Zal Irani Trophy, 2009

[Chandan]

Wow! two wickets straight away. Sree gets Samant bowled in the first over while Munaf cleaned up Powar in the second over of the day. New ball was taken straightaway at the beginning of the day and Sree and Munaf did the damage. I want to see Tyagi with new ball too.

[Guest Shivani]

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.

:two_thumbs_up::two_thumbs_up::two_thumbs_up: I enjoyed the best moment too

[Chandan]

Report of Day 2 Mumbai 200 for 6 (Jaffer 68, Samant 19*, Powar 25*) trail Rest of India 260 (Jadeja 77, Mukund 47) by 60 runs Scorecard and ball-by-ball details On a mildly overcast day, Rest of India roared back into the game in the second session with some inspired bowling to leave the game fascinatingly poised by the end of the second day of the Irani Cup. Wasim Jaffer had led Mumbai's bright reply in the morning but he fell after an elegant 68 to trigger a mini-collapse. Vinayak Samant combined with Ramesh Powar in a determined unbroken 40-run partnership to reduce the deficit to 60 before bad light led to an early abandonment of play. Sehwag absent Rest of India suffered a early jolt as Virender Sehwag couldn't take the field today due to fever and sore throat but S Badrinath, the acting captain, was well supported by his seamers, looked in command. Sreesanth had led the way in the morning with his impeccable line and length but the rest were guilty of bowling a touch short: Tyagi couldn't find his radar and Munaf, though steady and tight, pinged back-of-length when the pitch, perhaps, demanded a fuller length. Everything changed in the second session, though. Post lunch session Sreesanth again started with a probing spell that was followed up with some good work from Munaf and a slightly improved showing from Tyagi. Munaf ended Jaffer's resistance with a cracking full-length delivery that cut back in to run off the inside-edge onto the stumps. Clearly egged on by that success, Munaf cranked up the pressure with a teasing spell of seam bowling in the off-stump corridor. He lured Prashant Naik into edging behind and would have got Vinayak Samant had Manoj Tiwary held on to a very difficult chance, diving acrobatically to his right, at first slip. Things would have been worse for Mumbai had that catch been taken and a plausible lbw appeal against Ramesh Powar, off Sreesanth, been upheld. Tyagi, who bowled too short in the morning, forced Rohit Sharma into edging a length delivery that straightened outside off. Tyagi then tricked Ajit Agarkar into nicking a short delivery outside off to put Rest of India in line for a first-innings lead. Jaffer-Rahane partnership The morning, though, couldn't have been more different as Jaffer led Mumbai's strong reply with an assured knock. Jaffer plays with such ease in domestic cricket that you can't help but wonder about his unfulfilled international career. There is only one glaring weakness in that he is slightly iffy on the front foot, especially early on in his innings and it's something he has never managed to sort out. International bowlers make him stretch forward with full-length seaming deliveries and inevitably induce mistakes. That weakness again led to his downfall today but he wasn't tested in the morning as no bowler barring Sreesanth really hit a full length. Sreesanth did produce a couple of hurried defensive edges onto Jaffer's pad and beat him outside off but the Mumbai captain was never in any trouble against the rest. He is a natural back-foot player and he excelled against the short-of-length deliveries hurled by Tyagi in particular. There were several cuts and, of course, quite a few elegant trademark flicks off the pads. As ever, he was easy on the eye and his runs crept up almost stealthily. The spinners - Pragyan Ojha and Ravindra Jadeja - didn't pose any problems and he continued to prosper, a caressed cover drive off Ojha highlighting his ease against the slow bowlers. After Sreesanth removed Sahil Kukreja with a peach of a delivery - it cut in to crash into the top of the off-stump - Jaffer found some steady company in Ajinkya Rahane, who settled down after a slightly fidgety start, to play some good shots but was given out caught down the leg side. He didn't look too pleased at the decision as he walked off and by end of day's play, Mumbai had more reasons to worry as Rest of India had clawed back into the game. Resilient batsmen Mumbai resisted the Rest stranglehold through Samant and Powar, both resilient batsmen when the chips are down. Samant has opened the innings before. Powar can blast or block when in mood to assume a responsible role, chipping in with 25 off 76 balls accumulated with a mix of bravado and dogged defending. The seventh wicket stand is worth 40 runs already. Sreesanth and Munaf spit fire It's a great sight to see fast bowlers wrecking havoc on a wicket which has some juice for them. The Nagpur pitch seems one such where on the first day, Mumbai veteran Ajit Agarkar put his side on top and the good work was kept up on the second day by Rest of India's (RoI) Munaf Patel and Shantakumaran Sreesanth in the Irani Trophy match on Friday. Two contrasting men led Rest of India's revival with some lovely exhibition of seam bowling. If Sreesanth, of late, is trying to avoid getting into a hyper-aggressive state and tries to remain calm and focused on his craft, Munaf Patel, who is generally laid-back, seems to bowl better when he gets more aggressive. Both hit the right notes today in slightly overcast conditions to turn out impressive performances on what still is a decent batting