Ranji Trophy - Super League 2009-2010 - Discussion thread

[Cricketics]

I believe UP will have the best bowling attack with R.P singh and Sudeep Tyagi regularly playing for them this season. RP has been dropped from Indian squad. And Tyagi, if not picked for test series agianst Lanka, would come really handy for his side UP.

[Jersey #10]

Irfan Pathan and Baroda :eyedance: unbeatable :yay:

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Ranji Trophy Super League 2009-10 : Preview II In a four-part preview series, Cricinfo profiles the Super League teams. More... Ranji Trophy Super League 2009-10 Ranji trophy Preview - Part 2 The Ranji Trophy, India's premier domestic competition, is moving into its 76th year and it will be interesting to see whether this age-old competition manages to hold relevance in the era of the IPL and Champion League Twenty20. Mumbai Mumbai have always entered the Ranji Trophy with one thought: that there is no point in coming second. It is not a cocky attitude; rather it is the confidence that comes from being the indisputable heavyweights with 38 Ranji titles. But in the 76th year of the competition, apart from the weight of history, the defending champions face a few stiff challenges. Mumbai's coach Praveen Amre's biggest concern remains the unreliable middle order, which has proved brittle in the past. A long-time Mumbai loyalist and former captain Amol Muzumdar's decision to move to Assam might have raised eyebrows but the veteran batsman had consistently failed to provide any stability in the middle order after the opening pair Wasim Jaffer and Ajinkya Rahane had built solid platforms. In the absence of Muzumdar, the onus now is on Rohit Sharma, who would like to reprise last season's form when he scored three centuries - including two in the final - and three half-centuries. If he fails, it would put enormous pressure on the likes of Abhishek Nayar. Mumbai have tried to push Rahane to No. 3 but Sahil Kukreja's failure as an opener hasn't solved the problem. It's surprising that Mumbai have managed to win the Ranji title twice in the last two years despite their handicaps. To make matters more difficult, four of their key performers - Rohit, Rahane, Nayar and Dhawal Kulkarni - will be absent in the second game as they are part of the Board President's XI squad that will take on the Sri Lankans in Mumbai. The other area of concern will be the absence of a proven legspinner who can take the ball away from the right-handers. With Sairaj Bahutule joining Muzumdar at Assam, the responsibility lies with the much persisted with Iqbal Abdulla, who embarrassingly can't even spin the ball consistently. The 17-year old Harmeet Singh, another left-armer, has been drafted to provide an alternative option. Still, Mumbai have reasons to be optimistic. Players like Jaffer, Rohit, Rahane, Nayar and Kulkarni remain in the peripheral vision of the national selectors. In their quest to capture their own summits lies the fate of Mumbai maintaining its credo. What they did last season Barring the near-embarrassment against Saurashtra, Mumbai remained undefeated, winning five of their seven league games. The only time they looked likely to crumble was in Rajkot when Cheteshwar Pujara and Bhushan Chawan hit big hundreds as Saurasthra piled a mammoth 643 for 4. In reply Mumbai followed-on and at 89 for 5 the ignominy of defeat loomed large. But the spirited Ramesh Powar's four-hour long vigil extinguished Saurashtra's hopes. Mumbai gained revenge by knocking out Saurasthra in the semis, of course this time bolstered by the presence of Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan, who returned for semis and finals. Men to watch Jaffer and Rahane were the only two batsmen last season to cross the 1000-mark. Such was their dominance that pair combined to script four 100-plus partnerships. Both men have been playing for the same club Indian Oil Corporation and play in an aggressive mode. Another key player is the fast bowler Kulkarni, who ended up as the last season's highest wicket-taker (42 at 19 including five five-fors). For the record it was Kulkarni's debut season so the challenge this time, as Jaffer admitted, would be to repeat that effort to prove his worth. Gujarat Gujarat might be one of the less-formidable teams on the Ranji circuit but they dazzled in the 2008-09 season, winning four out of seven games, before they were halted by Uttar Pradesh in the quarter-finals. Bhavik Thaker starred by accumulating 693 runs at 86.62 and was well supported by Parthiv Patel, Nilesh Modi, and Niraj Patel. The bowling was led by the spin-seam combo of Mohnish Parmar, who took 41 wickets at 19.53, and Sidharth Trivedi, who grabbed 34 wickets at 19.08. The biggest news this year, though, occurred beyond the boundary with the state chief minister Narendra Modi becoming the president of the association in September. What they did last season Gujarat cantered to victory against Saurashtra in their first game but suffered a reverse against Mumbai. What followed was a splendid run of form: They had Hyderabad following on but couldn't win it outright, took the first-innings lead against the powerful Delhi, thrashed Punjab by ten wickets, overwhelmed Rajasthan by seven wickets and thumped Orissa by an innings. So far so good but unfortunately for them, their worst batting effort came in the quarter-final. They restricted Uttar Pradesh to 305 in the first innings but were shot out for 117. UP went on to score 375 in their second and Gujarat, chasing 564, ended up on 106 for 3. Men to watch Thaker, who averages 48.24, had a great last season where he amassed 893 runs with 86.62 with the help of three hundreds. Parthiv and Nilesh were the other centurions in the last season and it can be expected that these three will form the fulcrum of Gujarat's batting line-up. Trivedi, a medium pacer, did well last season and went on to earn laurels from his IPL captain Shane Warne. Parmar, a Murali clone, has continued to tantalize domestic batsmen around the country but there have been always murmurs about his action. It would be interesting to see how he goes this year. Railways You have to turn the clock back to the 2004-05 season when Railways last clinched the title. They stirringly came back from the brink of relegation to lift the crown, beating Punjab in Mohali. The loyalists - Sanjay Bangar, Yere Goud and Kulamani Parida - have stayed on from that famous triumph, and through thick and thin since, while the likes of Harvinder Singh and Raja Ali have called it a day. But a bigger worry is that many of the current crop, after performing well for their respective associations last season, has shown a reluctance to appear for their employers. The non-availability of players employed with the Railways under the sports quota like Bhavik Thaker, Rajesh Bishnoi (Gujarat), Shivakant Shukla (Uttar Pradesh) and M Suresh (Andhra Pradesh) severely hampered the team's build-up to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Shukla scored 589 runs, including two centuries in the last season for Uttar Pradesh, while Bhavik Thaker amassed 830 runs at 75.45 and M Suresh had 32 wickets to his name from nine matches and without them Railways will need to be at the top of their game if they are to avoid relegation. What they did last season The return to the top flight last season did not bring with it the coveted results. Railways found themselves wallowing in the lower depths of Group B, just above Maharashtra and the relegated Andhra Pradesh. They began well, taking the bigger share of points in their drawn game against Karnataka. Their solitary win of the campaign soon arrived after another stalemate against Baroda, against Andhra. But on the wrong side of draws in the next three matches meant the twelve points were not going to be enough for a quarter-final berth or an improvement from the fifth place finish among the seven teams. Men to watch Left-handed opener Faiz Fazal, the former Vidarbha captain, was the highest run-getter last season with 484 runs that included an unbeaten 200 against Services. Performances in the Plate Division, though, in his own words, tend to get overlooked, and so the crossover to the Railways team happened this year. Having been extremely consistent through the last two seasons, Fazal also hit a crucial 58 against South Zone as Central Zone were crowned Deodhar Trophy champions. A member of Railways' two Ranji Trophy triumphs, Tejinder Pal Singh, has many good memories of the time spent at the Karnail Singh Stadium. Now back on home ground after a two-year hiatus - he had signed up with the Chandigarh Lions in the ICL - things are happening fast for the middle-order batsman and Northern Railway employee. The most important being a one-year deal offered by the Mumbai Indians in the IPL. The vast experience of Goud, Bangar, and Murali Kartik will always be special as they aim to rekindle the past glory. Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh are back in the Super League a year after they were relegated to the Plate League. They are here by virtue of having topped the Plate League with 19 points, winning three of five games. Their mammoth first-innings lead in the semi-final against Madhya Pradesh in Nagpur guaranteed their promotion to the top division, but for good measure Sarandeep Singh, along with Mohinder Sharma, bowled them to an emphatic win. They were the best side in the Plate League last year for one simple reason - everyone contributed. The top order churned out runs and the bowlers, led by Vikramjeet Malik, Ashok Thakur and Sarandeep, performed admirably to ensure Himachal Pradesh lost just one game last season. They've been a flip-flopping side, shuffling back and forth between the two leagues, and need to prove they can be a consistent threat to top teams. Pooled together in a group that includes Mumbai and Tamil Nadu, who beat them in 2007, Himachal Pradesh cannot afford slip-ups like those that relegated them last time. What they did last season Himachal Pradesh began on a high, beating Haryana handsomely with five points thanks to Malik's 13 wickets. Then they thrashed Kerala and followed up with 480-run hiding of Jammu & Kashmir. A draw and defeat to Goa didn't dampen spirits too much because of their crushing semi-final success. . Men to watch HP's strength is their bowling attack. Leading them again will be the opening pair and Sarandeep, the former India offspinner, who took his 300th first-class wicket last season. Malik and Sarandeep, with 32 and 27 wickets last season, can always be counted on but it was the efforts of the left-arm seamer Thakur, with 29 scalps in that winning campaign, that boosted Himachal Pradesh. Up against tougher teams and in a tough group, how Thakur delivers in tandem with his new-ball partner and Sarandeep will be interesting to see. He's a veteran, being 32 and having played 43 matches, so don't expect him to be overawed by the competition. The batting last season centered around Sangram Singh (632 runs) and Bhavin Thakkar (586 runs) but in the top division contributions will have to be more forthcoming from the likes of Ajay Mannu and Vinit Indulkar, both vital cogs in the set-up.

