Emerging Players' Tournament 2009

[vvvslaxman]

And I tell you, Dhawal Kulkarni has really really disappointed me. So we don't have a big enough pool of seamers to discard Sree like that.

Not surprising. He is a rank trundler who got few wickets with a bit of variation. I never expect him to reach half the height reached by Sir Aggy. But i must say India's spinning options look more promising than it is for any other country.

[Chandan]

Sreesanth should never have been discarded. Not after what he showed in Jo'burg. He may be far more inconsistent and have a couple of issues upstairs, but at the end of it the upside when he's confident, on form and firing is unbelievable.

I think this was one opportunity where we could have brought back Sree to the fold. Selectors missed the bus by sticking to Pankaj Singh like players! And why on earth are we dragging playing players like Badri? It is clear to every cricket follower and his aunt that he isn't good any more. It'd have been worth it if we had given exposure to completely new fellows! Australia has seasoned domestic cricketers, then Australia A players and then this Emerging Players squad. This is called preparing players step by step and then maintain a healthy pool. PS: India goes down to the third team in the tournament as well, this time to NZ in the second T20 of the tournament:

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Davids stars for dominant South Africa Cricinfo staff July 27, 2009 South Africa Emerging Players 4 for 133 (Davids 73, Elgar 43) beat Australian Institute of Sports 6 for 132 (Cooper 40, Richardson 37, Tshabalala 2-31, Walters 2-33) by six wickets Scorecard After winning five one-day games on the trot, South Africa Emerging Players continued their domination in the Twenty20 format as well, making light work of the Australian Institute of Sports (AIS) at the Albury Oval. They restricted the hosts to 132, and then rode on a superb batting display by Henry Davids to win with nine balls to spare. The AIS innings never took off after they opted to bat, as Thandi Tshabalala and Basheeru-Dean Walters dealt important blows at the top of the order. A 46-run partnership between Tom Cooper and Kane Richardson for the fifth wicket helped AIS save face. Cooper was in control during his 30-ball stay, hitting four fours and two sixes, and when he fell with the score on 83, Richardson ensured AIS finished with a reasonably competitive total. Davids provided a rousing start to the chase as he smashed the AIS bowlers to all parts during his 47-ball knock, which included six fours and four sixes. He was well supported by Dean Elgar as the two put on 80 for the second wicket. Kane Richardson picked up two wickets towards the end, but it was too late for a comeback. New Zealand Emerging Players 5 for 156 (de Grandhomme 60, Ashwin 3-22) beat India Emerging Players 5 for 154 (Tiwary 51, Nayar 45, Bennett 3-20) by five wickets Scorecard An efficient all-round display from New Zealand Emerging Players helped them overcome India Emerging Players in the first Twenty20 match at the Albury Oval. Hamish Bennett, the right-arm fast bowler, starred with the ball, while Colin de Grandhomme scored a sparkling fifty to take New Zealand home in the penultimate over. Peter Fulton's decision to field first paid off as the Indian batsmen floundered against Bennett, who removed three top-order batsmen - Ajinkya Rahane, S Badrinath and Virat Kohli - as New Zealand took the early honours. But Manoj Tiwary's 51 off 32 balls and a brave knock from Abhishek Nayar helped them wrest back the advantage. Naman Ojha's 15-ball 26 helped them go past 150. Martin Guptill and de Grandhomme made an excellent start to the run-chase, scoring freely off the Indian seamers. de Grandhomme hit six fours and a six during his 45-ball 60. R Ashwin, the right-arm offspinner, struck two quick blows to keep India in the hunt, but crucial knocks from wicketkeeper Reece Young and Kane Williamson lower down the order were enough to secure the win. -------------------------- Tyagi didn't play as I had guessed!

[punjabi_khota]

Badri supporters are conspicuous by their absence in this thread. :hahaha:

[Chandan]

Tyagi though seems a lot more complete from what I've noticed in domestic f/c games. Why were Pujara and Dhawan not picked? Injuries?

Looks like that. Read somewhere that these guys had to report to NCA so that their recovery could be assessed. So obviously they'd have been injured. I suppose selectors could have chosen Sreesanth as it'd have tested his fitness and he could be available for CT after that, if he'd have proved his fitness. If Mishra could be there as Emerging player, Sree could have been there as well. And I tell you, Dhawal Kulkarni has really really disappointed me. So we don't have a big enough pool of seamers to discard Sree like that.