pitch. Watching Sreesanth bowl is a fascinating experience. You know what he is capable of in his bowling art - that proud seam and the rest of it - but you also know that he is prone to self-destruction. The entire package is so sizzling that you can never turn your eyes off him when he is on the field. The day started with that familiar sinking feeling as Sreesanth featured in a newspaper supplement talking about his ambition of acting and his thoughts on marriage. On the ground, though, Sreesanth the bowler turned out in full force. Right from the start, he was switched on. With Sreesanth, as always, you don't only notice his bowling but the entire package of quirky traits. Today, those signature self-exhortations at the top of the run-up were not seen too often, nor was there any special celebration on claiming a wicket. Not that there is anything wrong in either trait, but of late, he has been waging a battle within himself to avoid anything that could be seen as evidence against his attitude. And he didn't offer any room for criticism of his bowling either. He judged the pitch correctly and knew that full-length was the way to go on this surface. The seam rushed on straight and landed on a good length before cutting either way as the flick of the wrist at the release had wanted it. Sahil Kukreja couldn't pick him yesterday and his harassment increased today before Sreesanth terminated his misery with a peach that cut in to hit the top of the off stump. He returned in the afternoon to lead Rest of India's revival with yet another probing spell. He later said that after his stint under Allan Donald for Warwickshire, he has tried to concentrate on his own bowling rather than on what the batsman is doing. There were just a couple of occasions when the old fiery Sreesanth threatened to crack open the lid of self-control. The first came when the umpire denied a plausible lbw appeal against Ramesh Powar. He stared at the umpire, turned and looked at the batsman, then to his fielders and then back again at the umpire. He slowly trudged back and stood at the umpire's position and had a look down the track as if he was trying to gauge the umpire's field of vision as he played back the ball in his mind. It was pure drama. The holiday crowd roared at the sight of the old Sreesanth. They had tried baiting him at the boundary the whole day but he remained stoic - on only a couple of occasions did he indulge them with a wave and a disarming smile. The second occasion came immediately after that lbw shout, when he hurled a couple of bouncers at Powar, who was trying to upset Sreesanth's length and composure by walking down the track. After one such delivery left alone by Powar, who suggested later he should have upper cut it, he walked down the track to have a few words. For couple of deliveries, he even shortened his length and bowled with wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha standing up to the stumps, but thankfully shelved the idea quickly. He later played it down saying it was a just a friendly encounter with his IPL team-mate and he was in control of his emotions. For the main part, though, there was no side drama: just good old classical seam bowling. A short while before his chats with the umpire and Powar, Sreesanth had drawn Wasim Jaffer forward, out of the comfort zone, and produced few mistakes but without any success. Couple of deliveries collided with the inside edge and a few rushed past the outside edge but by presenting a visual evidence of Jaffer's weakness, Sreesanth had done his job in inspiring Munaf to up his game. Watching Munaf bowl is a not a tantalizing treat; he doesn't make the ball swerve in intriguing parabolas but you know his performance won't vary inconsistently like a sine curve. You know what you will get from him: steady line and length and bit of seam movement and on his good day, some extra bounce. He doesn't possess a visually arresting art to crash into the team ahead of the other flashy contestants but when they slip up and you are looking for something steady and trusted, he presents a strong case for himself. Today, Munaf had been economical in the morning but he was bowling back of length when the pitch required him to be fuller. He upped the ante in the second with some inspired performance where he hit a fuller length and immediately began to taste success. He was much more animated post-lunch, constantly asking his acting captain S Badrinath for field changes and increased his pace too. He got one to bend back in to go through the defenses of a lunging Jaffer before getting one to hold its line outside off to remove Prashant Naik. He was on song throughout that spell. Time and again, the ball landed on a length in the off-stump channel and either moved in or straightened. He was so sure of his control that at one point he even placed a seven-two off-side field and bowled to his field. It's a luxury that MS Dhoni doesn't have, at this point, with the Indian bowling line-up. By bowling as well as they have done, Sreesanth, through out the day, and Munaf, in the improved afternoon performance, have sent out the right signals. And they will get another shot in the second innings. However, both would know that one game doesn't make a summer. It's still too early to say, though, whether they are good enough to be drafted into the national team at the expense of RP Singh and Ishant Sharma for they would have to reprise this effort spell after spell, and day after day. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hope India's pacebowler's problem gets solved!

