Ranji Trophy, Super League, 2008-09

[Rajan]

L. Balaji needs to keep up the consistency. Hope he can eventually make his way into the Indian squad. Was a very useful bowler when injury problems hit him.

Srikkanth and N.Srinivasan like his attitude and his hat trick in IPL heralded his comeback, but still a long way to go. am not sure whether he will be selected again. he has lost his pace. used to bowl 140k when he made the effort. but after the srgeries and the long rehab/recovery, he has remodeled his run up and action, always looks like a bowler who may get injured any moment. he retains the indipper/in swinger which proved very handy for him in picking up those wickets in bengal's 2nd innings in QF.He bowled around 130k in the 2nd innings there. having said that Praveen kumar bowls same speed and even munaf has cut down his pace. he needs to add more variations and may be another good season will help judge him whether he can come back to the tough grind of international cricket, bowling to better players day in and day out.

[Rajan]

TN-UP Semi final: UP 179 for 3 (Shukla 67*, Parvinder 63*) in 77 overs. Over 100 runs partnership. TN will wait to attack with the new ball. This shukla guy is holding an end and has to pay rent to VCA! 100 partnership-Parvinder has scored 63 quick runs. TN has 3 spinners but Vidyut sivaramakrishnan is hardly used , he is capable and underrated. he can get a breakthrough. Dinesh Karthik is dumb.he shud use Ganapathy and left arm spinner Suresh in combo if Parvinder scores fast.he can pick the new ball with Balajee and Amarnath.

[sandtest]

UP has low chances here. Tamils have solid opening followed by stable and accomplished batter in Badrinath. I am also disappointed with Piyush Chawla performance going down day by day. He needs some tips to get back among wickets. Our National team seriously lacks pool of good spinners.

[fineleg]

TN-UP Semi final: UP 179 for 3 (Shukla 67*, Parvinder 63*) in 77 overs. Over 100 runs partnership. TN will wait to attack with the new ball. This shukla guy is holding an end and has to pay rent to VCA! 100 partnership-Parvinder has scored 63 quick runs. TN has 3 spinners but Vidyut sivaramakrishnan is hardly used , he is capable and underrated. he can get a breakthrough. Dinesh Karthik is dumb.he shud use Ganapathy and left arm spinner Suresh in combo if Parvinder scores fast.he can pick the new ball with Balajee and Amarnath.

Certainly. I've always maintained he shud not be allowed near any cricket match. He has been given plenty of chances with Indian team and it was a sheer waste.

[h4te]

why the f is j. shah even playing, neverthless captaining! He f****** averages 28. WTF? LULZ

[Rajan]

Update Uttar Pradesh are on 203 for 3 (Shukla 78*, Parvinder 76*) in 84 overs.

[Rajan]

why the f is j. shah even playing, neverthless captaining! He f****** averages 28. WTF? LULZ

he is son of Niranjan Shah, the all powerful former Board secretary and who is still a very influential member of the board representing Saurashtra cricket association. in J.Shah's defence, u might have noticed that he scored a crucial 50+ off 40+ balls in the 2nd innings chase against karnataka in the QF.

[sandtest]

he is son of Niranjan Shah, the all powerful former Board secretary and who is still a very influential member of the board representing Saurashtra cricket association. .

Didn't know that. So same old nepotism still has a vice like grip on BCCI babus. Pathetic that government has given all freedom and autonomy to these chors. BCCI need to be brought under some committee which can review their working and selection.

[Chandan]