This is the detailed news: Dhawan at NCA July 13, 2009 BANGALORE: Delhi batsman Shikhar Dhawan reported at the National Cricket Academy on Monday to assess his recovery from a finger injury he suffered a few months back. Dhawan, who plays for Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League, will be at the academy for a week. His recovery status is being monitored by physio, Paul Close, and strengthening and conditioning coach, Paul Chapman. Pujara at NCA Bangalore: Saurashtra’s prolific batsman Cheteshwar Pujara, who is recuperating from a left leg ligament injury, is undergoing a rehabilitation stint at the National Cricket Academy (NCA). Pujara suffered the injury during a Kolkata Knight Riders’ practice match at Bloemfontein in April, ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The ligament tear forced Pujara to skip the IPL and he underwent a corrective surgery in South Africa on May 1. Pujara, who has just removed his crutches, will be at the NCA for a week while he tests his recovery-process with physio Paul Close keeping a close watch. Meanwhile, a mental-toughness and self-belief module was taught to the under-16 trainees by Rajesh Venkadri, a behavioural skills consultant. The trainees were given exercises that helped them improve their self-esteem.

[vvvslaxman]

Wish him (Pujara) a speedy recovery. He picked up an injury at the wrong time. You can't plan these things. It is unfortunate. Hope he gets back on his feet and plays with same confidence.

[Chandan]

Just can't believe how easily India have won this time! Bowlers did a collective effort and dismissed AIS side for 176 in 48th over and they scored 177 in only 28th over! Is ir because AIS is taking things easy since they've already qualified for the final?

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If we talk about Indian batters dismissals, here are they: Over 14.2: Duval to Kohli, no run, OUT, bouncer again from Duval this time catches a top edge to mid wicket. Short pitch bane? Over 18.2: Duval to Rahane, no run, DROPPED, tough return catch to Duval who tries to get one hand to it but it doesnt stick, one of those days for AIS Over 18.3: Duval to Rahane, no run, OUT, trying to hit over the top of mid off mistimes it to Quiney at mid off who takes a great diving catch to remove Rahane Now I'm sure that Rahane has concentration problems. Over 20.3: Duval to Badrinath, no run, OUT, bouncer again from Duval, Badrinath completely mistimes his pull shot and Wade takes a good catch at mid wicket diving to his right Oh my God !! So Indians will always have the problem against short pitch deliveries, especially Badrinath? Over 21.6: Holland to Ojha, no run, OUT, attempted sweep, catches the bottom of the bat and Smith takes an easy catch at mid wicket Nothing wrong here! Over 23.2: Holland to Tiwary, no run, OUT, trying to sweep misses the ball and slips over in the process causing a stumping for Holland, well gloved down the legside from Triffitt Good keeping! And that is all we can say!

[rahulrulezz]

Manoj Tiwary is one of the most agressive batsman out there... Hoefully we will see Kohli, Tiwary in Indian colors again

[vvvslaxman]

oh Badri . He is digging his grave deeper and deeper.

[Chandan]