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Four new faces in Tamil Nadu Ranji squad Tamilnadu squad for Ranji trophy 2009-10. More... Ranji Trophy Super League 2009-10 Four new faces in Tamil Nadu Ranji squad Cricinfo staff October 28, 2009 Tamil Nadu have included four new players in the 16-member squad for their opening Ranji Trophy Super League match against Railways in New Delhi starting November 3. The squad, led by Dinesh Karthik, has only one ICL returnee in fast bowler R Jesuraj. The opening batsman M Vijay will be Karthik's deputy. The four uncapped players include R Suthesh, Aushik Srinivas, Kaushik Gandhi and U Sushil. Suthesh, a left-arm seamer and Sushil, a right-handed batsman, have featured in one-dayers for Tamil Nadu. Gandhi and Srinivas haven't featured in any games for the team. Gandhi, a 19-year-old right-handed batsman, had a good season in the Tamil Nadu leagues, scoring 273 runs in four games for his club, Grand Slam. Tamil Nadu, which finished semi-finalists in the Super League in 2008-09, play all their matches away from home. Squad: Dinesh Karthik (capt), MVijay (vice-capt) Abhinav Mukund, KB Arun Karthik, S Badrinath, S Suresh Kumar, R Ashwin, C Ganapathy, L Balaji, R Suthesh, Aushik Srinivas, S Anirudha, V Yo Mahesh, U Sushil, M Kaushik Gandhi, R Jesuraj