Semi-final, Day 2 Mumbai v Saurashtra, Chennai, Day 2 Mumbai 637 for 6 (Jaffer 301, Tendulkar 122, Rahane 85) v Saurashtra Scorecard Tendulkar and Jaffer ensure Mumbai dominate Wasim Jaffer's second career triple-hundred and his 227-run stand with Sachin Tendulkar put Mumbai on top in a match that, thanks to the dead wicket, will probably be decided on first-innings lead. With six wickets falling in 180 overs so far, it is unlikely Mumbai's bowlers will be able to dismiss Saurashtra twice and they will look to bat the opposition out of the match. If Saurashtra don't complete their first innings, the net run-rate of all their previous games will decide which team goes through to the final. Wasim Jaffer and Sachin Tendulkar added 227 together Jaffer brought up his second double-hundred of this season early in the day. He was joined by Tendulkar at the fall of Ajinkya Rahane - who looked out of touch and often mistimed the ball - to offspinner Kamlesh Makvana. Tendulkar went on the attack immediately, hitting Makvana for a six over long-on and a four past backward point. He got to his fifty (off 68 balls) with a boundary off Rakesh Dhruv to extra cover and followed it up two balls later with a lofted boundary to wide mid-off. In the first over after lunch, Tendulkar charged down the track and hit Makvana over long-on for a six. Tendulkar repeated the shot in Makvana's next over, which prompted the Saurashtra captain to pull him out of the attack. Rakesh Dhruv, who replaced him, didn't fare better - Tendulkar, who was dropped just before, launched him for a six over long-on before cutting him past point for a four. He got to his century with a four driven through mid-on and retired at 122. Jaffer meanwhile ticked along at a comfortable pace, content to let Tendulkar keep majority of the strike. He never looked troubled by the bowling, which was defensive through the day. He hit 27 fours in his 301, repeatedly walking across and down the wicket to deal with the outside-off line of the seamers. Mumbai went into a shell after Jaffer's fall and lost a few wickets in the last session. Another POV Jaffer, Tendulkar take game away from Saurashtra S. Dinakar MASTERCLASS: Sachin Tendulkar sent the Saurashtra players on a leather hunt in Chennai on Monday. Chennai: On a sun-lit Monday, Wasim Jaffer constructed a monument and Sachin Tendulkar delighted with a blaze of shots. The different strokes from these two batsmen propelled Mumbai to a position of strength on the second day of the Ranji Trophy semifinal against Saurashtra at Chepauk. Jaffer made a 301 of dedication and enterprise while Tendulkar retired hurt after a spirit-lifting 122. Jaffer may have ended up with a 301 against his name, but from the time Tendulkar arrived at the crease till he walked off retired — half-complaining about a headache, but maybe just bored — he was the lead act. The rest, including the opposition, were either spectators or supporting acts. He walked out to the crease full of purpose, and started off by taking the attack to the Saurashtra camp. Mumbai lost a cluster of wickets and some momentum after Tendulkar (122, 160b, 9x4, 5x6) walked back. However, at 637 for six, it still held all the aces on an increasingly dusty pitch that offered the spinners a fair measure of assistance late on day two. Pleasing shots Jaffer drove pleasingly between cover and mid-wicket, moved across to whip the pacemen from the off-stump or beyond to the on-side. Jaffer (301, 459b, 27x4) combined his natural ability with hard nosed professionalism as he concentrated hard after even after crossing the 200-run mark. Before miscuing an attempted flick back to left-arm spinner Rakesh Dhruv, Jaffer had completed his second Ranji triple hundred. The entertaining 227-run partnership — the stand followed Ajinkya Rahane’s innings of struggle (85, 193b, 4x4, 2x6) — took the game further away from Saurashtra. The Saurashtra bowling was hardly likely to threaten Tendulkar on a flat deck. His footwork was precise and his balance perfect. Stirring moment In a stirring moment, Tendulkar danced down the track on the on-side and freed his arms to loft left-arm spinner Dhruv over covers. There were various elements involved in the execution of the stroke — his movement outside the left-stump had to be fluent and decisive, he had to get to the pitch of the ball with his left foot leading the way, and create the room to strike the ball with the spin on the off-side. Tendulkar converted the sequence into one synchronised motion. He paddle and reverse swept the spinners to disrupt their length. Tendulkar used the width of the crease for the cut shot, waiting for the ball to spin and then directing it with his strong wrists. Tendulkar clever cricketing mind was also on view. When left-arm paceman Balakrishna Jadeja bowled a negative outside-the-off-stump line from round-the-wicket, the maestro countered the ploy by taking an off-stump guard. There were four fielders — a point, cover, extra-cover and a mid-off — in the off-side