Duleep Trophy, 2007-08

[Chandan]

Duleep Trophy 2007-08 ROUND TWO, DAY THREE Match evenly poised as South chase 273 Cricinfo staff February 5, 2008 South Zone 204 and 113 for 3 (Teja 54, Badrinath 42*) need another 160 runs to beat East Zone 313 and 163 (Halhadar 52*, Raghu 3-33) Scorecard South Zone will look to their captain S Badrinath to secure a come-from-behind victory © Cricinfo Ltd A superb bowling performance helped South Zone crawl their way back into their match against East Zone in Mumbai. After an eventful third day, the game was evenly poised with South needing another 160 runs to win with seven wickets in hand. East were in command when the day started, having secured a handy 114-run lead with all their wickets intact. However, they let their advantage slip with an inept batting performance. Only one of their top six batsmen got a start - Anustup Majumdar - as they crashed to 79 for 6. No. 7 Halhadar Das, who made 93 in the first innings, top scored again with an unbeaten 52, including eight boundaries, to add some respectability to the East total. Tushar Saha also chipped in with a 28 to help set a target of 273. South's bowlers kept the runs under check; Ashwin Raghu finished with impressive figures of 3 for 33. South's pursuit got off to a bad start with Murali Vijay falling in the first over to former India international Debasis Mohanty. S Badrinath, the South Zone captain, and Ravi Teja stitched together an 81-run stand for the second wicket. Teja was aggressive - making 54 in 59 balls and lashing eight fours and a six - before left-arm spinner Saha trapped him in front. Arjun Yadav made 12 before falling in a similar manner. Badrinath remained unbeaten on a sedate 42 with wicketkeeper Prasad Reddy keeping him company. ************************* South look to end campaign with win FOR THE first time in this year's Duleep Trophy, South Zone came together and rose to the occasion. But it came a bit too late. Their bowlers dismissed East for 163 in the second innings at the Wankhede stadium on Tuesday to give themselves a chance of an outright win. South, facing a target of 273, were 113 for three on day 3 stumps, needing 160 more on Wednesday's final day. But the win, if it comes, would still not help South qualify for the final as they have already lost to North in their first game. South required a bonus point here if they had to qualify for the final. But the match on its own is poised to go either way. South will be relying heavily on skipper S Badrinath while East will look up to the left-arm spin of Tushar Saha to strike repeatedly, the bowler having already picked up two. South needed a miracle if they were to pick up the bonus point. But their previous three outings and their young line-up do not give them the confidence or the assurance needed for a victory. They were off to a demoralising start when Murali Vijay, opening instead of the injured Swapnil Asnodkar, fell in the first over, edging the swinging Debasis Mohanty behind. Fellow opener Ravi Teja (54, 59b, 8x4, 1x6) was flashy throughout. The righthander from Hyderabad began with safe aerial strokes and looked to counterattack everyone. He was severe on Ranadeb Bose, driving him on the up and later hooking him over the long-leg fieldsman SS Paul for six. A similar stroke in front of square for one bounce four revealed the former India under-19 opener's intentions. East captain Shiv Sundar Das introduced spin after 17 overs since the medium-pacers had no luck in separating Teja and Badrinath. And the move paid off immediately. England Lions 155 and 146 for 1 (Carberry 71*, Yardy 57*) need another 150 runs to beat Central Zone 270 and 180 (Kaif 42, Onions 3-40) Scorecard A spirited performance from England Lions' gave them the edge going into the final day of their match against Central Zone. Chasing a stiff 296 for victory, they reached a confident 146 for 1 by stumps in Vadodara. Joe Denly was the only Lions' wicket to fall, trapped in front by left-arm spinner Praveen Gupta for 15. Michael Carberry and captain Michael Yardy then forged an unbroken 116-run stand for the second wicket to lead the Lions' pursuit. Needing to score the highest total of the match to win, Carberry and Yardy both played patient knocks to ensure there was no repeat of the second day's batting collapse. Carberry, who made 35 in the first innings, didn't throw away his start this time, finishing on an unbeaten 71, including 12 fours and a six. The experienced Yardy had reached 57 by stumps. Central had started the day in control after gaining a 115-run first-innings lead but were kept down to a moderate 180 in their second. With a top-order collapse seeing them at a parlous 39 for 4, Mohammad Kaif, the captain, tried to salvage the situation, top scoring with 42. The tail also resisted with a 60-run partnership for the seventh wicket between Jalaj Saxena (27) and Sanjib Sanyal (37). All the Lions' bowlers chipped in, with Graham Onions being the most successful, taking three wickets. Monty Panesar was expensive but got the big wicket of the in-form Kaif while legspinner Adil Rashid made short work of the last two wickets. ********************************* Lions roar, finally THE ENGLAND Lions found their own ray of hope, as the sun got brighter here, by bowling and batting sensibly to set themselves on road for a win. On a day when cold winter morning made way for a bright sunny afternoon, Lions, chasing a target of 296, were at 146 for one at the end of the third day's play of their Duleep Trophy league match against the Central Zone here at the Motibagh Palace Ground on Tuesday. Opener Michael Carberry (71 not out) and captain Michael Yardy (57 not out), with an unbeaten partnership of 116, were at the crease when stumps were drawn. With 150 runs still needed to be scored in the last day of the four-day match, Lions should fancy their chances given the form of Carberry, who looked in great touch. The southpaw scored 19 runs, with three fours and a six, off left-arm spinner Praveen Gupta in the 41st over.Central Zone bowlers would now be hoping to make use of the moisture on the pitch on Wednesday morning and hope to break this partnership early in the day. Earlier, resuming from an overnight score of 23 for two, Central Zone batsmen fell to some inspired spells from Lions pacers, particularly Graham Onions, and were bowled out for 180. Skipper Mohammad Kaif (42) again topscored for his team with some attractive strokeplay but the top order failed and the tail could not do much repair Onions (3 for 40) was impressive with his spell, bowling in the right areas and cutting the ball well. He was unlucky not to have ended with more victims and his spell was largely instrumental in restricting the Central batsmen to a low score.