[SSJ4Kakashi]

GO Bengal!!!:yay:

[Cricketics]

Eye on Ranji - 3 Cricinfo staff . Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu can look back at the last season and afford a big smile. A team fairly ravaged by the ICL was going through a transitionary phase and it was a question of how long it would last. After initial struggles, they grew in confidence once their top order started notching up big scores. In 2008-09, the pieces started falling into place. Tamil Nadu possessed one of the strongest batting line-ups in the competition with the likes of Abhinav Mukund, M Vijay, Arun Karthik, S Badrinath and Dinesh Karthik. Abhinav began the season with an unbeaten triple-hundred and ended with a mountain of runs. Karthik, the captain, was the second-highest run-scorer after Abhinav with 634. Vijay, who averaged 77.20, was rewarded with a Test debut against the Australians. L Balaji had a fairytale comeback from a career-threatening injury with 36 wickets and was back in contention with the Indian team. All the while, coach WV Raman remained quietly optimistic a revival was just around the corner. He was rewarded for his belief with a semi-final spot. Unfortunately, Tamil Nadu were edged out on first-innings points against Uttar Pradesh and the chapter ended there. They are placed in Group A and begin their campaign against Railways in New Delhi. Their biggest challengers will be Gujarat, who finished second in the group stages last year, and Ranji champions Mumbai. They play all seven games away from home but last season's performance has indicated that they're very comfortable playing away. Like many other teams, the big difference this season is the recall of the ICL players. The squad for the opening match features only one in R Jesuraj and as the season progresses, we could see players like R Sathish, G Vignesh and Syed Mohammad get a look-in. "We're finding it difficult to include everybody," says Raman. That itself indicates the competition for places. What they did last year Their season opener against Maharashtra in Nasik was one for the record books. Abhinav and Vijay added an insane 462 for the first wicket, with the former going on to record the third triple-hundred by a Tamil Nadu batsman. Unfortunately, they fell just three short of the all-time Ranji record for the opening wicket. That draw was followed by another high-scoring one in Bangalore, against Karnataka. Arun Karthik and S Vidyut were amongst the runs and they had made enough to enforce a follow-on. Their first outright win came against UP in Ghaziabad. Dinesh Karthik set it up with a double-hundred before Balaji's five-for ensured an innings win. Their next game, against Andhra, was affected by rain. Balaji and Karthik teamed up again, in their 259-run win against Baroda and that was followed by a high-scoring draw against Railways. Balaji's six-for in the quarter-finals against Bengal set up the next knockout clash against UP. Shivakant Shukla's monumental knock of 178 - the fourth-longest in first-class cricket - edged out Tamil Nadu on the basis of a first-innings lead. Men to watch Over two seasons, Abhinav has turned into a run machine. No surprise though that he finds himself in the Board President's XI team against the Sri Lankans next month. Arun Karthik, who has a century on first-class debut, will be a force to reckon with at No.3, his preferred position, but he could be asked to open if required. Aushik Srinivas and Kaushik Gandhi are the two rookies to look out for, says Raman. Gandhi, a 19-year-old right-handed batsman, was amongst the runs in the Tamil Nadu leagues. Srinivas is a promising left-arm spinner. Punjab Chandan Madan, who was rewarded with an IPL contract with the Mumbai Indians after his Man-of-the-Series performance in the BCCI Corporate Trophy, will be the man to watch out for Punjab © Cricinfo Ltd It's hard to tell what changes to Punjab's set-up really mean because they happen so frequently and without significant results. This year Punjab will play under a new captain and coach, their fourth in four seasons. Ankur Kakkar, the batsman, takes over from veteran Pankaj Dharmani; Karan Goel, the batsman who played for Kings XI Punjab in the IPL, has been left out of the squad; Ravneet Ricky, the veteran of 72 first-class matches yet only 29, is also absent from the list. There are four new faces, Bharat Loomba, Gaurav Gambhir , Rahul Sharma and Vishwas Bhalla and it remains to be seen what they contribute. The absence of VRV Singh through injury - he missed last season - is a blow. Punjab clearly are yet to recover from the ICL exodus that saw 12 players defect to the now defunct unofficial league. They did well to avoid relegation last season. That the likes of Reetinder Sodhi and Dinesh Mongia have not been called back is indicative of the mire in which Punjab cricket lurches. Punjab had a disappointing season last time and their new coach Bhupinder Singh has said it will be tough to get the team to start winning matches again. Punjab last won the Ranji Trophy in 1992-93 and from being runners-up in 2005 to securing just eight points in six games the next year, then losing half the team to ICL, then finishing fifth along the eight teams in Group A of the Super League least season, it has been a downhill ride. What they did last season Punjab played just one match at home last season and the effects of homesickness were evident. Their nadir was being bowled out for 60 in their first innings by Orissa in a nine-wicket defeat, while a ten-wicket loss to Gujarat seriously rankled. Their two solo wins - over Rajasthan and Hyderabad - were down to clutch performances from a couple individuals but all too often the failure of the bowlers to run through sides hurt Punjab. For the second season running Uday Kaul's centuries were individual landmarks in helping the team avoid conceding first-innings leads, and Sunny Sohal and Kakkar also scored good runs, but far too often Punjab failed to bowl sides out in a hurry. Manpreet Gony had a second disappointing season with the ball and Gagandeep Singh, while adding more wickets than in 2007-08, didn't get the desired support. Men to watch Kaul and Sohal scored the bulk of Punjab's runs last seasons and will again be expected to shore up a lot of the responsibility. But