cordon backed by a man at sweeper cover. Tendulkar still managed to caress B. Jadeja to the cover fence. Tendulkar had a stroke of luck on 78 when he walked down the track to paceman Jobanputra but his miscued drive was grassed at cover by Jaydev Shah. Paradoxically, Tendulkar was inspirational against a Saurashtra attack lacking in inspiration. Tendulkar reserved special treatment for Makhwana, smashing him for four of his five sixes, and brought up his 68th first-class century with a drive for four off Sandeep Jobanputra. When he suddenly walked off the field — he was rattling along merrily at 122 — the game meandered back to its original tempo, and the focus shifted back to Jaffer, who now is the highest run-getter this Ranji season. Amol Muzumdar, who needed 42 runs to go atop of the all-time run-getters’ list, edged a Balkrishna Jadeja delivery to ’keeper Jogiyani, before Jaffer chipped the last ball before tea back to left-arm spinner Rakesh Dhruve. The post-tea session seemed to emphasise Jaffer’s comments about his team’s approach of not looking for an outright win, as Rohit Sharma and Abhishek Nayar, two naturally attacking batsmen, plodded around to stretch the team score beyond 600, before a flurry of late wickets left Mumbai at 637 for six. Jaffer later said that his team would bat for at least an hour on Day Three, and insisted that they were simply sticking to their original plan. In hindsight, the show may have lacked the entertainment that was expected from a semi-final, but with Tendulkar playing the kind of innings he did, other irritants faded away without too much of an effort. Tamil Nadu v UP, Nagpur, Day 2 Uttar Pradesh 25 for 1 (Ganapathy 1-4) trail Tamil Nadu 445 (Mukund 100, Karthik 72, Vijay 69, Ganapathy 67*, P Kumar 3-104) by 420 runs Scorecard Ganapathy plays spoilsport after UP fight back January 5, 2009 C Ganapathy's unbeaten 67 ensured Tamil Nadu went past 400 in their first innings On a day of comebacks, the resilient efforts of the Uttar Pradesh bowlers were followed by those of the Tamil Nadu tail and the day ended with the match in balance. Praveen Kumar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Imtiyaz Ahmed put in a big effort in the first session to have TN eight down for 383 before running out of gas. C Ganapathy, on 14 then, scored 53 of the next 62 runs to take Tamil Nadu to a more respectable total before striking early with the ball to hurt a tired UP. Ganapathy's innings somewhat undermined UP's superb comeback from Sunday's hammering. Praveen and Bhuvneshwar started the day with unbroken spells of 13 overs each, getting consistent movement, bowling accurately, and not giving away any free runs. It was important for them to remove the overnight batsmen early; both S Badrinath and Dinesh Karthik had looked in punishing form yesterday. In the fourth over, Badrinath drove at a widish delivery, which moved away and took the edge. He'd added six to his overnight 59. S Vidyut struggled for 20 minutes before losing his off stump to Bhuvneshwar. Twenty-two runs had been added in 10 overs, and the scoring was to slow down even further. The next four overs saw six runs and eventually Praveen got Karthik to edge one through to wicketkeeper Amir Khan. At 324 for 5, Mohammad Kaif sensed an opportunity, and gave both the bowlers extended spells. They responded by troubling Suresh Kumar and R Ashwin, getting four edges in four consecutive overs, none of which went to hand. Praveen finally got his reward - Suresh's edge to Amir - before he finished his 13-over spell, in which he bowled six maidens, gave 24 runs and took three wickets. He got good support from Bhuvneshwar at the other end, who bowled 13 overs for 26 runs and one wicket. When the bowling change was finally brought, it worked immediately. With his fourth ball of the day, Imtiaz Ahmed got an edge from R Ashwin to give Amir Khan his fifth catch of the innings. From 296 for 2 at the start of the day, Tamil Nadu had fallen to 352 for 7, and badly needed a partnership. L Balaji and Ganapathy started resolutely, facing an easier challenge against the spinner Piyush Chawla, who looked off-colour through the innings. The two had added 30, including a straight-driven boundary each, when Balaji was lured into edging a delivery off Imtiyaz. With eight wickets down, Ganapathy took charge, helped by a stubborn C Suresh. The ninth-wicket partnership frustrated UP for 94 minutes, during which Kaif tried all the bowlers. The batsmen complemented each other, Ganapathy punishing any error with powerful hits and Suresh blocking anything thrown at him. When Suresh Raina finally got the breakthrough, in his second over, 48 had been added, five of which were scored by Suresh - off 79 deliveries. Ganapathy reached his half-century in 122 deliveries, including eight boundaries. Tea was delayed because nine wickets had fallen, and P Amarnath ran himself out in the last over before the rescheduled break. Despite runs being scored freely from the other end, Imtiaz put in a