Vizay Hazare Trophy, 2008-09

[Rajan]

This is a rare opportunity to gloat about Tamil Nadu cricket. Chennai super stars won ICL first edition They were sort of runner up or reached semis in 2nd edition too. Chennai superkings were runer up in IPL. Now, TN wins 50 overs domestic championship. reached semi finals of ramji trophy too. Good team!

[Rajan]

http://content.cricinfo.com/vijayhazare2008-09/content/story/394433.html A solid century from opener Abhinav Mukund, backed by impressive bowling from Rangaraj Suthesh and Ravichandran Ashwin helped Tamil Nadu beat Bengal in the final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy in Agartala. After Mukund's 118 of 140 balls pushed Tamil Nadu to a commanding 284 in their 50 overs, Sutesh and Ashwin bagged three wickets apiece to complete the win. Tamil Nadu made a steady start after winning the toss, with Mukund and Srikkanth Anirudha putting on 46 by the 10th over. Aniruddha became Ashok Dinda's first victim, caught by Iresh Saxena for 26. Subramaniam Badrinath provided able support, adding 77 with Mukund for the second wicket before departing for 30. Mukund, though, continued undeterred and forged another crucial partnership of 95 with Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan for the fourth wicket, bringing up his hundred in the process. Mukund's innings included 12 fours and a six, and when he was dismissed in the 46th over, the run-rate stood at just over five. Enter Suresh Kumar, who unleashed a blitz to completely disrupt the rhythm of the Bengal bowlers. He faced only 18 balls, but smashed an unbeaten 41, comprising one four and four sixes. Thanks to that blast, Tamil Nadu sped to 284. Dinda finished as Bengal's most successful bowler with 3 for 52. The response from Bengal was insipid, as Sutesh accounted for opener Shreevats Goswami and Debabrata Das quite early. But their saviour from the previous match, Manoj Tiwary, and Wriddhiman Saha stitched together a 74-run partnership for the third wicket to get the chase back on course. Ashwin picked up his first wicket, bowling Saha for 31, but Laxmi Ratan Shukla kept the chase on track with a run-a-ball 26, before Vidyut ran him out. Tiwary soon brought up his fifty but was running out of partners as the Tamil Nadu bowlers made frequent inroads. He finally departed for 76, having hit seven fours in his 87-ball innings before being bowled by Yo Mahesh. There was no coming back for Bengal from there on as Suthesh and Ashwin completed the formalities by the 46th over.

[Chandan]

Result: Final Vijay Hazare Trophy - final : Tamil Nadu defeats Bengal by 66 runs Reports: Tamil Nadu win Ranji one-day title -- Rediff TN trounce Bengal to clinch title -- Indian Express Tamil Nadu wins Hazare Trophy -- DNA Mukund leads Tamil Nadu to one-day title -- Cricinfo Abhinav’s century sets up TN win -- The Hindu Bengal stumble in final again -- The Telegraph Bengal fall at final post Atreyo Mukhopadhyay , Hindustan Times Agartala, March 10, 2009 First Published: 00:23 IST(10/3/2009) Last Updated: 00:25 IST(10/3/2009) Tamil Nadu ended their four-year wait for a title on Monday by winning the national one-day championship. Their 66-run win extended Bengal's disappointment of losing in the finals to four straight years. This was Tamil Nadu's first triumph after sharing the title with Uttar Pradesh in 2004-05. There was surprise in the form of a pitch which was on the slower side but remained good for batting throughout, offering less turn than expected. Tamil Nadu won the toss and exploited the conditions to get what was by far the biggest total at Maharaja Bir Bikram Stadium in this competition. Opener Abhinav Mukund anchored the innings and S. Suresh Kumar's late burst gave it a formidable look. Bengal were in it at 131 for three after 25 overs but had probably lost a wicket too many. Manoj Tiwary and Laxmi Ratan Shukla added 43 off 41 when the latter got run out. It practically ended in the 36th over when Tiwary became the seventh batsman to fall at 179. It was another instance of Bengal's hopes revolving around Tiwary and ending with his departure. Bengal's new-ball bowlers allowed too much room and the Tamil Nadu openers were quick to pounce on them. S. Aniruddha was more aggressive and fell after getting a start as did some of his other teammates. There was only one score above 50 but they still reached 284 because the man who got it stayed till the 46th over. Mukund didn't indulge in antics and his batting was based mainly on conventional methods. A maiden limited-over hundred (118 off 140, 12x4, 1x6) was just reward for his perseverance and aptitude. Mukund laid the platform and Suresh Kumar (41 off 18, 1x4, 4x6) helped the team smack 52 in the last five overs. All the Bengal bowlers barring Iresh Saxena were ordinary. Bengal did well to look good at the halfway stage after a slow start caused by two early blows. Tiwary revived the innings which got momentum after the entry of Shukla. But the pace the skipper had set was difficult to maintain and the extra adrenaline led to a mix-up that derailed the chase. Reasons to savour one-day meet With the top India cricketers in New Zealand and the selectors not scheduled to meet in the immediate future, there could have been a question mark over the significance of the national one-day championship. But it turned out to be a success. The first reason is obvious. Irrespective of media interest or fan following, every domestic match is important. That's because apart from pride, the players know that performance would be rewarded in some form sometime. The second reason was Tripura's praiseworthy performance despite being first-time hosts of a big domestic competition. There was the odd complaint about hotels, but the organisers made sure that the practice facilities or quality of the outfield matched national standards. The pitch at the main stadium was a problem but the people concerned worked hard to make it worthy of a final. Getting international matches is still a long way but this state capital can certainly draw confidence from how it hosted this meet. Past winners 2005-06 Railways 2006-07 Mumbai 2007-08 Saurashtra ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Good to see Agartala also putting its hands up for a venue. Also the only consolation for Bengal was that they won the competition of batsmen between Tiwary and Badrinath!

[flamy]

ZOMGESHWARA! :zoomzoom:

[fineleg]

and then there are some who disparage TN selections in natl squad as 'cheeka quota' , whatever! Well done TN Team :hatsoff: - proud winners, can someone create the 'appreciation thread' now TN team gave the :finger: to doubters

[Mamu]

and then there are some who disparage TN selections in natl squad as 'cheeka quota' , whatever! Well done TN Team :hatsoff: - proud winners, can someone create the 'appreciation thread' now TN team gave the :finger: to doubters

Is that Anirudhha S -- cheeka's son ?

[fineleg]

Is that Anirudhha S -- cheeka's son ?

Yes.

[vipin]

Seems the Deodhar trophy passed under ICF radars. http://content.cricinfo.com/deodhartrophy2008-09/engine/current/series/361116.html Ravindra Jadeja doing well with both the bat and ball. The youngster has a future.