Ranji Trophy - Super League 2009-2010 - Discussion thread

[Sachinism]

Interesting decision. Poor guy went to get married and lost captaincy.

[Lord]

Why is Dhawan not in the squad?

[Lord]

tell me guys,is Dhawan gonna play tomorrow or not?

[Chandan]

Why is Dhawan not in the squad?

tell me guys' date='is Dhawan gonna play tomorrow or not?[/quote'] No. He is injured since last match. He broke his finger while fielding.

[Lord]

No. He is injured since last match. He broke his finger while fielding.

ok. thanx.now i can sub him in my SS:dance:

[Sachinism]

Ranji Trophy Round VI Tuesday 8th - 11th December Group A - Gujarat v Himachal Pradesh (Lalabhai Contractor Stadium, Surat) Group A - Hyderabad (India) v Railways (Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad) Group A - Mumbai v Tamil Nadu (Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai) Group A - Punjab v Orissa (Sector 16 Stadium, Chandigarh) Group B - Delhi v Maharashtra (Roshanara Club Ground, Delhi) Group B - Uttar Pradesh v Bengal (Green Park, Kanpur) Group B - Baroda v Saurashtra (Moti Bagh Stadium, Vadodara)

[Cricketics]

Shikhar Dhawan was having a dream run. He hit a double century and then a century and then he got injured. Really sucks for him. I hope he comes back soon. Virat Kohli would be joining the Odi team soon after 2020s against lankan team is done, so Delhi would need somone reliable.

[The Dark Horse]

Tuesday 8th - 11th December Group A - Gujarat v Himachal Pradesh (Lalabhai Contractor Stadium, Surat) Group A - Hyderabad (India) v Railways (Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad) Group A - Mumbai v Tamil Nadu (Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai) Group A - Punjab v Orissa (Sector 16 Stadium, Chandigarh) Group B - Delhi v Maharashtra (Roshanara Club Ground, Delhi) Group B - Uttar Pradesh v Bengal (Green Park, Kanpur) Group B - Baroda v Saurashtra (Moti Bagh Stadium, Vadodara)

Thats a mouth watering contest:dance:

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Gujarat takes on Himachal in Surat Gujarat can still get a back-door entry into the quarters, when they take on Himachal Pradesh in their second-last league match here from today. More... Gujarat to take on Himachal in Surat Gujarat need loads of inspiration when they take on Himachal. Team India, show the way By Abhishek Singh Posted On Tuesday, December 08, 2009 at 02:51:21 AM In Surat: Down-and-out Gujarat, struggling to qualify for the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals this season, are looking no further than Team India. After all, the players Gujarat lads have grown up idolising are now lords of Test cricket, leaving behind the likes of Australia and South Africa. Gujarat can still get a back-door entry into the quarters, when they take on Himachal Pradesh in their second-last league match here from today. It will be an uphill task, considering Himachal’s star seamer Vikramjit Mallik’s penchant for slicing through any top order in domestic cricket on his day. Mallik is the second-highest wicket-taker in the Ranji season so far. For Gujarat, there are problems galore. Strike bowlers Amit Singh and Mohnish Parmar have been grounded due to their bowling actions; there is not a sign of a decent opening batsman, and if Parthiv and Neeraj Patel don’t bat big, it’s gloom and doom. Such a big headache for Parthiv is the opening slot — he’s tried three different pairs in three games — that he was still clueless ahead of the Himachal tie. His only solace is Jai Desai, the one consistent opener who has delivered throughout this season. In Group A, Gujarat are placed fifth while Himachal are at the bottom. Said Parthiv, “It’s a do-or-die from here on. After this, we play Mumbai and we have to come on top on both occasions.” Gujarat’s fate also depends on how other teams in the group — Tamil Nadu (the leaders), Mumbai, Hyderabad, Punjab, Railways and Orissa — fare over the next few days. Said Parthiv, “Only our fate is in our hands. Obviously, had we played better, we would not have had to depend on how others fare. But that’s the situation right now and there is nothing we can do about it. What we can do is, play to the best of our ability against Himachal and Mumbai.” Gujarat (from): Parthiv Patel (captain and wicket-keeper), Niraj Patel, Rujul Bhatt, Bhavik Thakkar, Timil Patel, Rikin Chauhan, Salil Yadav, Siddharth Trivedi, Hem Joshipura, Jayesh Makala, Sunny Patel, Jay Desai, Tatsat Brahmbhatt and Mehul Patel. Himachal Pradesh (from): Ashok Thakur (captain), Sangram Singh, Paras Dongra, Ajay Mannu, Vikramjit Mallik, Jitendra Mehta, Vinit Indulkar, Bhavin Thakkar, Hemant Dogra, Vishal Bhatia, Kuldeep Diwan, Rajinder Thakur, Mohinder Sharma, Rishi Dhawan, Mukesh Sharma and Ravikant Saini (wicket-keeper).