considerable effort too: bowling 12 overs for 36 runs and two wickets. Ganapathy was on a roll, following up by getting the big wicket of Tanmay Srivastava in his second over. Srivastava uncharacteristically chased a wide delivery and edged to Badrinath at second slip. Shivakant Shukla and Suresh Raina survived - just about - the remaining 15.5 overs, scoring only 24 runs. Shukla, especially, was lucky to have come through unbeaten: he chased a couple of deliveries connecting only the air, and jabbed in an ungainly manner at a bouncer, only to be helped by the non existence of short leg. In the last over of the day, Raina hit a beautiful cover drive off C Suresh. The final play of the day also symbolised how much things rest on him. Another POV TN fails to capitalise on good start A. Joseph Antony Ganapathy’s unbeaten knock helps his team reach 445 VALIANT KNOCK: Tamil Nadu’s C. Ganapathy made an unconquered 67 to boost his team’s total. NAGPUR: Praveen Kumar isn’t the typical tearaway pacer, one who gives batsmen sweaty palms. Add to that his 24 wicketless overs on Sunday, in the background of Tamil Nadu’s Day One score of 296/2, and the sight of Praveen with the ball in hand at the start of play this morning didn’t quite set the pulse racing. But underestimating him is a big risk, and Tamil Nadu seemed to fall into that trap as the medium pacer picked up three quick wickets in his first spell to turn the game on its head. With the other Kumar — Bhuvneshwar — chipping in with the wicket of the dangerous S Vidyut, Tamil Nadu went from a commanding position to 353/7, before a late flourish by C Ganapathy (67 not out) saw them reach 445. From its overnight score of 296 for two, Tamil Nadu hit a trough, tumbled to 383 for eight before it recouped to tally 445, thanks to a valiant and unconquered 67 by C. Ganapathy. In response, Uttar Pradesh closed the day at 25 for the loss of Tanmay Srivastava. The second day of the Ranji Trophy semifinal at the VCA Stadium began with not a soul in the stands of the grand edifice, a sprinkling of spectators trickling in towards the end. Minutes into the day, Badrinath’s boundary took Tamil Nadu to 300. Short-lived The stand between the former skipper and his successor was short-lived though, Badrinath’s inner edge off Praveen Kumar picked up by wicketkeeper Aamir Khan. Khan combined with the U.P. spearhead to engineer the exits of Dinesh Karthik and S. Suresh. The feather-weight wicketkeeper, who in all effected half a dozen dismissals, went on to pouch R. Ashwin and L. Balaji in identical fashion, off Imtiyaz Ahmed. Time and again, Praveen Kumar beat the bat, but was low on luck. Karthik (72, 186m, 147b, 12x4) faced him with a measure of comfort, his cover-drives off the paceman right out of the copy-book. A tickle down the leg had his counterpart leaping to the left to latch on to a low catch. Procession A procession of sorts to the pavilion then slowed the strokeplay considerably till Ganapathy took charge. Farming most of the strike, he batted with an air of assurance interspersing his straight drives with some lusty pulls. His two-and-three-quarter-hour vigil had 10 hits to the fence. Ganapathy it was who struck first when defending the Tamil Nadu total. He had U.P. opener Tanmay dabbing at an outswinger that was snapped up by Badrinath at second slip. The northern side took a minute short of an hour to enter double figures, thwarted thus far by the TN attack’s taut line and backed by some tight fielding. The fact that UP got a foot in the door after a listless display on the first day was mainly due to Praveen’s opening spell of 13-6-24-3, during which he accounted for the overnight batsmen S Badrinath and Dinesh Karthik, as well as all-rounder Suresh Kumar. With all his victims edging the ball to the wicket-keeper, it was easy to understand that Praveen was in his elements. Precise and subtle movement of the ball, both ways, and shrewd variations have been prominent features of the UP pacer. While Badrinath and Suresh were beaten by the ball that came in, the other right-hander, Karthik, edged a straighter one. “The best thing about him is his never-say-die spirit,†UP coach Gyanendra Pandey said. “He never gives up. Ask him to bowl all day and he will do that. In the absence of RP Singh, we heavily depend on PK.†The coach isn’t alone in speaking of Praveen’s will to succeed and regulars on the domestic circuit vouch for his enthusiasm for bowling long spells on dead tracks and the ability to turn things. Several of his team mates say that even when Praveen doesn’t have the ball in hand, he happens to be the best man to be around when the chips are down. “Regardless of the match situation, his wisecracks are constantly on. There isn’t a dull moment when he is around,†says a UP player. With UP facing an uphill task, Praveen will play a big role in his team’s fortunes. While his contribution with the bat will count, it might be his ability to keep the atmosphere in the dressing room light that will come in handy.