[Temujin Khaghan]

ROI to win Sehwag will score a pair of 30s.. Sreesanth and Tyagi wil Impress Manoj Tiwary would be among runs Badrinath to hit a century Ojha to disappoint Agarkar among wickets Rahane/Sharma in a big p'ship stand Pawar impresses

ROI will win

[Shane]

ROI 91/0, can't catch the Game, but it seems like the pitch is easing up a bit.

[Sachinism]

Aww damn about to rain

[Cricketics]

It's raining hard now and covers might come in anytime, as Abdulla holds the ball again to leak few more runs on leg side

[Shane]

Daym, where are you Guys watching the game, I have been following this on CI all afternoon. :((

[Cricketics]

Daym' date=' where are you Guys watching the game, I have been following this on CI all afternoon. :(([/quote'] U should have told me. I thought you were in dubai and just like Danramrah, you can also watch neo cricket in dubai.

[Mr. Wicket]

:banghead: Damnit... not one guy could capitalize on a start!

[Guest Hiten.]

Munaf will be effective once the ball gets older. He should never be given the new ball.

:hatsoff: Did Sehwag p*ssy out in the 2nd innings ? Why did he let Mukund open instead of himself ? :omg:

[Cricketics]

Sehwag is ill. He didn't come to field on day 2. It was Badrinath who capatained them on day 2 on field and for the early morning on day 3.

[coffee_rules]

I didn't see it, watched the score on CI. I like what I am seeing. Mumbai is out I guess.

[Dinx - the Jinx]

Mukund is doing a neat job.. he is good...

[Cricketics]

Mukund is doing a neat job.. he is good...

Yes he is. Was looking really goo din first innings too until he got done by Agarkars fav delivery from the game, the one that cut in to the left hander.

[Mr. Wicket]

Did Sehwag p*ssy out in the 2nd innings ? Why did he let Mukund open instead of himself ? :omg:

in b4 fineleg

[TaNk]

any report on veeru? hope it's the freaking swine flu :((

[cowboysfan]

any report on veeru? hope it's the freaking swine flu :((

que?

[Chandan]

Match has become extremely boring like it was in the final two sessions yesterday. There is nothing here for which you'll watch this game at the moment..no brilliant bowling, really average batting and fielding has slipped too. Terrible.