Here is the report of yesterday's matches: Emerging Players Tournament, Brisbane, 7th day India cruise to victory in crucial tie Cricinfo staff July 29, 2009 India Emerging Players 5 for 177 (Rahane 61, Kohli 51, Duval 3-49) beat Australia 176 (Quiney 55, Faulkner 38, Mishra 2-21, Badrinath 2-13) by five wickets Scorecard A disciplined bowling effort and a 103-run opening stand between Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kohli set up a crucial victory for India in an Emerging Players Tournament match against Australia at Brisbane. Put in to bat, Australia lost regular wickets as the Indian bowlers kept a tight leash on the scoring. Opener Robert Quiney and James Faulkner combined for the only major partnership of the innings, adding 67 for the second wicket. Australia were unable to get the Indian bowling away and eventually folded for 176 in 47 overs. Legspinner Amit Mishra and part-timer S Badrinath picked up two wickets each. India's opening duo of Rahane and Kohli virtually sealed victory with their opening stand; both batsmen struck fifties. Australia struck back with a flurry of wickets as India lost five for 48, but it proved too late for the home side as India cruised to victory with 22 overs to spare. South Africa Emerging Players 7 for 263 (Kuhn 139*, Worker 2-41) beat New Zealand Emerging Players 8 for 262 (Fulton 90, Theron 2-40, Elgar 2-41) by three wickets Scorecard It was a brilliant solo effort from Heino Kuhn as South Africa continued their winning ways in the tournament, pulling off a last-ball win against New Zealand Emerging Players at the Albury Oval. The right-hand wicketkeeper-batsman's quickfire century at the top of the innings ensured South Africa held sway for most part of the chase. Choosing to bat, captain Peter Fulton led the way for New Zealand stroking a fluent fifty. A second-wicket partnership of 71 with Colin de Grandhomme had laid the platform for a big score, before Dean Elgar struck two quick blows. Even though Juan Theron helped South Africa claw back with two lower-order wickets, it was Anaru Kitchen's lightning 40 off 19 balls that pushed New Zealand past the 250-mark. Even as wickets fell around him during the chase, Kuhn continued undeterred. He displayed confident strokeplay as he powered his way to a hundred. The middle order failed to capitalise on their starts, leaving Kuhn to anchor the innings. He stayed unbeaten during his 134-ball knock, hitting 10 fours and two sixes as South Africa registered another memorable victory. The win keeps India in the race for a spot in the finals; a defeat in this match would have led to their elimination. Both Australia and India are on six points with three wins each and a game to play. In the final league games, Australia face off against South Africa while India play New Zealand. South Africa, who have recorded seven wins out of seven, have already qualified for the finals. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- So India isn't out of finals as yet!! Good. They might win against NZ, while AIS can lose to SA since they have a perfect record so far and would like to maintain it. Here is the table after 5 one dayers:

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PS: AIS has lost its final game by 183. So India has to win its game by any margin whatsoever to be in final. We'll know about it after few hours I suppose!

[Sachinism]

Good news guys SA 227ao AIS 44ao Next Game NZ 246/9 IND 247/5 Kohli 92 (86) Badrinath 81* (84) India go through I believe

[Mr. Wicket]

Ah, Badri finally does something useful.

[Chandan]

Yes! Despite such a scratchy performance during the tiurnament, India finally has qualified to the final where it'll face the so far undefeated SA. Today, Indian bowlers restricted the Kiwis to 246 for 9. Tyagi was very expensive but took 2 wickets, Sangwan was economical but failed to take a single wicket, B Kumar bowled beutifully and not only took 2 wickets but gave less than 4 runs/ over in his 10 overs, Mishra seems to have been used as an attacking option for the 1st time and he took 4 for 44 in 10 overs. India chased that total down in 45th over and for the first time in the series Badrinath hit a half ton. He scored 81 runs in 84 deliveries and Kohli topscored with his 92 in 86 deliveries. Here is the scorecard:

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We'll have the final on 1st august and CA site will cover it live!

[rahulrulezz]

Wow look at Kohli... The guy is making runs in every match ...and that too above a strike rate of 100... Time to kick out R.Jadeja and get in Kohli.. Kohli is an awesome allrounder .. bowled superbly in under-19 trophy...Same for A.Nayar

[Chandan]

So, this is the report of yersterday's matches: Emerging Players Tournament, Brisbane, 9th day India and South Africa win through to final Cricinfo staff July 30, 2009 India 5 for 247 (Kohli 92, Badrinath 81*) beat New Zealand 9 for 246 (Watling 94, Nethula 42, Mishra 4-44) by 5 wickets Scorecard India sealed a place in the finals of the Emerging Players Tournament after a five-wicket victory over New Zealand in Brisbane. Amit Mishra starred with the ball, while Virat Kohli continued his fine batting form to help India post a comfortable win. After New Zealand chose to bat first, both their openers were dismissed in succession by fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar, with the score on 47. The New Zealand batting was held together by BJ Watling, who scored an unbeaten 94. However, the middle order failed, as they found themselves in a spot of bother at 6 for 105 at one stage after losing four wickets for 36 runs. Watling forged an 87-run partnership with Tarun Nethula to help revive their team to a respectable score of 246. Legspinner Amit Mishra picked up four of the last five wickets to finish with 4 for 44 from his ten overs. India lost in-form opener Ajinkya Rahane for 24 and Naman Ojha fell almost immediately for a duck to leave them at 2 for 49. The captain S Badrinath then joined Kohli and the duo added 106 to put India in the driving seat. Kohli was dismissed for an aggressive 92 off 86 balls, but Badrinath ensured victory with a 52-run partnership with Manoj Tiwary for the fifth wicket. Badrinath was unbeaten on 81 and India won with more than five overs to spare. South Africa 227 (van Jaarsveld 63, Rossouw 43, Floros 3-43, Smith 3-21) beat Australia Institute of Sports 44 (de Villers 5-15, Walters 3-6) by 183 runs Scorecard South Africa Emerging Players will meet India in the final after they demolished the Australian Institute of Sports by 183 to secure their eighth win in a row. A massive batting collapse from the Australians left them all out for an embarrassing 44 in 13.2 overs, with Cornelius de Villiers taking 5 for 15 to destroy the top order. Chasing 228 for victory, Australia were never in the hunt, losing seven wickets in the first seven overs, with de Villiers taking five, including three in his third over. Only two batsmen - Rob Quiney and Jon Holland - managed to reach double figures as Craig Alexander and Basheeru-Deen Walters offered excellent support to de Villiers. South Africa's total was built around a 97-run third-wicket partnership between captain Vaughn van Jaarsveld and Rilee Rossouw. Both batsmen fell off successive balls in the 23rd over, though, and the innings fell away thereafter, as South Africa lost their last eight wickets for only 92. Jason Floros and Steven Smith bowled tidy spells for Australia to finish with three wickets each. South Africa now face India in the final on Saturday. Australia are out of the tournament and will play New Zealand in the third-place playoff. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ais crashed for just 44? This SA EP team looks to quite a monster which won't be conquered! Anyway, I'm happy that at least we reached the final.

