Zal Irani Trophy, 2009

[Chandan]

why is Sehwag not on field. Hoping everything is fine.

Ill today. Apparently he is suffering from fever

[Shane]

160/6, Some of the shot selection by the Mumbai Batsmen, really need to be questioned. Tyagi has corrected his length and has nicked a couple. Really Impressive Post Lunch.

[Sachinism]

Whoa they were only 2 down when I left home. I check the score again and they're 6 down

[SachDan]

Mumbai- 182/6 at tea

[Guest Shivani]

Tyagi did really well after the lunch session ... took sharma and agarkar's wickets should be taken in the national squad!!! Munaf doing really well spinners no wickets ? :o

[Andy]

Bring back Munaf,Pathan and Tyagi!! Team India will be back!!

[Sachinism]

I think Munaf is a good bowler. I think he bowled extremely well in NZ and was unlucky not to get more wickets. But people look past him because he looks too relaxed and not focused + his fielding sucks. Don't know how he's bowling this match though

[CG]

I think Munaf is a good bowler. I think he bowled extremely well in NZ and was unlucky not to get more wickets. But people look past him because he looks too relaxed and not focused + his fielding sucks. Don't know how he's bowling this match though

he bowled **** with the new ball was at 125km /h, but with the old ball he was great with re verse swing and got up to 130k m/h,sreesa nth was good throughout at 130-140 in first and second spell and 128-132 in third spell,tyagi was quick but bowled short may be he has not adjusted to indian pitches after the emerging players tourny.

[Cricketics]

Just 80 overs have been played in Mumbai's innings. Jaffer played really well. Some great shots. Rohit Sharma missed out sadly. Tyagi came back well after a horrible first and 2nd spell. But the best bowler in the match so far has been Munaf along with Agarkar. Brilliant bowling by Munaf. Kept bowling good line and length. Rahana got an easy ball which he could have flicked away for four but he played a little late. and the ball went straight to the keeper. These dismissals are pretty unlucky.

[Cricketics]

I didn't see the whole day 2 offcourse but from what I saw, Tyagi bowled way way better in his 3rd spell then his first 2 spell in which he was absolutey terrible in line n length. Sreesanth tryed hard and bowled some very good deliveries but returning to test cricket in subcontinent and you could see that serious itch in him of getting frustrated of not getting many wickets. He bowled well. Munaf was the best of the lot. Simple line n length. Didn't ball any trash. got rewarded with 3 wickets. Rohit missed out on opportunity. hope he does well in 2nd inngs. Rahane played the flick shot pretty late and got out which is considered to be a very unlucky way to get out. A delivery which needed to be flicked for four from square leg went straight to the keeper.

[Chandan]

he bowled **** with the new ball was at 125km /h, but with the old ball he was great with re verse swing and got up to 130k m/h,sreesa nth was good throughout at 130-140 in first and second spell and 128-132 in third spell,tyagi was quick but bowled short may be he has not adjusted to indian pitches after the emerging players tourny.

One can say that Munaf was patchy with the new ball. He did extract movement but just kept bowling at Jaffer and Kukreja's pads. But reverse swing with the old ball? I could not spot even one ball reversing. Did I miss any? Tyagi was rubbish in the morning session and in overreaction, he pitched a few too full in the second session but from his second over onwards after lunch, he sorted his length and then troubled everyone. Even then there seems to be one boundary ball in his every over. He'll have to improve here. Sree was quite impressive but didn't bowl long spells. Spinners, both Ojha and Jadeja didn't even look like taking a wicket. They were ineffective even if economical.

[The Outsider]

I only watched the clips 'tics put on and the pitch looked a good, true surface from that. Hard and with a fair bit of carry. So performances in this match should be a good reflection of player's abilities. It'll be interesting if the track turns day 4 onwards. Surprising that Munaf even being out of the side is continuing to bowl 130 kmph stuff. I doubt he'll get much reverse at those speeds and he is most dangerous when he is reversing the ball. BTW, I would give an arm and leg to find a place where I can watch Neo Cricket from the US - I really enjoyed the channel when I was in India. Perfect for a cricketophile.

[Chandan]

I only watched the clips 'tics put on and the pitch looked a good, true surface from that. Hard and with a fair bit of carry. So performances in this match should be a good reflection of player's abilities. It'll be interesting if the track turns day 4 onwards. Surprising that Munaf even being out of the side is continuing to bowl 130 kmph stuff. I doubt he'll get much reverse at those speeds and he is most dangerous when he is reversing the ball. BTW, I would give an arm and leg to find a place where I can watch Neo Cricket from the US - I really enjoyed the channel when I was in India. Perfect for a cricketophile.

No Shwetabh, pitch is not good. Since the first day itself it was a bit up and down. Few of the balls kept low while few had good carry if the bowler put an effort. There has been no turn so far. Batsmen are not able to play strokes as the bounce is unpredictable. Second session in the both the days have proved toughest for run making. So I wonder what purpose it is serving when it isn't very good for stroke play, doesn't have assistance for bowler in any shape, bounce, seam turn..whatever! The conditions are the only thing which have made it interesting as it is aiding swing.