[zub2006]

england lions look in a real good position.

[suma25]

match between south and east zone ia cracker south need 99 runs but have 4wickets in hand badri scored a 50 but couldnt carry on. england lions on their way to register a win over central

[Chandan]

Lions register their first victory here against the Central zone on the back of a magnificent century by Canberry. Central zone's bowling was extremely poor in the second inning with not even Pankaj doing anything noteworthy. South are bundled out of the campaign by crashing to yet another defeat against East. What else can you expect from a side which has Arjun Yadav chosen for the zonal squad??:mad:

[apocalypse]

East Zone 313 (Halhadar 93, Aiyappa 5-84) and 163 (Halhadar 52*) beat South Zone 204 (Vijay 46, Saha 4-47) and 204 (Badrinath 57, Saha 3-56) by 68 runs Scorecard Ranadeb Bose and Tushar Saha shared six second-innings wickets between them to help East Zone register a 68-run victory against South Zone just after lunch on the final day at the Wankhede Stadium. South appeared well-placed to chase the target of 273 on the third day, ending at 113 for 3, but a steady fall of wickets to the seamers handed East the initiative and the lower order could do little to stage a recovery. The overnight pair of captain S Badrinath and Prasad Reddy put South on track, taking the score to 143 before Bose struck twice in successive overs. Badrinath, who scored 57, edged to SS Das at first slip and his Tamil Nadu team-mate R Ashwin, a capable lower-order batsman, was caught by Halhadar Das without scoring. Swapnil Asnodkar was Bose's third victim, before Shib Sankar Paul removed Reddy for 39. South never recovered from that passage of play, when they lost five wickets for 44 runs. The spinners then mopped the tail as South ended with 204, exactly what they had managed in the first innings. Saha, the left-arm spinner, took 3 for 56 to finish with a match tally of seven wickets. Bose finished with innings figures of 3 for 67. East head to Rajkot for their final league match, against North Zone starting February 11. South ended a disappointing campaign, finishing at the bottom of the table with two defeats. England Lions 155 (Rashid 40, Pankaj Singh 4-35) and 297 for 5 (Carberry 112, Yardy 57, Mathur 3-25) beat Central Zone 270 (Kaif 64, Richardson 4-50) and 180 (Kaif 42, Onions 3-40) by five wickets Scorecard A patient century by Michael Carberry, backed by fifties by Ed Joyce and Michael Yardy, guided England Lions to a comfortable five-wicket win against Central Zone on the final day in Vadodara. The Lions carried on from their spirited reply the previous day and compensated for their disappointing first-innings display of 155, chasing down the target of 296 with ease. The Lions didn't however get off to the best of starts, losing Yardy for 57 with no addition to their overnight score of 146. Joyce and Carberry then constructed the second-best partnership of the match - 98 - with Joyce scoring 54 off 100 balls. The pair kept Central Zone at bay for more than 30 overs before Sumit Mathur, the medium-pacer, picked up three quick wickets against the run of play. Joyce was the first to go, caught by Mahesh Rawat, followed by Carberry, trapped leg before. Carberry's 112 included 15 fours and a six. James Foster, who failed to get off the mark, was Rawat's second victim, as the Lions lost three with the addition of five runs, with the score reading 249 for 5. Jonathan Trott and Adil Rashid shrugged off the jitters and breezed through to the target in less than eight overs, hitting five boundaries each. The Lions now head the Group B table with five points and face West Zone at the same venue on February 11.

