Deodhar Trophy, 2007-08

[Guest Hiten.]

I hope ours does not turn out like the AAG attack where one or two are missing alwayz. Yes - hope to see ZK, RPS, IS and SS bowl to NZ in NZ Test seriez whenever we get to play those idjets, need revenge for the time they put us on green-is-for-cow pitchez.

You steal my words :nervous: BCCI, cancel the farking zim tour and instead play our boys NZ in NZ.

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Deodhar Trophy : Preview of third round Central Zone have gleaned maximum points that they could muster from their first two matches while Yuvraj Singh will boost North Zone's batting line-up that was so careless in their last game. HT brings Deodhar Trophy Roundup. More... Deodhar Trophy : Preview of third round Hindustan Times March 18, 2008 First Published: 23:24 IST(18/3/2008) Last Updated: 23:28 IST(18/3/2008) Central hope to keep it up (G Krishnan in Hyderabad) Halfway through their Deodhar Trophy campaign, Central Zone have gleaned maximum points that they could muster from their first two matches. Ten points including two bonus against two West and North make them favourites to win their fifth title. “Anybody will be happy at this stage,” Abhay Sharma, coach of Central Zone, told HT on Tuesday after arriving from Bangalore. “But with two more matches to go (against South on Thursday and East on Sunday), it is too early to say about our prospects.” Central posted convincing victories in Bangalore and Sharma’s tactic was to clinch the game in the first half itself. “I don’t think too much about the full match,” Sharma said. “I look at dominating the first session and if we can make an impact, we can capitalise on the second half. That has been the secret of our successes against West and North.” The former Railways and Central Zone wicketkeeper-batsman said lesser-known players have contributed in a big way. “One good thing is that we are not relying on one player. Youngsters have chipped in very well.” Naman Ojha’s 110 and Faiz Fazal’s 66 on Monday proved Sharma right. Central would be missing the services of Rudra Pratap Singh for Thursday’s clash against South here. “RP won’t be playing as he needs rest as per the Board’s instruction,” the 38-year-old said. RP was on Monday named in the squad for the first two Tests against South Africa after satisfying the selectors that he has fully recovered from hamstring injury by playing the first two Deodhar games. “RP is in top form at the moment,” Sharma said. “He has worked hard in his own way and is very confident. He has peaked at the right time in his career.” Central will also be without Murali Kartik, who injured his ankle on Monday and has been ruled out for at least three weeks. Kartik told HT from Bangalore that he would go to Chennai in the next couple of days with the Indian team’s temporary physio Paul Close and be monitored by him. However, his replacement for the Tests, Piyush Chawla would play against South, who will boast of Test pillars VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid among others. The Central team management is pondering replacements for Kartik and RP as they are now reduced to 13. “There are already left-arm spinner and medium-pacer in the squad,” said Central chief selector, Sanjay Jagdale. “If they need, we will think of it.” Yuvraj all set to boost North (Varun Gupta in Visakhapatnam) SUCCOR SOMETIMES comes from unexpected quarters. After proving his fitness at the very last minute and surviving the sword that was hanging over his Test place, middle-order batsman Yuvraj Singh will boost North Zone's batting line-up that was so careless in their last game against Central, for their vital Deodhar Trophy encounter against defending champions West here on Thursday. After a rather circumspect and indifferent showing in the Tests Down Under, Yuvraj was himself keen to get some valuable match-practice and runs under his belt before the first Test against South Africa begins in Chennai on March 26, something that the selectors also felt will stand him in good stead. "Runs do wonders to any players' confidence and it is the same with Yuvraj. It is not a directive from us but a step only for the betterment of him, which Yuvraj knows fully well," said an Indian selector. The selector also dismissed the notion that they were ambivalent about the fitness of Yuvraj. "For us, Yuvraj has passed the fitness test at the NCA and that is the end of that. He is fit and there is no more to it." Virender Sehwag will also be available for North in their upcoming tie and will lead the side once again. Sehwag, along with Gautam Gambhir, had left for Delhi to attend an ONGC function straight after the loss to Central in Bangalore, and will reach Vizag on Wednesday morning along with the two southpaws. The rest of the North players reached Vizag on Tueday after an arduous journey from Bangalore and took Tuesday off to rest their "fatigued bodies and minds". Thursday's game will also be the last for the players who have been picked for the 14-man Indian Test squad in this year's edition of Deodhar Trophy as they have to assemble in Chennai on March 22 for a small camp prior to the first Test. The news also came as a fillip for North Zone who were under the cosh after their abject failure in Bangalore and are at the bottom of the table with -1 point.