[Desi Cartman]

that reminds me Son of Mr Lalu prasad yadav was in the delhi daredevils squad last year

[umpire]

Inspite of Jaydev Yadav we have reached Semis two continous years and thats some achievement, 3-4 years back our team was rotting with corruption. I will pull up an article that I had read.

[umpire]

what a "patta" BCCI is trying to punish those center who had underprepared pitches. But what about this pitch

[Tapioca]

update UP are 249 for 3. Shukla 102*, Parvinder 92*

[Dirty_South]

Kotak gawn

[Show_stopper]

Disappointed with Kulkarni tbh.Was expecting more..

[umpire]

Ranji Semi Finals and both are one innings wonders. We need to change the rules. Apparantly if Mumbai had better NR than Saurashtra, they would have never declared and could have batted for 4 days. Even then they would have qualified. Now thats stupid law. Same thing goes with Saurashtra, Mumbai is clearly better team, but if they can hold onto their last 5 wickets they go to the final.

[The Outsider]

Can't believe UP still has a chance after the start TN got and Kaif's dismissal for 0. Go UP!! Only 193 more to go!!

[Dravid]

pujara 39 2/10-fail- Int. hopes crushed.

[Chandan]

Semi-final, Day 3 Mumbai v Saurashtra, Chennai, Day 3 Saurashtra 247 for 5 (Kotak 89, Shah 45*) trail Mumbai 637 for 6 dec by 390 runs Scorecard Kotak's fall dents Saurashtra's hopes Saurashtra's third attempt at making it to the Ranji final is likely to end in disappointment despite a valiant effort from Shitanshu Kotak, who fell in the penultimate over of the day to hand Mumbai control of the game. Shitanshu Kotak fought hard with a fine 89 but fell in the dying minutes as Mumbai took control Kotak hit a 211-ball 89 but it is unlikely to prove important in the course of a game dominated by Wasim Jaffer's triple-hundred and Sachin Tendulkar's century. All but batted out of the game, Saurashtra's hopes rested on a substantial partnership between Cheteshwar Pujara and Kotak, batsmen who have the ability to score and dig in for the haul. But Pujara, who was pretty solid during his innings, fell an over before lunch, which transferred the pressure entirely to Kotak. Jaydev Shah, who came in after Ravindra Jadeja's exit, hung on till the stumps but looked scratchy throughout. Zaheer got him to inside-edge on to his pads in successive balls, Powar cramped him for room with an offbreak that turned more than Shah expected and Ajit Agarkar beat him repeatedly on the length deliveries. He also survived a stumping chance and edged a delivery to keeper that was called no-ball. Kotak, on the other hand, dealt with reverse-swing skilfully. He took care not to put his front leg in the way, waiting for the ball to come to him. And he dealt well with the occasional bumper barrage from the seamers. He gave only one chance during his stay, when he pushed a slower one back to the bowler Abhishek Nayar, who dropped it. If Saurashtra manage to hang on tomorrow without getting the first-innings lead, they will go through to the final based on their higher net run-rate, calculated till quarter-final. However, with Kotak's fall, it's an unlikely scenario. Another POV Saurashtra at an uneasy 247 for five S. Dinakar TIMBER: Saurashtra’s B. Chauhan has no clue to this scorcher from Ajit Agarkar as he is beaten all ends up. Chennai: While Shitanshu Kotak is one of the more affable players on the circuit, the 36-year-old Saurashtra veteran can easily turn into an irritating, immovable object when he finds himself in the deep end, and a gritty rearguard is the only way out. And if there is an opponent that he relishes tormenting, it must be Mumbai, who have faced Kotak’s dogged wrath numerous times in the past. On Tuesday, with Mumbai declaring at 637-6, it was almost inevitable that Kotak would rise to the occasion. He did that, battling for a remarkable 352 minutes and scoring 89 before falling two overs from close of play to hand the initiative back to Mumbai with one day left in the contest. The key moment at the *** end of Tuesday was a clear set-up operation. Given Sitanshu Kotak’s tendency to walk across to work or glide the ball, Rohit Sharma was stationed at short fine-leg. Paceman Dhaval Kulkarni pitched on the leg-stump, the left-handed Kotak moved across even as he turned his wrists around and Sharma emerged with a smart catch. The plan had worked for Mumbai. Simple method Kotak had defied the Mumbai attack till that point with a simple method; he blocked the good deliveries and picked up runs when the bowlers erred. The senior batsman’s dismissal for 89 left Saurashtra at an uneasy 247 for five at the conclusion of day three in the Ranji Trophy semifinal at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium. Earlier, Mumbai declared at overnight 637 for six. Wasim Jaffer’s men are poised to enter the final although Saurashtra has a better net run-rate (calculated till the quarterfinal). In the unlikely event of Saurashtra’s first innings remaining incomplete