the one man with a considerable buzz about him is the 26-year-old Chandan Madan, who was rewarded with an IPL contract with the Mumbai Indians after his Man-of-the-Series performance in the BCCI Corporate Trophy. Madan has had a stop-start first-class career with Punjab, playing only 13 matches despite making his debut in 2003, but after topping the tournament scoring chart he may well get more playing time. With VRV still recuperating from injury and not expected to play at least in the first half Gagandeep will for the third season lead the attack. Harmeet Singh, the medium-pacer who was part of IPL winners Deccan Chargers, can expect to make his first-class debut in VRV in Siddharth Kaul's absence. Hyderabad Can the ICL returnees make a difference this year? © ICL "We may not have won a single game last season, but Hyderabad has always been good enough to survive," says coach Venkatapathy Raju. With nine players lost to the ICL exodus, the team managed to stay afloat in the Elite Group over two seasons, a credit to their skills. The previous season was particularly hard, littered with draws, three defeats and not a single outright win. It's all a part of a rebuilding process and this season promises a better showing, now with the ICL players returning. The batting, according to Raju, is the least of the team's worries but it's the bowling that needs attention. There wasn't enough arsenal to go that extra mile and pick up those 20 wickets. A lot will hinge on the left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, as long as he's available. The team will also look to make use of VVS Laxman's inputs and experience while he's around - his availability is only restricted to the first two and last two games. Arjun Yadav will take over the captaincy in his absence and Raju had a word of praise for his leadership last season. The team is placed in Group A with Railways, Gujarat, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Orissa and Mumbai. Their main challengers will be Gujarat, TN and Mumbai. The team was unfortunately denied sufficient match practice during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 tournament after four matches were called off when Andhra Pradesh went into mourning after the sudden death of chief minister YSR Reddy. They have the home advantage this time, playing six of their seven games in Hyderabad. Now with a slightly stronger team - with the inclusion of the gifted, yet rebellious Ambati Rayudu - they will be out to make amends. For inspiration, they can read up the Deccan Chargers' story. What they did last year Hyderabad managed draws in their first four games. They bagged first-innings points against Orissa and Ranji champions Delhi, were in trouble when Gujarat enforced the follow-on before the captain Arjun Yadav led the rescue effort with a century. They then played out a high-scoring draw against Rajasthan, with Laxman piling on 224 in his only Ranji appearance that season. But things went downhill. Mumbai batted them out of the game and that innings defeat was followed by a nine-wicket loss to Punjab. That was followed by a low-scoring encounter against Saurashtra, which ended with them tumbling to 71 while chasing 177. Their batting was exposed against stronger opposition, but despite the succession of defeats, they finished seventh. Men to watch Audiences had the chance to witness T Suman in the IPL and he ended the last season with decent returns of 426 runs in seven games. Anoop Pai, the Ethiopia born top-order batsman, led the run charts last season with 550 runs. Besides Rayudu, the coach Raju expects the other ICL returnees, batsman Anirudh Singh and seamer Alfred Absolom to make an impact. Their experience will be crucial if both Laxman and Ojha aren't available. All three tasted plenty of success at the other side of the fence with the ICL Hyderabad Heroes. All they need to do is bring that winning culture into the team which nurtured their skills. Baroda The Pathan brothers will have to lead from front to lead Baroda to the knockout stage © Cricinfo Ltd It probably came as a surprise for Baroda not to find themselves in the knockout stages last year, having made the semi-finals in the previous two seasons. But then, they had decided to experiment by introducing young talent and like with all things youth, patience is the key. Paras Mhambrey, who joined Baroda last year as coach, is of the firm belief that the youngsters in the team are steadily getting confident in their own ability and would soon start delivering the goods. Irfan Pathan's appointment as the captain is a positive step considering the average age of the Baroda team is in the 23-24 range if you take out the four veterans - Satyajit Parab, Connor Williams, Jacob Martin and Rajesh Pawar. Unfortunately Irfan is not available for the season opener, against heavyweights Delhi, on home ground as he is not completely fit. The responsibility moves to elder brother Yusuf, who was dropped from the Indian ODI squad recently. More importantly it is a good challenge for youth brigade of Ajitesh Arghal, Azhar Bilakhia, Swapnil Singh and Rakesh Solanki to go for the broke and re-establish Baroda as a contender in the Ranji campaign. What they did last year It was a frustrating season with three losses against seasoned sides (Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu) and three victories against weaker opponents (Railways, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra). Apart from Irfan's brilliant bowling that included three five-fors, Baroda never really were in the news. Men to watch Needless to say seniors like the Pathan siblings and Munaf Patel (depending on their availability) would obviously remain the go-to men. But it is the youngsters who could just play a vital role. Bilakhia, their top scorer last year, would fancy to take over the leadership in the batting order and also deploying the tips he might've picked at Deccan Chargers, current IPL champions, from the likes of Adam Gilchrist, Herschelle Gibbs and Andrew Symonds. The pair of Rakesh Solanki and Swapnil Singh, two talented batsmen, is capable of lending able support to the seniors and hungry to prove their worth at this level. http://www.cricinfo.com/ranjisuperleague2009/content/story/432228.html