[Chandan]

Duleep Trophy, 2007-08 ROUND TWO, DAY FOUR East not best but better than South: Win by 68 runs to keep their final hopes alive

East Zone 313 (Halhadar 93' date= Aiyappa 5-84) and 163 (Halhadar 52*) beat South Zone 204 (Vijay 46, Saha 4-47) and 204 (Badrinath 57, Saha 3-56) by 68 runs Scorecard

BENGAL'S STRIKE bowler Ranadeb Bose took three wickets in an eight-over spell to bowl East Zone to a 68-run win over a depleted South Zone on the fourth and final day of the Duleep Trophy league tie at the Wankhede stadium here on Wednesday. Questions were raised about the wicket-taking form that Bose is in at the moment. He went for more runs on Tuesday and had taken only 21 wickets for Bengal this season, less than half his amazing haul in 2006-07. But on Wednesday, he brushed aside those doubts with three good wicket-taking deliveries that swung away and took the outside edge. South resumed at 113 for three and needed another 160 for a win. The target was achievable if the South batsmen played cautiously, took session by session and applied themselves. But they seemed in a hurry and had no clue to Bose's perseverance in the corridor around off stump. South batsmen, who all have done well in Ranji Trophy, just could not raise themselves at the next level. Captain S Badrinath duly completed his half-century but after making 57 (125b, 6x4), in an attempt to work Bose through the covers, edged to SS Das 53 minutes into the morning. There started the South downfall and it was a matter of when East would celebrate their win rather than if. LN Prasad Reddy waged a lone battle, consumed time and timed the ball neatly in his innings of 39. But he did not have anyone to support him. Dramatic over IN ONE eventful over from Bose, R Ashwin was dismissed 'twice'. The events also showed the umpires in poor light. Ashwin snicked Bose to SS Das at first slip and the fieldsman rolled over after taking the catch. Ashwin waited for a while and began to walk back after Amish Saheba raised his finger However, on his way back, Ashwin stopped and went back to square leg umpire, K Hariharan, to check if the ball touched the ground. The doubtful Hariharan went up to Saheba, International Cricket Council's International Panel umpire, who then referred it to the third umpire, Ravi Deshmukh. TV replays showed that the catch was grounded and Ashwin was asked to carry on. Two dot balls later, Ashwin survived a loud appeal for caught behind but the next ball, he edged to wicketkeeper H Das and walked back with his head held down. As it turned out, it ended as a five-ball over. Bose (3/67) had his third wicket when Swapnil Asnodkar, batting at number 7 with a runner after suffering from groin injury, edged an away-going delivery to SS Das' safe hands. The tail folded up meekly. NC Aiyappa connected some, picking up a six and two fours. The end came two deliveries after lunch. Offbreak bowler from Assam, Palash Jyothi Das, picked up a wicket each either side of lunch to end with two for four from four deliveries. With five points from their first match, East next take on North at Rajkot from February 11 for a place in the final. North too have five points from their win over South in Ahmedabad last week. Carberry sees Lions through:Opener's ton leads England team to a five-wicket win over Central

[b]England Lions 155 (Rashid 40, Pankaj Singh 4-35) and 297 for 5 (Carberry 112, Yardy 57, Mathur 3-25) beat Central Zone 270 (Kaif 64, Richardson 4-50) and 180 (Kaif 42, Onions 3-40) by five wickets Scorecard

A FIGHTING century by opener Michael Carberry (112) and his 98 run partnership with Ed Joyce (54) for the third wicket guided his team to a five-wicket win over Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy league match here on Wednesday. The England Lions earned five points from this win and they next meet West Zone, who have three points, on Monday (February 11). This match would be a must-win for West Zone as even a draw would take the England side to the final. England Lions, resuming from overnight score of 146 for one and chasing a target of 296, scored the winning runs in the 90th over and half-an-hour after lunch at the Motibaug Palace Ground. However, they began the fourth day's play disastrously losing their skipper and overnight batsman Michael Yardy (57) in the second over of the day. The 116-run partnership for the second Lions wicket was broken by Pankaj Singh when he had Yardy caught in the slips. Though they had to score only 150 runs on the last day and had nine wickets in their hand, the seaming conditions in the morning and the moisture on the pitch must have been playing on their mind. And the final day's play almost began as the Englishmen feared. And The Central Zone bowlers too, encouraged by the early wicket, kept bowling a tight line. From 244 for two, the Lions found themselves at 249 for five and were in danger of being bowled out as their batting order does not run deep. But Jonathan Trot and Adil Rashid scored 50 runs for sixth wicket to take their team home. Central had their chances too and had kept a tight leash on the Lions batsmen but they let Carberry off the hook when Sanjay Bangar, at third slip, dropped him when he was on 83. And Carberry and Joyce, who saw through the first hour of the day's play, then started scoring freely wresting the initiative away from the Central Zone. The left-handed batsman Carberry, resuming from overnight score of 71, reached his hundred just before lunch with an on-drive to the long-on boundary However, he was trapped leg before by medium pacer Sumit Mathur with about 47 runs still needed for the win. Mathur and left-arm spinner Praveen Gupta bowled tight spells and Pankaj too came back strongly with the second new ball. But the Central Zone were clearly done in by some solid batting. __________________________ This was a good match though I expected a bit more from the Central zone bowlers.