due to some determined batting or inclement weather, Jaydev Shah’s team will go through. Under the circumstances, Kotak’s late dismissal was a blow they could have done without. Fortunate Jayadev, sloppy Mumbai Jaydev was unbeaten on a rather fortunate 181-ball 45. Apart from the odd spark, Mumbai put on a disappointing show both with the ball and on the field, as a number of chances went abegging. Captain Jaydev Shah proved to be the biggest beneficiary, giving the expression charmed life new meaning as he stayed unbeaten on a hard-fought 45. Vinayak Samant muffed a regulation stumping opportunity when Shah failed to connect with an ugly swipe on eight. When the wicket-keeper did hang on to an edge, the umpire signalled a no-ball. Along the way, the Saurashtra captain also displayed some enterprise and tenacity. Kotak brought to the crease a rather old-fashioned doggedness on a pitch that did not deteriorate. He played and left, showed a broad blade in defence, harnessed the pace of the ball and handled the short-pitched stuff well. Earlier, Saurashtra got off to a blistering start but lost their openers in the process.The Saurashtra openers failed to consolidate on starts. Then, Cheteshwar Pujara was given a rather torrid time by some well-directed short-pitched deliveries from Ajit Agarkar. The right-hander was squared up by these lifting deliveries rather than standing tall and keeping the ball down from a side-on position. On one occasion when Pujara attempted to sway away from the line of a bouncer, he took his eyes off the ball. Eventually, Pujara glided a Powar delivery straight into Jaffer’s hands at slip, leaving Saurashtra at 123-3. Soon Ravindra Jadeja let himself and his team down chasing a wide delivery from Zaheer Khan. Kotak and Shah then strung together a 94-run partnership, before the veteran fighter fended a Kulkarni delivery straight into Rohit Sharma’s hands at leg-slip. Agarkar the pick Agarkar was easily the pick of the Mumbai attack. He can still surprise batsmen with his pace — there were occasions when he clocked speeds around the 140 kmph — and swerve. He hustled the batsmen with bounce and bowled a probing off-stump line to both the right and left handers. Zaheer operated with control and achieved some reverse swing. Kulkarni could not generate the extra yard of pace to make the batsman hurry into his stroke. Abhishek Nayar, who dropped Kotak off his own bowling, has the ingredients of a handy support seamer. Blissfully unaware Mumbai almost lost the plot Blame it on the not-so-exciting nature of Cricket on display, or the possibility of Mumbai not qualifying for the final despite scoring a mammoth 637-6, the focus on Tuesday was neither on the familiar sight of Shitanshu Kotak playing a rearguard innings nor the innumerable lives that Jaydev Shah was enjoying. It all seemed to be centred around the net run-rates of both teams leading up to the semi-final encounter, and just about how the Mumbai team management could have been so blissfully unaware of the playing conditions. Contrary to captain Wasim Jaffer’s comments on Monday evening that his team would go for 750, it turned out that Saurashtra did not need to overhaul Mumbai’s mammoth total to enter the Ranji Trophy final, but only to ensure that they didn’t get bowled out in their first innings. Reason: Saurashtra had a superior run-rate leading up to the semi-final, and the conditions stipulated that that was enough to take them through if first innings was not concluded. Coach Pravin Amre admitted on Tuesday that his team had been unaware of the situation the previous evening. “We were confused about the actual scenario. We thought it was the quotient that would matter, and ours was obviously much superior compared to Saurashtra’s,” he explained. Once the confusion was cleared, the team management decided to declare the innings at the overnight score, and look to bowl out Saurashtra rather than depending on things that weren’t in their control. “I don’t think this is fair on a team like us. We posted a number of outright wins in the league phase, and had a better quotient (total number of runs scored/ total number of wickets lost), which is what used to matter originally,” said Amre. Surviving for two whole days against a bowling attack that comprised of Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar, Dhawal Kulkarni and Ramesh Powar would have never been an easy task in any case. But if there was one hope that Saurashtra could cling on to, it was Kotak, who fell late in the day for 89. “Jaydev, Debu (coach) and I were aware of our net run-rate from the beginning, but I think Wasim wasn’t aware of the rules. I expected them to declare but if they would have continued batting today, we would tried our level best to not dismiss them,” Kotak quipped. The Mumbai captain was unavailable for comment. Jaffer would obviously be hoping that his bowlers knock off the lower-order early on Wednesday, so that the focus shifts