[kabira]

Thoughts on Irani Cup Game Pitch: Extremely dissappointed with the pitch. There is no bounce for the bowlers. Yes it has some grass, does help seamers. But ball hardly carries to the keeper. Ground: The new Nagpur Stadium is awesome and what more its very big ground with lush outfield. Superb conditions except for the pitch. well atleast pitch will product result Best moment: The Tussle between Power and Sreesanth. It was fun to watch that and even crowd were cheering Sreesanth to do something stupid. Post Lunch session, Power comes in. Sudeep Tyagi was just about to finish very impressive spell. In comes Sreesanth. Power gets beaten couple of times and has no clue. So he starts to charge Sreesanth to do something different, to see if Sree will lose the focus. This goes for an over. Sree does nothing, no antics. He did try to walk all the way to Powar and look into his eyes, but powar just walked away. Next over same thing, powar walks as if he is Matthew Hayden. So now Sree is almost agitated, he asks Saha to come up the stump. I thought that was stupid move, he was alrady bowling well. Now Sree ambles in with shorter run up and cheeky Powar guides him thru the slips for 4. Sree's frustration is going up. But thankfully no antics. Sree tried come round the wicket, he even tried to bounce him. On one occasion good incoming delivery almost got Powar. I thought this 30 odd mins were entertaining Bowling Attack: Munaf looked steady, Sreesanth was charging in, was most impressive, but had only one wicket to show. Tyagi got settled in his 3rd spell, got rid of dangerous Rohit Sharma and Great Aggy. Although Munaf and Tyagi had more wickets to show, Sree was the pick of the bowler for me. Praghyan Ojha was steady, no turn for him yet except on couple of occasions. ROI may have missed Sehwag's offspin. Batting: Wasim Jaffer looked in supreme touch, This may be season opener but he looked in good nick. Rahane was steady, was unlucky to get out, was looking solid to make big one. Sehwag was not on the field so I thought Badri lead the team well, great comeback after being 130/1 down. Hoping to see soem firework from Sehwag tomorrow, not sure if can open the innings. Its some sort of fever, so I think he should be fine. Result: This may well go to the wire. ROI needs to bundle out Mumbai before lunch and get 400 in 2nd innings. My money will be on ROI.

[kabira]

I only watched the clips 'tics put on and the pitch looked a good, true surface from that. Hard and with a fair bit of carry. So performances in this match should be a good reflection of player's abilities. It'll be interesting if the track turns day 4 onwards. Surprising that Munaf even being out of the side is continuing to bowl 130 kmph stuff. I doubt he'll get much reverse at those speeds and he is most dangerous when he is reversing the ball. BTW, I would give an arm and leg to find a place where I can watch Neo Cricket from the US - I really enjoyed the channel when I was in India. Perfect for a cricketophile.

what you talking about. the pitch has no bounce. the fresh pitch at the start of new season got to have bounce atleast for 3 days. Hardly any delivery carried to the keeper.

[Sooda]

Jadeja with the bat too, good knock in the first dig to shore up ROI. He does look a good prospect.

[Cricketics]

Brilliant write up Kabira.. Didn't watch the whole of day 2 but whatever i watched i can tell you I really enjoyed Jaffer's shots. He was batting with so ease. Munaf bowled well and so did Sreesanth. Good to see was a sudden change in the attitude of Sudeep Tyagi. In the later spells of his, he really gave the ball some seam and bowled with heart. Would love to watch that sree-powar battle which you mentioned.

[ludhianvi]

Nice write up ! I find Jaffer one of the most pleasing to watch especially his drives. Sreesanth is probably going to be selected pretty soon for the Indian squad i reckon. Check out Jaffer in his follow up :

[Cricketics]

Ludhianvi, I think it has something to do with his height. I think most of the players who have good height don't really tend to be that great in techinque the way jaffer is. Most players of his height are usually bowlers who can bat a bit. But Jaffer stands tall and produces those classic looking on drives, straight drives cover drives, which are so easy to the eyes. Just like how Laxman's shots pleases one.

[Chandan]

Tyagi got settled in his 3rd spell, got rid of dangerous Rohit Sharma and Great Aggy. Although Munaf and Tyagi had more wickets to show, Sree was the pick of the bowler for me. Praghyan Ojha was steady, no turn for him yet except on couple of occasions. ROI may have missed Sehwag's offspin.

Agree that Sree was the pick of the bowlers yesterday, but Munaf was awesome since post lunch sesson. Tyagi was good too, once he sorted the length out on this track. Brilliant wtite up Kabira.

Brilliant write up Kabira.. Munaf bowled well and so did Sreesanth. Good to see was a sudden change in the attitude of Sudeep Tyagi. In the later spells of his, he really gave the ball some seam and bowled with heart. Would love to watch that sree-powar battle which you mentioned.

Tyagi still needs to improve his attutude. It seems as if he expects wicket on every delivery and gets too unnerved when batsmen hit him for runs.