[Cricketics]

Usually Neo Sports had a trend of showing 1 match every week when India wasn't playing Since India has plenty of games this time around with Sri Lanka coming home too, I doubt we will get to see any Ranji Trophy action on Neo Sports.

[shubham45]

ankur kakkar to lead punjab ankur kaakkar the unknown man of punjab cricket is made their ranji trophy captain for the first 2 matches.love ablish make a comeback

[shubham45]

saurab tiwary made jarkand captain teh lefty batsman of mumbai indians a look alike of dhoni is made the captain of jarkand ranji team

[Indianfan_Hyd]

Just for being a look aliike.... he was made a captain????

[Sooda]

supposed to be a promising young bat played in the last U19 WC. Bit young to be a captain Id have thunk, he's only 19.

[Cricketics]

teh lefty batsman of mumbai indians a look alike of dhoni is made the captain of jarkand ranji team

He is supposed to be a good batsman dude. I don't know mucha bout jharkhand batsmans much, but surely this guy would be one of their better bats as he has scored runs everywhere. In Deodhar trophy also last year he was pretty good.

[ludhianvi]

Some new faces... should be exciting. They need to make it 5 days and remove that First innings rule IMO. Hopefully, there would be some good coverage.

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Preview of Ranji super league teams - IV Preview of Ranji super league teams - IV More... Karnataka Karnataka has had an eventful off-season. The potentially trendsetting Karnataka Premier League had a promising debut season, while the state selectors (including former internationals Syed Kirmani and Raghuram Bhat) quit after their integrity was questioned by the state association's president when they named the squad for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in September (subsequently their resignations were taken back ten days ago) . Further, there is still no clarity over who will be Karnataka's full-time captain once Rahul Dravid departs for national duty. On the field, the Ranji Trophy title has proved elusive for a full decade after a period of dominance in the late 90s. Last season, the batting was too dependent on Robin Uthappa (Dravid was rarely available) as the other batsmen showed little consistency. It was a similar story in the bowling where veteran left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi, now nearly 40, and fast bowler Vinay Kumar had little support. New coach Sanath Kumar, who takes over from Vijay Bharadwaj, needs to get promising young batsmen - Manish Pandey, KB Pawan, M Gautam and Ryan Ninan (who played for Goa last season) - to raise their game. Fast bowler NC Aiyappa has been axed after a poor season (six matches, ten wickets at 40.40), giving the likes of S Aravind and Abhimanyu Mithun a chance to shine. One of Karnataka's strengths is that they have a lot of allrounders, adding plenty of depth to the batting. Joshi, C Raghu and Stuart Binny - back after quitting the ICL - are bonafide allrounders while bowlers Vinay and B Akhil have also proved handy with the bat. Another positive is that they have Dravid leading the side for the first two matches, which are against possibly the strongest teams in Karnataka's group - Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. With their conquerors from the previous season, Saurashtra, and Bengal, who have just made it back to the Super League, Karnataka have to be at their best to make it to the quarter-finals. What they did last year It was, at best, a satisfactory season for Karnataka. Things seemed to be going well in the quarter-final against Saurashtra when they gained a big first-innings cushion, but they were undone by the old-hand and young-gun combination of Shitanshu Kotak and Cheteshwar Pujara, who orchestrated a tough chase of 325. Before that reverse, though, they were unbeaten. They opened the campaign with a couple of unconvincing draws against Railways and Tamil Nadu, conceding the crucial first-innings lead in both matches. They got back on track with an easy win against lightweights Andhra in Mysore, and a resounding ten-wicket victory against Baroda. The game against Uttar Pradesh was the only time they crossed the 400-mark, but that was not enough to gain first-innings point as the match petered out into a high-scoring draw. A 155-run win against Maharashtra secured a place in the quarter-finals, beyond which they couldn't progress. Men to watch As in the previous season, Uthappa will get plenty of attention as he tries to force his way back into the national reckoning. The spotlight will also be on two other upcoming players who have proved their worth mainly in Twenty20s so far: Pandey and the ICL returnee Binny. A first-class average of 27 with no centuries isn't a great record, but that hasn't stopped Pandey from becoming something of a household name after his exploits in the IPL. This season will test whether he can translate his form from slam-bang cricket to the four-day game. As for Binny, he was one of the most impressive Indian cricketers in the ICL, and that has now earned him a contract with the Mumbai Indians. He has done little of note in his 18 first-class matches, though. How he fares over the next few months will determine whether he will be pigeonholed as a Twenty20 specialist or not. Bengal Drama thy name is Bengal. A return to the top flight after one season in the lower division has not been without its share of controversies. The contentious issue of Laxmi Ratan Shukla being retained as captain this season pales in comparison to the difference of opinions between the selectors while choosing the best available talent. After the selection meeting last Tuesday was postponed due to personality clash between the selectors, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president Jagmohan Dalmiya held sway at the sitting the following day to bring about a consensus. Little wonder then that the CAB has named a 15-member Bengal squad for just the first game against Maharashtra in Pune. And with every player being handed over a sheet containing contact numbers of their team-mates to improve communication among themselves, the message is loud and clear after their horrendous performance in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. They took a step in the right direction by entering the finals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy earlier this year. Also, the ICL players have returned, there is a new coach in Roger Binny and a new chairman of selectors in Sambaran Banerjee. Will Bengal recapture their lost glory? What they did last season With three wins and two draws, Bengal established their supremacy at the top of Group B in the Plate League. Their biggest