[apocalypse]

The final leg of the league phase of the Duleep Trophy kicks off on Monday with all four teams involved having a chance of making the final in Mumbai. In Group A, East Zone and North Zone, who have both won their games against South Zone, clash in Rajkot, while Group B's table-toppers England Lions take on West Zone in Vadodara. The Lions are best placed to advance, with a two-point lead over second-placed West, and only need to avoid defeat to qualify for the title clash. They will also be buoyed by the two wins they have notched up since arriving in India, especially their successful pursuit of a stiff 296 in the fourth innings against Central Zone [the other win was in a tour game against a Mumbai Cricket Association XI]. Lions' fast bowler Steve Kirby, though, was wary of West, who have a strong side with several players with international experience like Parthiv Patel and Ramesh Powar. "Tomorrow's game is going to be the hardest we have on the tour," he told PA Sport. "We know that they have got a lot of fantastic cricketers in their side. I think we'd be wrong not to be thinking about both those players. But if we stick to our basics and stick to our confident way of playing, it isn't going to matter who we come up against." In the other game, North, with their experienced batting line-up, will be confident after their commanding performance against South. With both North and East tied on five points, a draw after gaining the first-innings lead will be enough for either side to go through.

[Chandan]

ROUND THREE : PREVIEW A virtual semifinal between North and East Rajkot: North Zone has riches aplenty in the pace bowling department. Ishant Sharma and Pradeep Sangwan, Delhi’s new ball operators at the start of the domestic season, were occupied with national duty in Australia and preparing for the ICC under-19 World Cup in Malaysia, but it had adequate replacements for the opening inter-zonal Duleep Trophy tournament against South Zone at Ahmedabad. Himachal Pradesh’s right-arm seamer Vikramjeet Singh Malik, left-arm seamer Ashok Thakur and the clever Rajat Bhatia delivered the goods with excellent support from leg-spinner Amit Mishra to win five points and stamp their superiority in the opening league match. Things have changed for North after it scored a thumping win over South. Punjab’s V.R.V. Singh and Haryana’s Joginder Sharma have been inducted into the squad at the expense of off-spinner Charanjeet Singh (Punjab) and mediumpacer-batsman Sachin Rana (Haryana) for the semifinal against East Zone that will identify the team that will earn the right to progress to the final against England Lions or West Zone. Furthermore, the North Zone selectors have included an additional seamer in Jammu and Kashmir’s Samiulla Baig. Without doubt the tall and sturdy V.R.V. Singh would take Thakur’s place in the eleven and one of the ICC World Cup T20 star player Joginder should replace Rana. V.S. Malik who bagged five wickets in the first innings against South will be retained. The teams (from) : North Zone: Mithun Manhas (capt.), Aakash Chopra, Shikhar Dhawan, Yashpal Singh, Rajat Bhatia, Uday Kaul, V.R.V. Singh, Joginder Sharma, Vikaramjeet Singh Malik, Ashok Thakur, Amit Mishra, Chetanya Nanda, Karan Goel, Paras Dogra, Samiullah Baig, Ravi Inder Singh East Zone: Shiv Sundar Das (capt.), Arindham Das, Wriddhiman Saha, Niranjan Behera, Ranadeb Bose, Halhadar Das, Palash Jyoti Das, P. Jaychandra, Sourav Sarkar, Arnald Konwar, Anustup Majumdar, Debasis Mohanty, Shib Shankar Paul, Shankar Rao, Tushar Saha, Manish Vardhan. West batsmen hold the key to fortunes vs Lions VADODARA: England Lions will be a reality check for West Zone, especially the batsmen, in the Duleep Trophy match starting here on Monday. The Motibaug wicket offers bounce and movement for the fast bowlers. The visitor has in Graham Onions, Jon Trott, Alan Richardson exponents of swing and seam bowling, to test the explosive batsmen in the home team ranks. England’s first outing against Central Zone at the same venue brought out the best in their pacemen. Liam Plunkett is waiting for a chance. Different class West Zone batting line-up is of a different level, compared to Central Zone. The outcome of the four-day game will hinge on the performance of the West batters against the England bowling attack. Parthiv Patel, a familiar name to England cricket followers for his bold batting as a raw youngster with Team India, can destroy attacks when in flow. The left-hander, once he gets cracking can make it count against pace or spin. Cheteshwar Pujara, another orthodox batsman in the West Zone squad and a vital link in the middle-order, is another to watch out for. Yusuf Pathan, a batting all-rounder who bowls tight off-spin, is an intimidating sight due to his power-packed strokeplay. The burly Baroda player’s battle against spinner Monty Panesar will make for a spectacle. Munaf Patel (away on national duty) will be missed as West go into the tie facing a must-win situation. Gujarat’s Ashraf Makda, effective in the Ranji Plate League, comes in for Munaf in the 14. Other new ball options being Sandeep Jobanputra and the nippy Siddharth Trivedi. Jaffer replaces Niraj Wasim Jaffer replaces Niraj Patel, forcing a possible re-shuffle in the opening slot. Mumbai openers Sahil Kukreja and Ajinkya Rahane were a sound combination in the previous match. Parthiv, clear in pursuit of victory against England Lions, stressed on the comfort level batsmen like him and Pathan feel playing at Motibaug. “It is like a home ground for us and we are aware of the need for a win in order to be in running for a place in the final.” England head coach David Parsons talked about carrying the momentum forward. The teams (from): West Zone: Parthiv Patel (capt.), Wasim Jaffer, Ajinkya Rahane, Sahil Kukreja, Yusuf Pathan, Rakesh Dhruv, Sandeep Jobanputra, Siddharth Trivedi, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rakesh Solanki, Ramesh Powar, Ashraf Makda, Harshad Khadiwale, Samad Fallah. England Lions: Michael Yardy (capt.), James Foster, Michael Carberry, Joe Denly, Ed Joyce, Jon Trott, Adil Rashid, Graham Onions, Monty Panesar, Steve Kirby, Alan Richardson, James Hildreth, Liam Plunkett, Charlie Shreck. -------------------------------------- Interesting contests!