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Sporting Kanpur track beckons Bengal against UP The pitch at the Green Park stadium has not looked this good for a domestic match in recent memory. A solid surface with a bit of grass promises equal opportunities to both bowlers and batsmen, reports Sharad Deep. More... Sporting Kanpur track beckons Bengal Sharad Deep, Hindustan Times Kanpur, December 08, 2009 First Published: 00:40 IST(8/12/2009) Last Updated: 00:42 IST(8/12/2009) The pitch at the Green Park stadium has not looked this good for a domestic match in recent memory. A solid surface with a bit of grass promises equal opportunities to both bowlers and batsmen. There were smiling faces in the Uttar Pradesh camp when seamers Praveen Kumar and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar gave team-mates the thumbs-up sign after examining the pitch before a practice session. Skipper Mohammad Kaif too thought the strip was a ‘perfect four-day match pitch’. UP, who have beaten Bengal in two previous meetings in the last three years, will be playing their last league match of the Elite Group ‘B’. In 2005-06 UP just managed a 14-run first-innings lead to win their maiden Ranji Trophy at Lucknow, and a year later they crushed the Bengal by an innings and 152 runs at Eden Gardens. Since then, things have changed for both sides. It’s a do-or-die battle for UP though they are placed second in their group with 13 points and a loss here might end their chances of making it to the knockout. Bengal (9 pts), however, have a home match against Delhi next, so even three points will be enough to keep their hopes of a quarterfinal berth alive. Bengal will take heart from the presence of Sourav Ganguly, who skipped previous away matches against Maharashtra and Saurashtra. Only last year Ganguly made a gutsy 87 against South Africa here, so the ground will hold fond memories for him. Squads UP: M. Kaif (capt), T Srivastava, Bhuvneshwar, A Khan, P Chawla, P Gupta, Praveen, Parvinder, S Shukla, RP Singh, R Srivastava, A Yadav, S Srivastava, Prashant, I Ahmed. Bengal: LR Shukla (capt), A Das, D Dasgupta, M Tiwary, S Ganguly, R Gavaskar, W Saha, S Lahiri, R Bose, S Sarkar, I Saxena, R Banerjee, N Das, A Jhunjhunwala, D Chakraborty.