triumph was the innings-and-226-run demolition of Services in Kolkata. Ranadeb Bose's six-wicket haul gave Bengal the first-innings lead against Goa in the Plate League semi-final, which was enough to ensure a Super League quarter-final berth. But Tamil Nadu were always going to be formidable opponents, and despite a first-innings lead courtesy Manoj Tiwary's century, they lost by eight wickets. Men to watch Wriddhiman Saha has made the most of the opportunity with Bengal after Deep Dasgupta's exodus to the ICL. The journey that began in November 27 is heading in the right direction, even as Dasgupta makes his return following the BCCI's amnesty offer. Saha was Bengal's top scorer in the Plate League last year with 428 runs from six matches at 53.50 that included a brilliant 159 against Vidarbha. The performances had even led the selectors to flirt with the possibility of naming him the captain this season. His talent has been endorsed by John Buchanan, Ricky Ponting and the state's own Sourav Ganguly, who reckons that Saha is the next big thing in Bengal cricket. A successful stint in the IPL with the Kolkata Knight Riders was followed by an India A call-up and the 25-year-old from Shaktigarh, Burdwan is one to watch out for in the future. Behind Saha, with 308 runs at 38.50 in the last year's campaign, was Tiwary, who is perhaps Bengal's most consistent batsman in recent years. He was also the fourth-highest run-getter in the Ranji Trophy one-dayers last season, scoring 373 runs at 74.60. Bengal will certainly hope that this season turns out to be like the one he had a couple of years ago, when he averaged over 90. Bose and Ashok Dinda continue to toil hard for Bengal, despite their spat during the Vijay Hazare Trophy, when Dinda was fined Rs 10,000 by the CAB. Bose and Dinda shared 61 wickets to become the third and fourth-highest wicket-takers in the Plate League last season and were the biggest factor in Bengal's quick return to the top division. Saurashtra "No one used to bother about Saurashtra in the past," says Shitanshu Kotak, their most senior player. "Now they sit up and take notice, they think this team can beat us. It feels great." Saurashtra, one of the unfancied teams in the circuit, surprised many by reaching the semi-finals in the last two years. Their 2007-08 campaign gave them the belief that they no longer need to fear the good teams and the last year's efforts showed everybody else that Saurashtra are here to stay. They will face a big hurdle this year with the absence of Ravindra Jadeja, away playing for India, as he shone with both bat and ball last season. What they did last year Their batsmen, led by Cheteshwar Pujara, came to the party on home grounds in Saurashtra to take them to the knock-out stage. In the quarterfinal against Karnataka, who had Rahul Dravid, they looked down and out after yielding 114-run lead in the first innings. But Sandeep Jobanputra and Ravindra Jadeja, the seam-spin combo, bundled out Karnataka for 208 in the second innings before Pujara (112) and Kotak (87) helped them chased down 325. However, Wasim Jaffer hit a triple century in the semi-final to help take Mumbai the first-innings lead and to end Saurashtra's campaign. Men to watch Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja led with the bat, amassing 906 and 739 runs and were well supported by Kotak and the two openers Chirag Pathak and Bhushan Chauhan. Ravindra Jadeja led their bowling with 42 wickets at 19.92 but he will be missing this season due to India duty. In his absence, Jobanputra and Balkrishna Jadeja will have to share the burden in the bowling department. Maharashtra This could be the year of consolidation for this young squad, whose average age is 21 and features only two 25-plus players. Last year Maharashtra appointed a new coach in the Australian Shaun Williams and gave berths to ten uncapped players in the squad. Twelve months on both the coach and team have a better understanding about the goals and challenges ahead and how best to capture them. Willams is unwilling to stick the 'inexperienced' tag up his players' sleeves anymore and instead wants them to step up to the next level. The players seem to have read their coach's message clearly as they bounced back strongly in the West Zone leg of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in October. Having lost the first game against Gujarat, Maharashtra hit back strongly by beating three formidable opponents - Baroda, Mumbai and Saurashtra - to advance into the knockout round. The challenge now is to come up with strong, solid and consistent performances. Even if their success came in a Twenty20 format it still is an encouraging sign and a pointer to the progress being made. Maharashtra continue to be a developing team whose nucleus remains the quartet of Kedar Jadhav, Amey Shrikhande, Harshad Khadiwale (in the batting department) and Samad Fallah leading the bowling attack. Last year Maharashtra suffered the absence of a quality spinner despite the presence of the Bangladeshi left-armer Enamul Haq jnr, who failed to live up to the expectations. Kiran Adhav, another left-armer, and Ganesh Gaikwad, an offspinner, have done well in the pre-season games and could play a key role considering the fact that four of the six league matches will be held in Pune, the team's home base. Maharashtra did not have an off season as they played home-and-away encounters against emerging squads in Bangladesh and Australia. Players, having gained vital exposure against quality opposition, would now be looking forward to push Maharashtra to the next level. What they did last year Nothing spectacular. In fact, they were only in the news when the Tamil Nadu opening pair of Abhinav Mukund and M Vijay fell short of breaking the Ranji Trophy record for the opening partnership against them. Their 462 was two runs short of Ravi Sehgal and Raman Lamba's 464 which came in the clash between Delhi and Himachal Pradesh in 1994-95. Men to watch Jadhav, Shrikhande, Khadiwale and Fallah remain the catalysts. Jadhav is the pivot in the middle order and was the ninth highest run-getter in the Super League (651 runs in 6 matches) and Shrikhande was No. 13 (571 runs in 6 matches). Fallah, a left-arm swing bowler, is of average build, not particularly tall but his strength lies in his ability to move the ball in the air. Last season he was the highest wicket-taker in West Zone at the end of the league phase with four five-fors the highest number by any bowler till Dhawal Kulkarni equalled his mark in the final. In the final count Fallah stood No. 8 on the wickets' list with 33 victims. Khadiwale, 20, is a hard-hitting opening batsman and got a half-century in the Challenger Trophy for Indian Red.