[apocalypse]

England Lions 273 for 4 (Yardy 151*, Makda 3-57) v West Zone Lions all set to reach final thanks to Captain's knock On the other hand North Zone 260 for 7 (Manhas 88, Mishra 52, Paul 4-60) v East Zone thanks to Manhas' 88 after Shib Paul took 4

[msb1991]

Any information on either Shib Paul or Debahis Mohanty, both have impecable domestic records but I have not seen either bowl.

[Chandan]

DULEEP TROPHY, 2007-08 ROUND THREE, DAY ONE Yardy ton gives Lions the edge Cricinfo staff February 11, 2008 England Lions 273 for 4 (Yardy 151*, Makda 3-57) v West Zone Scorecard Michael Yardy struck a splendid unbeaten 151 © Getty Images England Lions' captain Michael Yardy struck an unbeaten 151 to lead his side to a healthy 273 for 4 at the end of the first day of their Duleep Trophy match against West Zone in Vadodara. After choosing to bat, the Lions got off to a poor start as the in-form Michael Carberry was trapped leg before by Gujarat medium-pacer Ashraf Makda in the second over. Yardy, who has represented the England national side in Twenty20s and ODIs, came in at No. 3 and forged a series of sizeable partnerships to ensure the Lions gained the upper hand. A brisk 50-run stand for the second wicket with Joe Denly (32) was ended when Denly was run-out by Siddharth Trivedi. Yardy was then joined by Ed Joyce (32), another player who was part of the national set-up, and they stitched together a patient 75 runs before Joyce was dismissed by Makda. With the Lions at 126 for 3, the usually aggressive Jonathan Trott (44) played a subdued knock and put on 141 for the fourth wicket as the Lions took control. With only three overs left in the day's play, Trott became Makda's third lbw victim. Graham Onions was sent in as the nightwatchman and the Lions saw out the remaining overs without any further casualties. Yardy, meanwhile, had brought up his 12th first-class century with the help of 20 boundaries to leave West, who need a win to make the finals, facing an uphill task. ************************ Yardy keeps Lions in the hunt AN UNBEATEN 151 by England Lions captain Michael Yardy frustrated West Zone bowlers and helped his team to 273 for the loss of four wickets at the end of the first day's play of the Duleep Trophy league match at the Motibaug Palace Ground here on Monday . West Zone, facing a must-win situation, had to toil hard on a pitch which looked largely unresponsive, quite a far cry from the way pitches here had behaved in the last two matches played. Left-handed Yardy, who plays for Sussex in county cricket, also shared a 140-run partnership with Jonathan Trott (44) for the fourth wicket. Nightwatchman Graham Onions (0), who came in the final overs of the day at the fall of Trott, was at the crease with his captain at stumps. For West Zone, left-arm Gujarat pacer Ashraf Makda, who replaced Munaf Patel, was the most impressive and picked up three wickets for his effort. Electing to bat, Yardy had to walk in in the second over of the day itself after the fall of Michael Carberry (1), who had scored century in the second innings against Central Zone here only last week. The in-form batsman was trapped leg-before by Makda. With an early wicket, the match seemed to be headed the bowlers way again, as it has often done in this ground off late. But Yardy and Joe Denly (32) saw off the first hour without any more hiccups and, when the sun started beating down on the ground, the pitch eased out and batting appeared much more comfortable, with Yardy picking every bowler for runs. Yardy was particularly impressive against the spinners. In the previous match too, he had played left-arm spinner Praveen Gupta well and had shared a big partnership with Carberry in the second innings to successfully chase 297. West Zone spinners Ramesh Powar, Rakesh Dhruv and Yusuf Pathan, did the bulk of bowling and Yardy used his feet well to fend them off easily, using sweeps, late cuts and drives to keep the scoring going and denied them any success. Yardy sent the ball to the boundary 20 times during his knock. He reached his 50 with a drive to the boundary And a cou . ple of overs before tea, he nudged Sinddhart Trivedi down the third man fence to reach the three figure mark. In the dying overs, Yardy flicked Makda to the boundary between square leg and mid-wicket to reach 150. Apart from Makhda, West Zone seamers could not have much impact. Trivedi, who opens the Gujarat attack with Makhda, could only have a