[Chandan]

Indians overcome colour barrier, tough conditions Taus Rizvi / DNA Friday, July 31, 2009 2:18 IST Mumbai: The Indian team, which entered the final of the Emerging Players tournament, not only had to quickly acclimatise to the conditions in Brisbane but also had to get their eye in while playing with green, orange and white balls. On Thursday, the Praveen Amre-coached side got the better of New Zealand to finish second with 14 points in the table behind league leaders South Africa. India will play South Africa in the finals at the Alan Border Field, Brisbane, on Saturday. India's road to the finals wasn't easy. "We were completely down after we started off badly. We never expected to make the finals. However, everything changed after we beat the Australian Institute of Sports," Amre told DNA from Brisbane. India beat New Zealand by five wickets to enter the final. The former India batsman said the players adapted to the conditions after struggling initially. "We had only one day of practice before the tournament began. Also we had to play with different colour balls -- green, orange and white in the tourney," Amre said. It was part of the International Cricket Council's efforts in finding the right colour ball for day-night Test cricket. "The boys were finding it difficult to play with the different colour balls as it was something very new for them. However, I must say they fought back well and made the finals," he added. The team also had injury worries. "It has been a long tournament and we have been playing back-to-back games hence some of our players like Sudeep Tyagi, Amit Mishra andAbhishek Nayar suffered injuries. It hampered our performance," said Amre. However, the Mumbai coach said the tour has been a learning curve for the players. "It is testing their skills. They have learnt to leave a good ball and their shot selection has improved. As for bowlers they have learnt to bowl seam up," Amre said. Amre is confident that the team would do well against the unbeaten South African side. "They have been the best overall. But we were close to beating them in the round matches." --------------------------------------------------- Green, Orange and white balls? That sounds wierd. All the matches were day matches. How could they have played with orange and green balls? And injuries? Hmm..

[Mr. Wicket]

Bad news re. the injuries. Glad we don't have any major commitments very soon, else the loss of Mishra and Nayar could be really worrying. Interesting to see how much Australia have slipped at this level. Three years ago they were very dominant at the Emerging Players/A-team level. You had guys like Phil Jaques, Chris Rogers, Adam Voges, Luke Pommersbach and co. belting around a lot of other teams (remember Jaques piling into a strong India A attack w/ the likes of RP Singh and Chawla and scoring a double ton and a 80-odd-ball hundred in the same game?). Now they're being kicked around by RSA A.

[Chandan]

Bad news re. the injuries. Glad we don't have any major commitments very soon, else the loss of Mishra and Nayar could be really worrying. Interesting to see how much Australia have slipped at this level. Three years ago they were very dominant at the Emerging Players/A-team level. You had guys like Phil Jaques, Chris Rogers, Adam Voges, Luke Pommersbach and co. belting around a lot of other teams (remember Jaques piling into a strong India A attack w/ the likes of RP Singh and Chawla and scoring a double ton and a 80-odd-ball hundred in the same game?). Now they're being kicked around by RSA A.