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A make-or-break match for Hyderabad against Railways Hyderabad seems only a pale shadow of its former self, its past prowess appearing to be a distant memory. Never has the side looked as vulnerable as now, with not even a single first innings lead in its campaign thus far. More... HYDERABAD: Hyderabad seems only a pale shadow of its former self, its past prowess appearing to be a distant memory. Never has the side looked as vulnerable as now, with not even a single first innings lead in its campaign thus far. “We have been waiting for things to happen, instead of making them happen,” lamented coach Venkatapathy Raju on the eve of Hyderabad’s Ranji Trophy Super League encounter against Railways at the Rajiv Gandhi international stadium from Tuesday. Such a passive approach has been the bane of the side with just two fixtures remaining. In the years gone by, one could rely on a strong come-back, even if the start had been sluggish. “This game against Railways is not just crucial, but a make-or-break match,” said the former Test spinner. “Our bowling and batting haven’t been combining well. If the batting has to come good, this will be the occasion where it must stand up and be counted,” he said. With their title dreams in tatters, hosts Hyderabad will play not just for pride but also to try and avoid relegation to the Plate league when they face Railways in a Ranji Trophy Super League Group A match at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium here from Tuesday. Hyderabad will be delighted to have veteran V.V.S. Laxman back in their ranks to lead the team after being relieved from national duty. His presence should uplift the morale of the team, who are yet to register a win in the tournament and with just five points from as many games. "Laxman brings a lot of experience with him and it should be great to have him back for the remaining two games," coach Venkatapathy Raju said on the eve of the game. Brittle batting Asked what steps had been taken to seriously address the problem of its brittle batting, Raju said, “They’ve seen videos and identified their flaws. However the time between games is too short to iron them out. All the solidity shown in the nets needs to be carried over to the middle. Now is the time for the big partnerships,” he felt. V.V.S. Laxman could provide the silver lining in an otherwise gloomy scenario. The wristy maestro is expected to lead the charge and revive a team low on morale, self-belief and performance, which will not be an easy task. The batting will revolve around the brilliance of Laxman and Ambati Rayudu, two players who have a sound technique, with the likes of Abhinav Kumar, Anirudh Singh and Ahmed Quadri providing the back-up. With Pragyan Ojha set to play in the Twenty20 and ODIs against Sri Lanka, the onus will be on M.P. Arjun, Mohammad Khader and Alfred Absolom to put up an improved show with the ball. Railways upbeat Railways, on the other hand, must be flush with its emphatic innings and five runs victory over Gujarat. Starring in that sterling show were Sanjay Bangar’s 109 and haul of three for 17, apart from skipper Murali Karthik’s four for 75. Bangar also had a 163 against Tamil Nadu. Railways depend a lot on all-rounders in the form of skipper Murali Karthik, Sanjay Bangar and Sanjib Sanyal to deliver with both the bat and the ball. All eyes will be on Bangar, who started the season’s proceedings for his team with a strokeful 163 against Tamil Nadu, to add weight to Railways’ batting line-up that also includes Faiz Fazal, Tejinder Pal Singh, Yere Goud, V. Cheluvaraj and Sanjib Sanyal. The teams (from): Railways: Murali Kartik (captain), Sanjay Bangar, Yere Gouda, T.P. Singh, Sanjay Sanyal, Chelavaraj (wicket-keeper), M. Suresh, K.K. Sharma, Santosh Saxena, Harshad Rawle, Akshay Girap, Krishnakanth U., Faiz Fazal, Abhishek Pande and Rahul Deb. Coach: Abhay Sharma. Hyderabad: V.V.S. Laxman (captain), Arjun Yadav, Rushi Raj, Shashank Nag, A.T. Rayudu, Anirudh Singh, Abhinav Kumar (wicket-keeper), Ahmed Quadri, M.A. Khader, Sarvesh Kumar, M.P. Arjun, Alfred Absolom, Anoop Pai, P.S. Niranjan, Vishal Sharma and Amol Shinde. Coach: Venkatapathy Raju.