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Aggression the buzzword for Chopra’s Delhi After a strenuous training session at the scenic Moti Bagh ground in Vadodara, most of the Delhi players plodded towards the welcome shade of a huge tree, one of the many dotting the ground, to rest their tired limbs, reports Subhash Rajta. More... Aggression the buzzword for Chopra’s Delhi Subhash Rajta, Hindustan Times Vadodara, November 01, 2009 First Published: 23:23 IST(1/11/2009) Last Updated: 23:25 IST(1/11/2009) After a strenuous training session at the scenic Moti Bagh ground in Vadodara, most of the Delhi players plodded towards the welcome shade of a huge tree, one of the many dotting the ground, to rest their tired limbs. Rajat Bhatia, however, resisted the temptation and led a small group, which gradually grew in size, for a few more rounds under the warm sun. Perhaps, he realised that it was time to push the limits. That’s exactly what Delhi need to do this time to get over their rather disappointing showing in the last season in which they fell well short of making it to the last four stage. A look at last season’s record shows them as not having pushed hard enough for victory, ending up drawing five matches of the seven they played, the most by any team in their group. Vijay Dahiya, the Delhi coach, however, did not see much in the interpretation. “The end result may lead one to assume that we didn’t push hard for victory, but the reality is the opposite. We had played positive cricket right through, but ended up playing so many draws because of the opposition’s inclination to be content with the first innings lead against us,” Dahiya said. “On three occasions, the opposition took slender first innings lead and then didn’t push for a result,” he added. But more than that, what held Delhi back from pushing their case, as Dahiya pointed out, was the lack of runs from the batsmen. They had just three centuries to show for the entire tournament (Wasim Jaffer alone scored four for Mumbai), and that’s hardly the ammunition a team needs to go on the offensive. “That’s something everyone in the team felt bad about. Our batsmen were disappointed, and are more than eager to set it right this time. We have one of the most experienced batting line-ups in Aakash Chopra, Shikhar Dhawan, Mithun Manhas and Rajat Bhatia. Moreover, Mayank Tehlan is coming along really well, which is a huge positive for us,” Dahiya said. So how do they plan to turn around their fortunes this time? “We will play positive and aggressive cricket and hopefully we will have much better results,” he said.

[champ]

akash chopra and aggressive :hysterical::hysterical:

[The Dark Horse]

^oximoron:winky:

[ludhianvi]

Round 1 of Ranji Super League Matches Scheduled to start in : Group B: Baroda v Delhi at Vadodara Nov 3-6 (09:30 local, 04:00 GMT) Group A: Gujarat v Orissa at Ahmedabad Nov 3-6 (09:30 local, 04:00 GMT) Group A: Hyderabad v H. Pradesh at Hyderabad (Decc) Nov 3-6 (09:30 local, 04:00 GMT) Group B: Maharashtra v Bengal at Poona Nov 3-6 (09:30 local, 04:00 GMT) Group A: Punjab v Mumbai at Chandigarh Nov 3-6 (09:30 local, 04:00 GMT) Group A: Railways v Tamil Nadu at Delhi Nov 3-6 (09:30 local, 04:00 GMT) Group B: U. Pradesh v Karnataka at Meerut Nov 3-6 (09:30 local, 04:00 GMT)