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Deodhar Trophy: West beat North A solid 78 by Rohit Sharma helped West Zone defeat North Zone by 120 runs in the Deodhar Trophy match in Visakhapatnam on Thursday. More... Deodhar Trophy: West beat North March 20, 2008 21:50 IST A solid 78 by Rohit Sharma helped West Zone defeat North Zone by 120 runs in the Deodhar Trophy match in Visakhapatnam [images] on Thursday. Sharma's knock came off 97 balls with the help of four hits to the fence. Captain Wasim Jaffer [images] also made a valuable 64 to build a respectable score of 241 all out in 48.5 overs. In reply, North Zone could do little against an all-round solid bowling display by the opposition bowlers and were bundled out for 121 in just 35.2 overs. Munaf Patel [images], Ajit Agarkar [images], Iqbal Abdulla and Abhishek Nayar claimed two wickets each. Rajat Bhatia was the topscorer for North Zone with 35. West Zone got five points while North got one. The 138-run third wicket stand between Jaffer and Sharma was the highlight of the West Zone innings. They came together with the score reading 31 for two and gradually took the team to a position of strength. Medium pacer Manpreet Gony (4-35) and off-spinner Virender Shewag (4-17) were the most successful North Zone bowlers. The North Zone innings started in disastrous fashion as the celebrated trio of Aakash Chopra, Shikhar Dhawan and Gautam Gambhir [images] returned to the pavilion with just two runs on the board. The team never recovered and kept losing wickets at regular intervals. The biggest partnership was for the fifth wicket and yielded 46 runs. Skipper Sehwag managed just 18 runs.

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Central crushes South HYDERABAD: Central Zone continued its climb to the top with a clinical five-wicket victory over South Zone in their Deodhar Trophy match at the Rajiv Gandhi international stadium here on Thursday. Central, unconquered so far, took its ... More... Central crushes South Special Correspondent HYDERABAD: Central Zone continued its climb to the top with a clinical five-wicket victory over South Zone in their Deodhar Trophy match at the Rajiv Gandhi international stadium here on Thursday. Central, unconquered so far, took its third bonus point to improve its tally to 15 from three outings. Astute captaincy by Mohammad Kaif ensured the game never went out of Central’s grip. South, without the services of V.V.S. Laxman and S. Sreesanth, opted to bat on a strip that was a shade slow. Hemmed in by tight fielding, the batsmen failed to get the drift, evident from several of them perishing through edges or miscued shots. The first to exit was Robin Uthappa, an outer edge snapped up by Suresh Raina in the slips. Next to go was Bharath Chipli, picked up by Piyush Chawla at midwicket. Skipper S. Badrinath didn’t last too long either, pouched by Praveen Kumar at mid-on. Earlier, the Indian paceman sent the openers packing, his splendid showing with the ball embellished by the two catches he took. When Dinesh Karthik departed, after a half-hearted jab to Praveen at short mid-on, South was stuttering at 41 for four. The lone sentinel against this slide was Rahul Dravid, whose two copy-book cover drives in the very first over he faced off Sandeep Singh, showcased his class. Holding fort with the former Indian skipper was Arjun Yadav, who flirted with danger now and then but nonetheless notched up a fortuitous 45. But for their 56-run partnership, South’s batting was brittle, tailender Kalyan Krishna’s six over long-off offering little solace. Practical approach In contrast to South’s tardy progress, the Central batsmen adopted a practical approach to their target, at the rate of a boundary an over. That was stepped up to two when the total crossed 100. Along the way, top scorer Faiz Fazal (58, 95b, 8x4) enjoyed two reprieves, courtesy South wicketkeeper Karthik, who early in the innings couldn’t hold on to a low chance. Later, with Fazal on 38, Karthik spilt the ball when attempting to stump the left-hander who was way out of the crease. Piyush held one end up and as the target neared, Rohit Sharma used the long handle, his second six bringing Central victory. The scores: South: B. Chipli c Piyush bt Praveen Kumar 3, R. Uthappa c Raina b Praveen Kumar 1, R. Dravid c Sandeep b Praveen Gupta 51, S. Badrinath c Praveen Kumar b Rajesh Kanojia 9, D. Karthik c Praveen Kumar b Rajesh Kanojia 0, Arjun Yadav c N. Ojha b Rajesh Kanojia 45, C. Raghu b Piyush 2, Vinay Kumar b Piyush 3, S. Bandekar c N. Ojha b Piyush 20, Kalyan Krishna (not out) 15, P. Ojha c Sandeep b Raina 5; Extras (b-3, lb-2, w-4): 9; Total (in 46.4 overs): 163. Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-17, 3-35, 4-41, 5-97, 6-105, 7-120, 8-122, 9-148. Central bowling: Praveen Kumar 9-2-11-2, Sandeep 9-0-27-0, Rajesh Kanojia 8.2-1-29-3, Praveen Gupta 9-0-42-1, Piyush 10-0-47-3, Raina 1.2-0-2-1. Central: Faiz Fazal c P. Ojha b Badrinath 58, N. Ojha c Karthik b Kalyan Krishna 29, S. Raina c Badrinath b Vinay 2, Mohd. Kaif c Yadav b P. Ojha 16, H. Sagar st. Karthik b P. Ojha 2, Piyush (not out) 33, Rohit Sharma (not out) 21; Extras (lb-2, w-1): 3; Total (for five wkts. in 36.3 overs): 164. Fall of wickets: 1-47, 2-52, 3-88, 4-99, 5-140. South bowling: Vinay 9.3-1-41-1, Bandekar 4-0-25-0, Kalyan Krishna 5-0-26-1, P. Ojha 9-1-24-2, Raghu 7-1-29-0, Badrinath 2-0-17-1.