couple of close shouts, none of which were upheld. Sandeep Jobanputra, meanwhile, injured his finger while fielding and did not bowl much. Paul and Manhas share honours Cricinfo staff February 11, 2008 North Zone 260 for 7 (Manhas 88, Mishra 52, Paul 4-60) v East Zone Scorecard Shib Paul took four wickets as North Zone were limited to 260 on the first day © Getty Images Captain Mithun Manhas' 88 and some spirited late-order resistance helped North Zone battle back into their Duleep Trophy match against East Zone in Rajkot. After a top-order collapse, North clawed back to end the day on a competitive 260 for 7 in what is a virtual semi-final in Group A. After opting to bat, North crawled to 20 for no loss in the 19th over before Aakash Chopra lost his off stump to Shib Paul, the seamer. Shikhar Dhawan and Karan Goel also fell in quick succession to leave North in trouble at 28 for 3. Manhas and Yashpal Singh (25), who boasts an impressive first-class average of 57.36, stemmed the rot with a 54-run partnership before Paul had Yashpal offering a catch to wicketkeeper Halhadar Das. Another significant stand (of 79) between Manhas and Rajat Bhatia took North to 161. Though Manhas' breezy knock, which included thirteen fours and a six, helped his team weather the initial storm, his dismissal left them at 183 for 6. Uday Kaul and Amit Mishra, though, rescued North with a fighting 77-run stand. Mishra carted seven boundaries and a six in his 52 before becoming Paul's fourth victim, caught brilliantly at the boundary by Wriddhiman Saha falling backwards. Kaul remained unbeaten on 40, with Chetanya Nanda giving him company at the crease. For East, Tushar Saha, who took seven wickets in their previous game against South Zone, was expensive, conceding more than four-and-a-half runs per over without taking a wicket while former international Debasis Mohanty bowled economically and picked up two wickets. ********************** Batsmen maintain order for the day : Manhas applies balm after early blows EXPLOITING THE early moisture in the pitch, East Zone medium pacers Debasis Mohanty and Shib Shankar Paul reduced defending champions North to 28 for three. Thereafter, it turned out to be a batting beauty and captain Mithun Manhas held centrestage to take North to 260 for seven at stumps on the first day of the final Group I league clash at the Madhavrao Scindia Stadium on Monday . Batting first, North were rattled by Mohanty and Ranadeb Bose who beat Aakash Chopra and Shikhar Dhawan with lateral movement. Bose got the ball to move away from the right-handed Chopra and was unlucky not to get an edge. Beaten repeatedly outside off by Bose, Chopra was flummoxed by first change bowler Paul. Playing away from his body to one that the burly bowler brought in sharply, Chopra lost his off-stump for 10. In his next over, Paul consumed the left-handed Karan Goel, who played on. When Mohanty, who was swinging the ball both ways, had Dhawan caught behind, the underdogs had their tails up. Manhas (88, 131b, 13x4, 1x6) had only blame himself for missing the three-figure mark. With the ball nicely coming on, he drove the medium pacers through the gaps for boundaries and stepped out to left-arm spinner Tushar Saha repeatedly . Manhas shared two partnerships of note, 54 for the fourth wicket with Yashpal Singh (25) and 79 for the fifth with Rajat Bhatia (24). Some excellent catches brought East back into the game. Wicketkeeper Haladhar Das thrust his left hand to pluck a Yashpal top edge off Paul; Shib Sundar Das dived to his left to take a one-handed blinder by Bhatia off Mohanty while substitute Sourav Sarkar dived forward to pick up a low catch at long off when Manhas was 12 short of hundred. Having sent the top six back, the East bowlers were unable to maintain the pressure and let Amit Mishra and southpaw Uday Kaul to stitch a 76-run partnership for the seventh wicket. The second new ball was taken after 82 overs and the bowlers did not strike as hard as they should have. Mishra (52) was fluent with his strokes while Kaul (40 n.o.) looked like a Sourav Ganguly clone. Mishra fell to an outstanding catch by Wriddhiman Saha at third man in the penultimate over of the day . He cut a short ball from Paul and Saha ran backwards and timed his jump well as the ball dipped sharply In the process, he . slammed his head hard on the ground. Paul ended the day with four for 60 while Mohanty settled with two for 28. ---------------------