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Confident Tamil Nadu takes on Mumbai who find the tie tricky More... Confident Tamil Nadu takes on Mumbai Special Correspondent MUMBAI: Murali Vijay’s ability to adapt when an opportunity to play international cricket props up is an indication of Tamil Nadu players’ mindset. The India opener, drafted into the National squad for the Mumbai Test against Sri Lanka, made the adjustment seamlessly after being forced to make the mental and technical switch from domestic cricket. He is back to Ranji Trophy Super League for the away game against Mumbai at the MCA Recreation Centre ground, Bandra Kurla Complex, adding steel to the batting line-up and leading the squad. Vijay’s adaptability at the crease reflects a streak of ruthlessness in the Tamil Nadu squad this season under coach W.V. Raman, players showing the heart to back talent. The innings win over Punjab followed by the victory over Himachal Pradesh after conceding the first innings lead were remarkable examples of the squad’s confidence and resilience. Keep momentum going Dinesh Karthik and off-spinner R. Ashwin’s absence due to India duty is not likely to affect the side’s momentum. “If any player is picked for the Indian side, we have to live up with the players we have in the side. Vijay is coming back, so is Badrinath. We also got two with the T20 side which means more or less even-steven situation,” said Raman. Asked about how the Ranji side will respond to frequent shuffle of personnel, he said: “The point is that there were early indications that this thing were going to happen. It is not easy but we have to live with the fact that it will be opportunity for others to pitch in. Which means it is a just a question of mental adjustment on the field.” No Agarkar, Rohit The Mumbai team is in a state of flux. It isn't going to be any easy for Mumbai who are without Rohit Sharma (on national duty), Harmeet Singh (U-19 Mumbai duty) and Ajit Agarkar (opted out for a minor groin injury). Even Abhishek Nayar was absent at the practice session on Monday morning but skipper Wasim Jaffer wasn't worried at all. "He wasn't feeling good so he skipped but he will be ready for the game," Jaffer confirmed. Captain Wasim Jaffer, the highest run-getter last season, will be expected to lead by example. “It will be crucial match for us. We have advantage of playing at home. The last couple of away matches were played on damp wickets, where bowlers can’t do anything. Our batsman like Sahil Kukreja, Ajinkya Rahane have come back to form, so we will be hoping to do our best.” Tamil Nadu is the group topper with 20 points from games in Group A while Mumbai is third with 15 points. On the eve of the crucial tie, both sides sweated it out for two hours. The sound of the willow meeting the five and a half ounce of leather was echoing around the venue amidst the construction work of various commercial sites. Last time around, Mumbai had expressed their displeasure to play at this venue. "The pitch was too slow in the last season, it looks good this time," explained Jaffer. Raman's side will be playing their first game at the venue and he said that it looked like a typical Mumbai wicket. "It will be wet early in the morning and will help the seamers. As the match progresses, it will dry up to help the spinners," said the former left hander, who once ended the 88-89 first class season with 1018 runs, surpassing Rusi Modi's 44-year-old record for most runs in a season, then. Mumbai are placed third with 15 points in Group A. TN lead on 20 while Punjab are placed second also on 15 but have two wins compared to Mumbai's one. But Jaffer doesn't want to read too much into it. "It is always a big game when you are playing against the table toppers, but then we are focused on playing four days of good cricket," said the right-hander, who has already hit two centuries this season. The Mumbai thinktank will also keep an eye on the Punjab game. Though it isn't a desperate situation for the holders, this definitely isn't the way they would want to move to the quarterfinals. The teams (from): Tamil Nadu: Murali Vijay (capt.) , Anirudha Srikkanth, Abhinav Mukund, Arun Karthik, Subramaniam Badrinath, Suresh Kumar, C. Ganapathy, Lakshmipathy Balaji, R. Suthesh, Aushik Srinivas, V. Yomahesh, U. Sushil (wk), R. Prasanna and R. Sathish. Coach: WV Raman Mumbai: Wasim Jaffer (capt.), Vinayak Samant (wk), Sahil Kukreja, Ajinkya Rahane, Abhishek Nayar, Dhaval Kulkarni, Iqbal Abdulla, Avishkar Salvi, Ramesh Powar, Sushant Marathe, Praful Waghela, Abhishek Raut, Omkar Khanvilkar and Prashant Naik. Coach: Pravin Amre.