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South register first win In a match between the two bottom-placed sides, South Zone emerged triumphant over North Zone in Visakhapatnam to register their first win in this season's Deodhar Trophy. More... North Zone v South Zone, Deodhar Trophy, Visakhapatnam South register first win Cricinfo staff March 23, 2008 South Zone 247 for 9 (Uthappa 57, Karthik 40, Gony 4-52) beat North Zone 205 for 9 (Bhatia 62*, Gambhir 43, Ojha 3-20, Rao 3-47) by 42 runs Scorecard In a match between the two bottom-placed sides, South Zone emerged triumphant over North Zone in Visakhapatnam to register their first win in this season's Deodhar Trophy. Both teams had lost their previous two games, and were missing the services of players in India's squad for the first Test against South Africa. Gautam Gambhir, the North captain, won the toss and let his bowlers make first use of the wicket. However, a patient start from Robin Uthappa and S Vidyut thwarted North's hopes of any early inroads. Vidyut fell first for 37, and the opening stand had put on 70 in 15.5 overs. Uthappa went on to make a fifty; his 57 was an uncharacteristically slow, and needed 91 deliveries. Dinesh Karthik scored a near run-a-ball 40, while Vinay Kumar chipped in with an unbeaten 31 off 19 as South scored 247 for 9 in their 50 overs. Punjab's Manpreet Gony took 4 for 52, while India Under-19 bowler Pradeep Sangwan finished with 2 for 48. North were going steadily in their chase; they were 78 for 1 after 16.1 overs before Gnaneswara Rao struck twice to remove Gautam Gambhir, who scored a 37-ball 43, and wicketkeeper Uday Kaul. Allrounder Rajat Bhatia came up with a fighting 62, with three fours and three sixes, but North could manage only 205 in their 50 overs, 42 short of South's total. Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha tore through the lower order, taking 3 for 20 in his ten, while Rao ended with figures of 3 for 47. The other game of the day, between Central Zone and East Zone, was washed out without a ball being bowled. Central Zone have already won the tournament.

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West beat South to finish second Powered by a counterattacking 90 by Abhishek Nayar, and a steady display by their medium-pacers, West Zone beat South Zone by 26 runs in Bangalore to finish second in the Deodhar Trophy. More... Deodhar Trophy, Indian domestic season 2007-08: Final round West beat South to finish second Cricinfo staff March 26, 2008 West Zone 272 (Nayar 90, Vinay Kumar 3-43) beat South Zone 246 (Badrinath 64, Trivedi 3-38, Munaf 2-33) by 26 runs Scorecard Nayar's 80-ball 90 propelled West to a win over South © Cricinfo Ltd Powered by a counterattacking 90 by Abhishek Nayar, and a steady display by their medium-pacers, West Zone beat South Zone by 26 runs in Bangalore to finish second in the Deodhar Trophy. Central had already secured the title by winning their first three matches with a bonus point in each of them. West had started a middle-order collapse when Nayar came into bat at 105 for 3 in the 25th over. In the next 10 overs, they stumbled to 165 for 6, and were in danger of being bowled out. That's when Nayar found stable company in Ajit Agarkar, and by the time Agarkar got out West were in a position to accelerate in the slog overs. The two added 66 in 11.1 overs, while some lusty blows towards the end to take West to 272. Nayar was the last man out - in the 50th over, for an 80-ball 90. South's chase never got going, and they had lost Robin Uthappa, M Vijay and S Vidyut in the first 13 overs for 51 runs. S Badrinath, along with mini contributions from the middle and the lower-middle order, kept them within an outside shot, but once Badrinath got out for 64 in the 42nd over, the task was too much for the lower order. Munaf Patel and Siddharth Trivedi took three wickets apiece. East Zone 296 for 9 (Majumdar 109, S Tiwary 73, Sangwan 3-54) beat North Zone 240 (Kohli 62, Saxena 2-22) by 56 runs Scorecard Anustup Majumdar and Saurabh Tiwary helped East Zone recover from a precarious situation to put up 296, a total North Zone did not have the firepower to chase. This ended a dismal campaign for North Zone, who failed to win anything and conceded bonus points in two of their matches. East finished third with nine points from four matches. When Majumdar and Saurabh came together, East had lost three wickets for 75 runs, and were in need of a partnership that would be big and one that would keep the rate up. The two did just that, adding 133 runs in 31.1 overs. Saurabh contributed 73 of those - off 74 balls, with the help of three fours and three sixes. Majumdar, though, went on to get his second List A century and his highest List A score, hitting 10 fours and two sixes in his 107-ball 109. The lack of impetus in East's slog overs - last nine overs went for 56 - proved inconsequential, as a slow start followed by a middle-order collapse meant North were never with a shot. A mini recovery by Virat Kohli had taken North to 96 for 2 in the 22nd over, but it soon became 134 for 7 as East wrested control. © Cricinfo

[Chandan]

Stats from the present Deodhar Trophy: Most runs:

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Most wickets:

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