[Parth]

Duleep Trophy final to be showed on SKY Duleep trophy final is going to be shown like on Sky sports, whenever it is.

[Cricketics]

naach fir.. paisa milega.

[ludhianvi]

I think it is also covered on Zee sports usa

[Sachinism]

i remember a year or so back when sky sports bought up the rights of all india's home games, there was talk of showing plenty of domestic games too, nothing was ever shown bout time they showed something

[Parth]

They showed the challenger trophy a couple of years back

[msb1991]

Where is the source for the information?

[Chandan]

Any information on either Shib Paul or Debahis Mohanty' date=' both have impecable domestic records but I have not seen either bowl.[/quote'] Both of them have been given a chance at international level but they were nothing apart from domestic bullies. Mohanty is a terrific swinger of the red cherry but he lacks in speed which can trouble the batsmen at international level. Paul is one of the unfittest bowler I've ever seen. Because of his big wieght he keeps on getting injured. He too can swing the ball in a lovely way. Somehow I get the feeling that had he been a fit bowler, he'd have got more matches at the top level. Anyway, back to the present round of Duleep trophy, Lions racked up 355 in the first inning, riding on the big ton from their skipper Yardy. But West is also well on course with 121/1 after tea on the second day. Jaffer just reached his fifty while Rahane is batting on 71. North mustered 360 in the first inning and and ripped East after that getting them dismissed for just 143 in the 1st inning. In the second inning, North have already lost Dhawan for a duck, with their score on 24/1 after tea.

[Chandan]

