of India haven't asked for a replacement for Virat Kohli, who's in the Champions Trophy squad, and Bhuneshwar Kumar and Uday Kaul are likely to sit out of the playing XI. The team is strong and is easily the favorite to win the contest. Rest of India: (probable) 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 S Badrinath, 3 M Vijay, 4 Abhinav Mukund, 5 Ravindra Jadeja, 6 Manoj Tiwary, 7 Wriddiman Saha, 8 Sreesanth, 9 Pragyan Ojha, 10 Munaf Patel, 11 Sudeep Tyagi. Mumbai are yet to decide their XI but Jaffer talked about likely replacements for Muzumdar. Sushant Marathe, who featured in the Corporate Cup, Prashant Naik, the lad from Pune, and Omkar Khanvilkar will be given chances to stake claims for Muzumdar's spot. Mumbai's bowling is comparatively weaker but in Dhawal Kulkarni they have a bowler who is likely to make full use of the new ball and in Saurabh Netravalkar, who did well in the Corporate Cup, they have an emerging talent. Mumbai: (probable) 1 Wasim Jaffer, 2 Ajit Agarkar, 3 Ajinkya Rahane, 4 Sahil Kukreja, 5 Rohit Sharma, 6 Omkar Kanvilkar/Sushant Marathe, 7 Vinayak Samant, 8 Ramesh Powar 9 Iqbal Abdulla, 10 Rahil Sheikh, 11 Dhawal Kulkarni. Pitch and conditions There is a green tinge to the surface. The grass is well rolled to bind the track but, perhaps due to rain over the last two nights, patches of fresh grass have emerged. One has to wait and see whether it would remain on the match day. Wasim Jaffer hung to that lovely cliché: "A very good sporting wicket." Watch out for... Sreesanth v Rohit Sharma: and Sreesanth v Sreesanth. If the second battle is won, the former is likely to be a cracking contest. Munaf Patel v Sudeep Tyagi: Tyagi is what Munaf Patel once was - pace and bounce from just short of length. However, Munaf is the steadier bowler and it will be an interesting battle. Sehwag v Powar: If Sehwag gets going, needless to say, it will be a no contest irrespective of what Mumbai hurl at him. But it will be fascinating to see how Powar, that wonderfully daring practitioner of flight, will bowl to the most lethal destroyer of spin on the international circuit. The return of Sehwag :yay:

[Mr. Wicket]

"They have begun by dropping Amol Muzumdar, the old warhorse, and Sairaj Bahutule. Only four men with links to the past remain: the captain Jaffer, Ajit Agarkar, Ramesh Powar and that faithful servant of Mumbai cricket, Vinayak Samant." ROOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNG! Amol did not get dropped, he left for Assam. What shi itty news source is this?

[Sachinism]

Where do you think?

[Mr. Wicket]

There are many places that offer ill-informed, occasionally out of date and not accurate writeups on cricket. It would be easier if this was the other way around and I had to guess which of the few websites out there was providing some on the mark, insightful stuff.

[Sachinism]

cricinfo, I thought you would have guessed from the layout of it

[Mr. Wicket]

Stopped reading CI previews a good while back. Too much crystal ball, too little real insight.

[Cricketics]

Actualy the thing is that he was dropped from Buchi Babu tournament. Then he thought that he might get dropped from the Ranji squad, so before the deadline could pass, he signed up for Assam.

[Mr. Wicket]

Yeah, although I found that surprising - normally they use the Buchi Babus to also give some of the youngsters a chance and don't stress the senior guys too much. Then again last season he was barely holding onto his place in the Mumbai XI and was the weakest of the batsmen. But I'm excited to see the next gen of Bombay bats this time around... it'll be good to see kids like Kukreja and Marathe getting a solid go.

[satishg]

Sreesanth, Munaf and Tyagi..hmm interesting bowling attack and an impressive performance from anyone would surely get them a national cap. Should be a very good match

[Sooda]

Is Wridd Saha that good? Why wasnt Parthiv in the RoI squad? How about Naman Ojha who went to the Emerging players tourno? Bit inconsistent selection.

[Mr. Wicket]

No, Saha isn't that good. But East Zone needed a rep or two.

[kabira]

it will be live on Neo and I am sure commentators will be Arunlal and Siva..

[Cricketics]

Are they showing on zee sports? I'm sure neo sports is covering this game

[Cricketics]

it will be live on Neo and I am sure commentators will be Arunlal and Siva..

They need to hire someone like Atul Wassan and that charu sharma etc.. Atleast they will keep the game interesting.

[Params7]

It'll be really hard to get streams for this one. If anybody finds a stream please do let me know.

[Cricketics]

Yeh hui na baath! :--D

Mazak kar rah tha yaar. Kaam pe bore ho rah hun toh socha thode maze lelun

[Cricketics]

Irani cup match predictions - who will shine and who will decline ROI to win Sehwag will score a pair of 30s.. Sreesanth and Tyagi wil Impress Manoj Tiwary would be among runs Badrinath to hit a century Ojha to disappoint Agarkar among wickets Rahane/Sharma in a big p'ship stand Pawar impresses

[Cricketics]

Sehwag wont he toss, ROI is batting. Man daymn. I want to watch this.