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Against Orissa, Punjab hope to book place in knockouts Punjab have everything to play for in their second last Ranji league tie against Orissa starting on Tuesday, reports Ashutosh Sharma. More... Punjab hope to book place in knockouts Ashutosh Sharma, Hindustan Times Chandigarh, December 08, 2009 First Published: 00:43 IST(8/12/2009) Last Updated: 00:44 IST(8/12/2009) Punjab have everything to play for in their second last Ranji league tie against Orissa starting on Tuesday. After turning around a mundane season with two consecutive victories, Punjab is on the threshold of qualifying for the knockouts and can cement their place as third best in the group. Waiting for Orissa is a green top, prepared for the home team to give full advantage to their in-form pacers. The pitch immediately became the talking point as Orissa skipper Shiv Sunder Das pointed out. “Discipline and patience will be required on this pitch,” he said. Punjab were unfazed with Manpreet Gony and Love Ablish in the form of their lives. “Our team is doing well. I think we have a chance in this match,” said Punjab skipper Dharmani. Punjab has made two changes. Wicketkeeper Chandan Madan and Manish Bhatia have made way for mediumpacer Bharat Loomba and left-arm spinner Rajwinder Golu.

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Battle for survival : Baroda vs Saurashtra Both Baroda and Saurashtra, clashing today, will be hoping for exactly that — an outright win! More... Battle for survival Baroda take on Saurashtra today in a do-or-die clash in Vadodara By Ahmedabad Mirror Bureau Posted On Tuesday, December 08, 2009 at 02:51:19 AM It’s that stage in the Ranji Trophy where even the first-innings lead doesn’t matter; to reach quarter-finals, teams must win outright. Both Baroda and Saurashtra, clashing today, will be hoping for exactly that — an outright win — when play begins at Motigbagh ground in Vadodara. It promises to be a delightful contest — Saurashtra’s run-machine Cheteshwar Pujara, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and hard-working cricketers like Sandeep Jobanputra up against the likes of Irfan Pathan of Vadodara. Saurashtra have seven points from four matches and are placed sixth in the group while Baroda are trailing them by two points at seventh. Whichever team scores an outright win brightens its chances of making it to the quarters. big responsibilty: Baroda skipper Irfan Pathan Saurashtra hold a slight advantage going into the match as their batsmen are in good form. Cheteshwar Pujara has made a superb comeback after injury and has scored 400 runs from just three matches. Opener Chirag Gandhi too is in form while Jadeja at domestic level is lethal. Bowling, however, remains an area of concern for Saurashtra. Baroda will miss Yusuf Pathan, who will be playing Twenty20 matches against Sri Lanka and his brother will have to take on huge workload.