quickly away from his gaffe. Meanwhile, Kotak insisted that his team’s strategy was to play their natural game, rather than simply survive for two days. “The ball wasn’t coming onto the bat too well, and even the ball that dismissed me held up before it reached me. One good session tomorrow could still keep us in the game,” he said. Five wickets are all that remain between Mumbai and an opportunity to gun for their 38th Ranji victory in Hyderabad, but Saurashtra still hold an outside chance of going through if Shah and company manage to hold on for an unlikely 90 overs on Wednesday. Tamil Nadu v UP, Nagpur, Day 3 Uttar Pradesh 253 for 3 (Shukla 103*, Parvinder 93*, Balaji 2-53) trail Tamil Nadu 445 by 192 runs Scorecard Gritty stand gives Uttar Pradesh the edge January 6, 2009 Uttar Pradesh's chances looked bleak once Mohammad Kaif and Suresh Raina were dismissed, but Parvinder Singh and Shivakant Shukla seized back the advantage Shivakant Shukla, with a century, and Parvinder Singh came up with the best performances of their careers and an unbeaten 190-run partnership to keep Uttar Pradesh's noses ahead of Tamil Nadu. L Balaji took the big wickets of Suresh Raina and Mohammad Kaif early but Shukla and Parvinder frustrated them for the next six-odd hours. Tamil Nadu didn't help their own case - Parvinder was dropped by Dinesh Karthik when on 20 and 64, and Shukla by M Vijay when on 95 - as UP were left needing 193 runs on the final day to take the first-innings lead and make their third final in four years. Tamil Nadu struck 13 overs into the day with the wicket of the dangerous Raina who had been subdued yesterday but was back to his fluent self. Twenty-five runs were scored in 19 overs on Monday; today the next 25 came in 5.2 overs. Raina got stuck into Balaji, driving him along the ground and over point. Then, as in the past, he threw away a good start, presenting a gap between bat and pad to Balaji, who was coming from round the wicket. Kaif was involved in two leg-bye boundaries before playing Balaji onto his stumps, and UP were still 382 behind with their two key batsmen dismissed. TN had their tails up and its showed in the field settings for Shukla and Parvinder - for the first time in the match, four slips and a gully. The confidence was not unjustified; Parvinder, who made his debut in 1999-2000, has been in and out of the team since with a best of 68. Shukla has been a regular member of the side since his debut in 2003-04 but has only two centuries and an average of 24. What followed was a gritty effort in good batting conditions by two batsmen who'd recorded their previous best scores alongside each other, when adding 137 for the second wicket against Maharashtra earlier this season. Shukla demonstrated good mental strength after having struggled through a tough period yesterday, scoring few runs but not throwing it away. Yesterday he had scored 10 runs in 56 balls and by lunch today he had added 34 in 108 deliveries. Parvinder made a solid start too, moving to 20 by lunch. Just after lunch, Balaji created another opportunity, but Karthik dropped Parvinder to his right. By that time the pace bowlers had tried their hardest, and Tamil Nadu had to resort to the spinners. Shukla started to score more fluently; in Balaji's next over he flicked to midwicket to reach only his second 50-plus score of the season, and celebrated it with a perfect straight drive in the next over. The middle session has typically been the best for batting in this match, and so it proved on Tuesday. After Balaji's spell, Tamil Nadu chose to bide their time and tried to limit the damage before they could go for the new ball. With the old ball, though, Parvinder started accelerating, not shying away from hitting the spinners over the infield. With a cover drive off R Ashwin, his seventh boundary, Parvinder reached his fourth half-century of the season. Shukla had reached only 66 by then. Parvinder offered a sharp chance off Suresh Kumar, but Karthik couldn't hold on to it and the ball took his glove before lobbing over the slips. The new ball was taken as soon as it became available. But Shukla was solid. Driving superbly against the gentle pace of P Amarnath and C Ganapathy, he gained lost ground on his partner and overtook him. However, the nerves showed in the 90s. He edged Amarnath when on 95, but M Vijay failed to hold on. His century came through an edge, too, which flew between Karthik and a wide slip. Towards the end of the day, the scoring stopped again, but it had to do with Tamil Nadu bowling wide of the stumps consistently. Unlike yesterday's struggle, the quiet period towards stumps spelled serenity for UP. The last ten overs yielded only four runs, but Parvinder showed no hurry to reach what would be a maiden hundred. UP's batting has relied long on Kaif, Raina and Tanmay Srivastava, and other batsmen have wasted good starts too often. By performing the way they did, Shukla and Parvinder may have taken the