[Chandan]

Report of Day 3 Rest of India 260 and 171 for 0 (Mukund 86*, Vijay 77* ) lead Mumbai 232 (Jaffer 68, Munaf 5-70, Sreesanth 3-46) by 201 runs Scorecard and ball-by-ball details Rest of India surged ahead after two days of a deadlock courtesy an unbroken 171-run opening stand between M Vijay and Abhinav Mukund. Overnight run delayed the start and bad light brought an early end to proceedings but Sreesanth and Munaf, who took a five-for, made use of the early moisture to remove the Mumbai tail quickly before the ROI openers batted cautiously to stretch the lead to 201. S. Sreesanth (three for 46) and Munaf Patel (five for 70) lit up another gloomy day at the Irani Cup 2009 with splendid swing bowling. The challenge of dealing with the moving ball proved daunting for Mumbai’s middle-order batsmen, resulting in a hasty end to the first innings at 230. Delayed start Rest of India, 30 runs ahead in the first innings and 171 for no loss, swelled the lead to 201. Play began 90 minutes late due to damp conditions, followed by two suspensions due to bad light. Mumbai medium-pacers Ajit Agarkar, Dhaval Kulkarni and Rahil Shaikh found no allies in the conditions or VCA stadium pitch, as openers Abhinav Mukund (86 batting, 184b, 6x4) and M. Vijay (77 batting, 146b, 10x4) fashioned a robust Rest response with an unbeaten 171 first-wicket stand. Earlier in the morning, Sreesanth’s bounce and late swing complemented Munaf’s pace and seam movement to lead the batsmen on a merry dance, four wickets falling in 6.5 overs. Armed with the new ball, Sreesanth sent back Vinayak Samant and Iqbal Abdullah with deliveries quality batsmen would have found tough to handle. Quality bowling Samant has opened in Ranji Trophy so is competent against swing, but was startled by the bounce and movement. The ball pitched outside the off-stump swung in and uprooted the leg-stump. Samant shaped to defend, connected empty air as Rest celebrated a vital breakthrough. Sreesanth had Iqbal snicking an in-swinger, the ball climbing and moving even as wicketkeeper Saha shifted into position for a catch at head height. Munaf brought Ramesh Powar’s dogged resistance to an end with an in-cutter, the ball fizzing through from off to middle. Agarkar and Kulkarni may have expected to pressurise the Rest openers in similar conditions, but made no impression on the batsmen. Mukund, batting in Virender Sehwag’s place, took 99 balls to reach 50, hitting five boundaries. Vijay reached the half-century mark faster, 94 balls and six boundaries. Dull day It was a dull grey day and the cricket, after a bright start, mirrored the ambience. There was nothing flashy in the approach of Vijay and Mukund, who proceeded to grind out the Mumbai attack with their patience. There weren't too many memorable shots but that's probably what they set out to do: avoid risk especially in the absence of the indisposed Virender Sehwag, pile up the runs and strengthen ROI's grip on the game. Sure, there were couple of delightful drives and a few aggressive hits late in the evening from both but for the main part they nudged and pushed their way. The shot of the day was a lovely whipped on-drive from Vijay off Ajit Agarkar when he dispatched a full delivery from almost off stump to the wide midwicket boundary. Mukund's best shot was a straight drive off Dhawal Kulkarni. They didn't have any problems against the spinners; both lofted and cut to spread the field. Both lifted Powar to straight boundaries and while Vijay unfurled a few cuts against Iqbal Abdullah, Mukund played his sweeps. As the evening progressed they were almost on auto-pilot, scoring runs off the spinners without breaking into a sweat, but they had their share of problems early on against the new ball. Vijay was tentative against Kulkarni and was beaten a couple of times, pushing away from his body. He made his adjustments later when Kulkarni returned for a second spell, taking guard outside his crease and looking to stretch well forward to defend. Missed chance Mukund was dropped off Kulkarni when he pushed a length delivery that straightened from round the stumps to first slip where Sahil Kukreja failed to snaffle it. He also edged a couple of wide deliveries from the unimpressive Rahil Sheikh, whose selection ahead of Saurabh Netravalkar seems just as odd in hindsight as it did prior to the game, but settled down soon to push ROI to a healthy position Sidelight The sidelight of the morning came when Kulkarni exchanged a few words with Sreesanth but appeared to later apologise to the bowler after the umpires stepped in quickly to diffuse the situation. For the rest of the day there was no drama as two determined batsmen increased Mumbai's agony.