Actually Salil, this is not their A team. They choose their Academy team every year for this tournament. Their A team recently was playing with Pak A in Australia A and guys like Bollinger were playing there. From that squad, only Holland was called into this squad. This was truly an emerging players squad.

[Chandan]

PREVIEW: India v South Africa, Emerging Players Tournament, Final Unbeaten South Africa start firm favourites Cricinfo staff July 31, 2009 Match facts Saturday August 1, 2009 Start time 9am (23:00 GMT) Big Picture South Africa Emerging Players, who have won all eight matches - six 50-over games and two Twenty20s - will start clear favourites against India, who pipped Australia to the final after a victory over New Zealand in the last league match. India have been inconsistent in the tournament, winning and losing four matches. They've won as many 50-over matches as Australia, and made it to the final only because they won one out of two Twenty20 games while Australia lost both. India will be encouraged, though, by the fact that they ran South Africa close in both the games in the tournament, losing by in ten runs and four wickets. South Africa have an enviable record in the tournament, and the key has been the contribution of several players. There is no stand-out star with the bat for South Africa, but four of their batsmen have scored more than 150 runs. Form guide (last five matches, most recent first) South Africa - WWWWW India - WWLLW Watch out for.. Virat Kohli: Kohli has been in tremendous form, and is the third highest run-scorer of the series with 294 runs in six one-day matches. He has already scored a century and two fifties in six innings. In the crucial last league tie against New Zealand, Kohli hit a hurricane 92 from 86 balls to clinch victory while chasing a tricky target of 247. CJD de Villiers: The right-arm fast bowler has played four of the six one-day matches, but has made a big impact. He has raced to second on the wicket-takers list with nine, at an average of 13.33 and a miserly economy rate of 3.42 runs an over. de Villiers was the destroyer-in-chief in South Africa's massive 183-run win over Australia Institute of Sports, picking up figures of 5 for 15 in six overs. Team news South Africa might bring back middle-order batsman Stiaan van Zyl, while India will look to retain the same XI which won against New Zealand on Thursday. Murali Vijay, another India international, is set to remain on the bench, with the current opening partnership of Ajinkya Rahane and Kohli going great guns. South Africa: (likely) 1 Henry Davids, 2 Heino Kuhn (wk), 3 Rilee Rossouw, 4 Vaughn Van Jaardsveld (capt), 5 Stiaan van Zyl, 6 Dean Elgar, 7 Reeza Hendricks, 8 Daryn Smit, 9 CJD de Villiers, 10 Thandi Tshabalala, 11 Juan Theron, 12 Craig Alexander. India: (likely) 1 Ajinkya Rahane, 2 Virat Kohli, 3 Naman Ojha, 4 S Badrinath (capt), 5 Abhishek Nayar, 6 Manoj Tiwary, 7 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 8 Amit Mishra, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Pradeep Sangwan, 11 R Ashwin, 12 Sudeep Tyagi. Stats India's two most prolific batsmen have been Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kohli, who are second and third on the top run-scorers list of the torunament *Both India and South Africa have three batsmen each in the top-10 run-scorers list - Rahane, Kohli and S Badrinath for India while South Africa is represented by Heino Kuhn, Farhaan Behardien and Vaughn van Jaarsveld *Indian fast bowler Sudeep Tyagi is the highest wicket-taker of the series with 10 wickets in five matches at an average of 18.30 *Badrinath, the Indian captain, scored 86 runs in his first five innings before finally finding some form, scoring an unbeaten 81 in India's last match, against New Zealand. *de Villiers' bowling average of 13.33 is the best among bowlers who have taken at least five wickets in the tournament. You'll find the live coverage of the match here: http://ls.cricket.com.au/HomeFullScorecard110_2453_14.html .

[Cricketics]

VIRAT KOHLI HAS SMASHED a ton again for INDIA. This time iin the final of the Emerging players tournament.. AMAZING.. India finished at 283-9 in 50 overs.. Saha scored 70 odd with Virat Kohli showing the way with a century yet again. don't know which selector had the audacity to drop this guy from the Indian odi squad after how well he played against Sri Lanka in lanka.. come on selectors bring the guy back.

[Mr. Wicket]

Kohli has been one of the stand outs this tour. I agree with tics, he's got the talent and the range of shots to do brilliantly in the ODI/T20 side, and he's getting more mature these days.