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Delhi not taking visiting Maharashtra lightly Nine points from four matches — that’s how things stand for Delhi, who take on bottom-placed Maharashtra in their Super League Group ‘B’ match, at the Roshanara ground, reports Anam Arsalan. More... Delhi not taking visitors lightly Anam Arsalan, Hindustan Times New Delhi, December 08, 2009 First Published: 00:32 IST(8/12/2009) Last Updated: 00:32 IST(8/12/2009) NEW DELHI: Virat Kohli’s confidence reflected in the Delhi team management’s decision to order a green top for the Ranji Tophy Super League match against Maharashtra. The four-day contest begins at the Roshanara Club ground here on Tuesday. “We will have a green pitch. Our strength lies in our seam bowlers and we need full points from this match. The team’s overall confidence is high and we expect the trend to continue. It will be a result-oriented pitch,” said Delhi coach Vijay Dahiya. Kohli has infused a sense of pride in the Delhi dressing room after the gloom of the first three matches when the team suffered from uninspiring leadership. “Virat is amazingly positive,” was the unanimous view of the selectors as they took the bold decision to relieve Aakash Chopra of the responsibility of leading the team. The move proved immensely beneficial as Delhi beat Saurashtra to register its first win of the season. Nine points from four matches — that’s how things stand for Delhi, who take on bottom-placed Maharashtra in their Super League Group ‘B’ match, at the Roshanara ground. On the face of it, it seems like a one-sided affair with the home team enjoying the upper hand, but Delhi coach Vijay Dahiya isn’t taking the game lightly. “It’s going to be XI against XI,” he said. “We lost against Uttar Pradesh but Maharashtra performed well against UP. So we can’t underestimate them.” Chopra withdraws In a late night development, Chopra withdrew from the team on ‘health grounds.’ Rahul Yadav takes his place in the team. Virat Kohli will lead the team, as Aakash Chopra, who is suffering from fever, continued to be unavailable and was replaced by Rahul Yadav. But, considering Delhi’s impressive performance against Saurashtra, they will not hit the panic button even in Chopra’s absence. Skipper Kohli came good with the runs on the fourth day, but it was wicketkeeper-batsman Puneet Bisht’s century that proved to be the turning point of the game. Delhi, who have always taken pride in their bowling strength, are banking on Pawan Suyal, who claimed six wickets in the match, as well as Parvinder Awana and Sumit Narwal. Pradeep Sangwan wasn’t very impressive with the ball in the last match but shared in a crucial 141-run eighth-wicket stand with Bisht. Young side Maharashtra are a fairly young side with an average age of 21. “This is a transition phase for us,” explained manager Pandurang Salgaonkar. The transition is being supervised by Australian coach Shaun Williams and trainer John Harrington. “They joined us last year on a three year contract. We are a good fielding side but we ended up losing the last match because of our sloppy fielding. We dropped a lot of catches and that cost us dear.” In the batting, Ankit Bawne’s 136 was the cornerstone of the team’s win against Karnataka. Wicketkeeper Rohit Motwani and Ganesh Gaikwad too have been among the runs. “We will play to our strength and it can be anybody’s match,” said skipper Harshad Khadiwale. Eighteen-year-old Rohit Motwani is the team’s leading scorer with 284 runs, including three half-centuries, with support from Sangram Atitkar. Delhi will also have to watch out for left-arm seamer Samad Fallah and left-arm spinner Kiran Adhav. As is often the case, there were different opinions on how the pitch will play. Curator Daya Ram was confident the pitch would assist pacers early on and spinners later. Salgaonkar, thought otherwise: “They haven’t rolled it at all,” he said. Dahiya’s take was that “it looks like a result-oriented wicket,” and was sure that his team would field first if they won the toss. The teams (from): Delhi: Virat Kohli (captain), Ankur Julka, Mithun Manhas, Rajat Bhatia, Yogesh Nagar, Puneet Bisht, Sumit Narwal, Pradeep Sangwan, Parvinder Awana, Pawan Suyal, Vikas Mishra, Gaurav Chhabra, Aditya Jain, Rahul Yadav and Abhishek Kapoor. Maharashtra: Harshad Khadiwale (captain), Rohan Bhosale, Sangram Atitkar, Kedar Jadhav, Ankit Bawane, Ganesh Gaikwad, Rohit Motwani, Samad Fallah, Sajin Sureshnath, Kiran Adhav, Azhar Ansari, Digambar Waghmare, Ranjit Chavan, Amay Shrikhande and Jitendra Patil.

[champ]

YK should have played this match rather than play the t20 ..

[Sachinism]

Saurashtra pwned by Baroda (Irfan and Munaf) 122/9

[Shane]

A full strength TN side getting smashed by the rookie mumbai bowlers. 95/5

[Sachinism]

Baroda 68/4 in response to Saurashtra's 127 Seems a bowler friendly wicket. Munaf got a 5fer TN move to 167/5 Badri playing well on 78* Delhi 205/3 Manhas 85*, Bhatia 45* Bengal 158/7 Ganguly 66, Chawla picked up 3 wickets

[Sachinism]

What a recovery from TN 50/5 to 251/5 Badri 123*