first steps towards undoing that image. Another POV Shivakant, Parvinder in rescue act for Uttar Pradesh A. Joseph Antony Shivakant, Parvinder help their side wriggle out of trouble THE HEROES: Parvinder Singh and Shivakant Shukla steered Uttar Pradesh out of trouble with their unconquered partnership for the fourth wicket. NAGPUR: When two unknown players come to the pitch with the sole intention of sticking around, their performances are unlikely to attract attention and, had this not been a Ranji Trophy semi-final, Tuesday’s play might well have gone unnoticed. But while Uttar Pradesh’s scoring rate of 2.5 wouldn’t have pleased the fans much, in the dressing room, they applauded every forward defensive stroke played by Shivakant Shukla and Parvinder Singh. Replying to Tamil Nadu”s first innings total of 445, Uttar Pradesh were 253 for three at the end of the third day’s play, setting the stage for an exciting final day. A seasoned hand observed that whenever Shivakant Shukla did well, so did Uttar Pradesh. That proved to be no superstition as the southpaw’s sterling century steered his side out of harm’s way. Stuttering at 63 for three, barely an hour into the third day of its Ranji Trophy semifinal at the Vidarbha Cricket Stadium, the northern side clawed its way back to close at 253 for three. Shivakant and Parvinder came together early in the piece on Tuesday. TN seamer Laxmipathy Balaji struck two vital blows in the morning session, getting through the defences of both Suresh Raina and Mohammad Kaif, to leave UP struggling at 63 for three. But the Shivakant and Parvinder managed to bat out the rest of the day to stay unbeaten on 103 and 92 respectively. While the tide may not have turned completely, UP have come back strongly after being dominated on the first day. They now need a gettable 193 to march into the final, while Tamil Nadu will go all out to pick up the seven wickets that will see them walk the same path. The script would have been dramatically different had Tamil Nadu taken the truism of catches winning matches more seriously. The close-in field, that wouldn’t let anything past it on day two, became pretty porous on Tuesday. Bearing the brunt of its lapses were L. Balaji, S. Suresh Kumar and P. Amarnath, in that order. Balaji’s burst That famed burst by Balaji seemed imminent, as he castled Suresh Raina with a peach of delivery. The ball shot through the gates from a perfect length, bang on target, the mid-stump bent backwards by the blow. The woodwork wore a similar look when Mohd. Kaif played on, after Balaji directed his assault from around the stumps. The third scalp would have been Parvinder Singh’s, then on 20, had wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik not spilt a chance with U.P. on 113. The Meerut-native enjoyed his second reprieve on 64. The TN skipper’s bad day continued as the ball ricocheted off his gloves and over lone slip M. Vijay’s head. On the threshold of his third century, Shivakant’s cut at 95 was grassed by Vijay, who got a hand to the offering. With the pavilion end gallery casting its shadow all over the square, a tardy over-rate to boot made it an eminently forgettable day for the squad from the south. For U.P., if the morning session sought to stave off further setbacks, the post-lunch session saw the run-rate perk up considerably. Shivakant, ably assisted by Parvinder, plundered the bowling and the boundaries kept coming at regular intervals. From a patronising pat past point off Ashwin to a caressed steer through the square off Balaji, Shivakant’s repertoire of strokes made a fine display. Parvinder, not to be left behind, cut loose, whenever the opportunity arose. If the wait for the fourth wicket seemed a long one for Tamil Nadu, it faces an uphill task on Wednesday, with the U.P. batting line-up showing increased resilience. In a team of famous faces, Shukla and Parvinder happen to be the backroom boys. Though both have represented the country at the junior level, they are far from being household names. Inconsistency has been a big factor in the fact that they never figure in pre-match reviews. Shukla is comfortable with the anonymity and life in the shadow of stars. “I think I never got proper guidance at the right time. Several of my batch mates from the junior ranks have got the big break but not me. But I knew my time would come,” said the 22-year-old, who thinks this knock will help him cement his place in the side. For Parvinder, the wait for his big day has been longer. The 27-year-old made his debut in 2000 but because of a packed middle-order, he failed to be a regular in the side. Today, the man following Raina and Kaif in the batting line-up finally outshone the stars. “Since I made my debut seven years back, I have played just seven Ranji games,” Parvinder said. “It feels good that this knock came at the right time.”

[ludhianvi]

UP vs TN seems well poised....UP with the upperhand one would say....cricinfo slow on the updates