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Guj bowling takes a knock on eve of Ranji match vs Orissa Gujarat suffered a huge blow on the eve of their season's first Ranji Trophy tie against Orissa when strike bowlers Mohnish Parmar and Amit Singh failed to get clearance from the BCCI on Monday. More... Guj bowling takes a knock on eve of Ranji match vs Orissa DNATuesday, November 3, 2009 8:23 IST Email Ahmedabad: Gujarat suffered a huge blow on the eve of their season's first Ranji Trophy tie against Orissa when strike bowlers Mohnish Parmar and Amit Singh failed to get clearance from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday. Both bowlers are under the scanner for suspect action. "It's a big loss for us. We haven't got the message from the BCCI, whether they can be in the team of not," chief coach Vijay Patel said. He, however, remained optimistic, saying, "This will allow the new boys to show their talent." Last season, Parmar and Singh were instrumental in taking Gujarat to the quarterfinals. In their absence, the bowling attack will be led by seamers Siddharth Trivedi and Ashraf Makda. Old horse Hitesh Majmudar has been called back to add experience to the line-up, while the spin department will be handled by Timil Patel, Jayesh Makla and Salil Yadav. The 15-member Gujarat squad was announced on Monday, a day before the four-day encounter at the Sardar Patel Stadium, Navrangpura. The absence of the two strike bowlers has left the bowling looking a bit weaker than last year, leaving the batting order the task of compensating for their loss. "Yes, there will be extra pressure on us. But that is the way it is," admitted captain Parthiv Patel. After a few experiments in pre-season tournaments, the selection committee zeroed in on Jay Desai as Hem Joshipura's opening partner. The middle order will have Niraj Patel, Parthiv, the in-form Bhavik Thakar and Digant Popat. Two all-rounders, Rujul Bhatt and Vimal Tandel, have also found place in the squad. The final 11, however, will be decided only on Tuesday.

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Karnataka to meet UP in Ranji opener More... Karnataka to meet UP in Ranji opener Posted On Monday, November 02, 2009 Agencies Meerut, Nov 2: Legendary batsman and skipper of Karnataka team Rahul Dravid finds the opener of Ranji trophy cricket season against Uttar Pradesh an apt opportunity for match practice ahead of Sri Lanka Test series. ''I will be playing two Ranji matches before Srilanka test series and would be happy to perform well for my team,'' he told reporters at Bhamashah stadium where the four-day Ranji match undergoes from tomorrow. He is also likley to play next match against formidable Delhi. Dravid said the UP team is a bunch of talented crickters with likes of international Rudra Pratap Singh, Mohad Kaif and Piyush Chawla and upcoming pacer the local Bhuvnesh Kumar donning the side.''I want to give my best to start good season for my Karnataka team,'' he says. In fact, the Karnataka-UP match will provide enough opportunities for R P Singh, Piyush Chawla from UP and Robin Uthappa of Karnataka to remind the selectors about their prowess. Bhuvnesh Kumar, the lanky bowler from Meerut, which has produced Praveen Kumar, is also known to be in reckoning to play at the top level. Incidentally, Praveen Kumar, currently doing duty for the national side against visiting Australia, along with Bhuvnesh Kumar, had played with Dravid for Royal Challenger team in the Indian Premier League(IPL). No wonder, both the players earned lavish praise from the Karnataka captain. UP had been performing well in the domestic circuit under the captaincy of Kaif and many of its players had alreday made it to the national side, Dravid said. ''We cannot take UP lightly in any case,''he quips. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Perhaps it would be stating the obvious, but both Mohd Kaif and Rahul Dravid are desperate for a good start to the Ranji Trophy season, reports Sharad Deep. More... Dravid and RP look for valuable practice Sharad Deep, Hindustan Times Meerut, November 03, 2009 First Published: 00:16 IST(3/11/2009) Last Updated: 00:17 IST(3/11/2009) Perhaps it would be stating the obvious, but both Mohd Kaif and Rahul Dravid are desperate for a good start to the Ranji Trophy season. The Super League Group 'B' tie between Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka, starting here, holds importance for Rahul Dravid, Rudra Pratap Singh and to a certain extent Piyush Chawla before the Test series against the visiting Sri Lanka team begins. “It's going to be a good practice opportunity for me, and I would love to avail it,” said Dravid. “Besides, I feel the team also needs a good start to the season,” added Dravid, who termed the pitch here as a batting paradise. He, however, refused to take the hosts lightly. Kaif too was not willing to underestimate the Karnataka side. “Despite not having Praveen Kumar, Suresh Raina and Sudeep Tyagi, we have good bowlers and batsmen to challenge the rivals.” UP, who have made it to three Ranji Trophy finals in the last four years, would start with three seamers --- RP Singh, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and ex-ICL star Shalabh Srivastava, besides two specialist spinners, Piyush Chawla and Praveen Gupta. In the batting department, apart from Kaif, Tanmay Srivastava, Shivakant Shukla, Ravikant Shukla, Parvinder Singh and Piyush Chawla would share the burden. UP will play four matches at home and two away games at Rajkot and Pune.