DULEEP TROPHY 2007-08 ROUND THREE, DAY TWO Jaffer and Rahane lead West's strong reply Cricinfo staff February 12, 2008 West Zone (Rahane 93*, Jaffer 82*) trail England Lions 273 for 4 (Yardy 169, Dhurv 3-53) by 168 runs Scorecard Wasim Jaffer propped up West's chances of progressing with an unbeaten 82 © AFP Wasim Jaffer and Ajinkya Rahane led West Zone's strong reply to England Lions' 355 on the second day at the Moti Bagh Stadium in Vadodara. West, needing an outright win to advance, ended the day on 187 for 1 with Jaffer and Rahane still unbeaten. Earlier, the Lions' overnight batsmen, captain Michael Yardy (169) and nightwatchman Graham Onions (31) guided their side to a solid 322 for 4 before a dramatic collapse allowed West back into the game. The Saurashtra pair of Sandeep Jobanputra and Rakesh Dhurv shared five of the last six wickets to spark West's fightback. Jobanputra accounted for the overnight pair; bowling Yardy and then removing Onions in his next over before wicketkeeper James Foster fell to Dhurv for a duck. Liam Plunkett swung his bat around for a 22-ball 19, scoring all the runs in a partnership with Adil Rashid, who ground out 9 off 55 deliveries. After the Lions innings folded, West's reply got off to a poor start with Sahil Kukreja offering Foster a catch in the first over. There were no more successes for the Lions as the Mumbai pair of Jaffer and Rahane forged a 187-run partnership to keep West's hopes of progressing still alive. Jaffer, who has been a regular Test opener for the Indian side over the past two years, ended the day on a patient 87, including thirteen boundaries while Rahane was a touch more aggressive, stroking 18 fours in his 93. With a strong batting line-up - including Parthiv Patel, Cheteshwar Pujara, the highest run-getter in the Ranji Trophy this season, and Yusuf Pathan, who slammed a whirlwind century in his previous game - to follow, West will fancy their chances of racking up a big first-innings score to pile the pressure on the Lions. ********************************* Rahane floors Lions IT IS not often that Wasim Jaffer (82 n.o.) scores a half-century and his finesse is overshadowed by the fluency of batsman at the other end. Ajinkya Rahane (93 n.o.) did just that on Tuesday . Both the Mumbai batsmen shared an unbeaten partnership of 187 runs for the second wicket to guide West Zone to a comfortable 187 for one in reply to England Lions' first innings total of 355 on the second day of the Duleep Trophy league match here on Tuesday . Earlier, resuming from an overnight score of 266 for four, the England Lions failed to capitalise on the good start by crumbling to 355 all out. Centurion Michael Yardy could only add 18 runs to his to his overnight score of 151. Sandeep Jobanputra, who had injured his finger on Monday, picked up two and left-arm spinner Rakesh Dhruv three as they restricted the Lions. During their reply, West Zone's Rahane, playing his first Duleep Trophy tournament, joined Jaffer at the crease in the first over of the innings at the fall of Mumbai batsman Sahil Kukreja for a duck. The short, compactly-built Rahane with drooping shoulders, looks more like a compact dynamo, but it was his deft drives down the ground and nimble footwork while playing off his legs, that shone through. Rahane, who is also a blackbelt in karate, almost looked as if he was bringing in all the balancing techniques involved in the martial art into his batting. He scored 18 boundaries in his innings that lasted a total of 154 minutes. VRV five-for puts North in control Cricinfo staff February 12, 2008 North Zone 360 (Manhas 88, Nanda 58, Mishra 52, Paul 5-106) and 109 for 2 (Chopra 56*, Goel 34) lead East Zone 143 (Wriddhiman 56*, VRV Singh 5-59) by 326 runs Scorecard VRV Singh snared five of East Zone's top six batsmen to put North Zone in control © AFP VRV Singh's five-wicket burst put North Zone in control on the second day of their match against East Zone in Rajkot. East were skittled out for 143, to give North a massive 213-run first-innings lead and put them on the brink of a place in the final. Resuming at 260 for 7, North's lower-order continued their spirited showing to take their side to 360. Chetanya Nanda did the bulk of the scoring, carting nine boundaries in his 59-ball 58. After Shib Paul dismissed overnight batsman Uday Kaul (48) to grab his 15th first-class five-wicket haul, Vikramjeet Malik (13) and VRV (20*) chipped in with aggressive cameos. East's reply started off belligerently and despite the early loss of Arindam Majumdar and Anustup Majumdar, the run-rate continued to hover around the six an over mark. VRV, who had inflicted the first two blows, removed the experienced Shiv Sunder Das (23), and Manish Vardhan off successive deliveries to reduce East to 69 for 4. VRV, who was part of the Indian squad to the Australia tour, was still not done though, removing wicketkeeper Halhadar Das four overs later to leave East in serious trouble at 93 for 5. Wriddhiman Saha was the only batsman to stand firm against the onslaught, remaining unbeaten on 56. The next highest contributor was extras with 25, including 17 no-balls. With East's prospects of making the finals looking bleak, North piled on the agony in their second innings with Aakash Chopra's unbeaten 56 taking them through to 109 for 2 at stumps, an overall lead of 326. ********************************* High five for VRV VIKRAM RAJVIR Singh strengthened his chances of coming back into the Indian team by picking up five wickets in one spell of a dozen overs. His five for 59 in his first competitive match this year helped reigning champions North Zone inch closer to the title round. Having made 360 in their first innings, North skittled out a spineless East Zone for 143 at tea on Day Two of the four-day Group I last league clash at the Madhavrao Scindia stadium. Instead of enforcing the follow-on after being 217 in front, North decided to go for batting practice and finished the day at 109 for two in their second knock, for an overall lead of 326. Only a miracle can now stop North from entering the final. VRV Singh used his height to the maximum to pick up his maiden Duleep bag of five wickets. He was expensive, but that was expected. With a little bit of sensible bowling, VRV would have been more economical. The tall right-arm medium-pacer was in the Indian squad for the Test in Bangalore against Pakistan and went to Australia for the third and fourth Tests as replacement for the injured Zaheer Khan. He, however, only trained and bowled at the nets. VRV ran in hard, extracted bounce and beat the batsmen when he did not stray - and that was quite often. Earlier, heavily dependent on the experienced openers Shiv Sundar Das and Arindam Das, East were on the downslide the moment Arindam was trapped in front in the third over. Though runs came at a rapid pace, with East reaching 50 in the eighth over, they did not show the desired temperament to counter VRV and his new-ball partner, Vikramjit Singh Malik. VRV shattered the stumps of Anustup Majumdar and Haladhar Das. And with his extra bounce, he had SS Das edging an away moving delivery to wicketkeeper Uday Kaul. When Manish Vardhan danced to his yorker length and was trapped in front, East knew they did not have the wherewithal to even salvage a draw. Leg-spinner Amit Mishra added to East's sorrows. He castled Debasis Mohanty with a googly soon after consum ing left-handed Tushar Saha through a mis-hit to mid-on. Fellow leg-spinner Chetanya Nanda cleaned up the tail, picking up two wickets in three balls. In North's second innings, Aakash Chopra helped himself to an unbeaten 56 and looks good for more. --------------------- North is almost certain to reach the final it seems. Meanwhile the contest between Lions and West is quite interesting.

[Sachinism]

VRV got 5 wickets bloody hell