Ranji Trophy - Super League 2009-2010 - Discussion thread

[Sooda]

Why didnt this guy ever play for India? Im sure there was time along with the likes of Ganguly and Dravid he should have been given a test or 3...?

[Feed]

Karnataka, Gujarat and Bengal start with outright victory Ranji Trophy Super League round-up, 1st round, 4th day: Karnataka, Gujarat and Bengal start with outright victory in Ranji trophy 2009-10. More... Karnataka ride high on Mithun hat-trick Cricinfo staff November 6, 2009 Karnataka 405 (Pandey 194, Srivastava 4-75) and 311 for 5 dec (Pawan 78, Uthappa 56, Dravid 51*) beat Uttar Pradesh 279 (Amir 61, Praveen Gupta 55, Mithun 6-86) and 252 (Bhuvneshwar 63, Kaif 54, Mithun 5-95) by 185 runs Abhimanyu Mithun emulated Javagal Srinath's feat from 1989-90, taking a hat-trick on first-class debut. Mithun dismissed Piyush Chawla, Amir Khan and RP Singh in consecutive deliveries, RP being his tenth wicket in the match. It had been a listless morning session for Mithun, in which he leaked plenty of runs. He made amends after lunch though; first getting Chawla to edge to second slip, then taking out Amir's legstump with a yorker before sealing the hat-trick with an offstump yorker to RP. Bhuvneshwar Kumar became wicket No. 11 for Mithun, ending the final bit of resistance from Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka raced away to five points from their first match of the season. UP's last nine wickets needed to play out the final day, but they lost their way despite fifties from captain Mohammad Kaif and Bhuvneshwar. They kept losing wickets regularly, the highest partnership in the innings was 44, for the fifth wicket between Kaif and Bhuvneshwar. Following Kaif's dismissal - holing out to mid-on off Udit Patel - the end came fast for UP. They lost their last five wickets for 47 runs, including that hat-trick. Bengal 325 (Jhunjhunwala 95, Tiwary 88, Fallah 4-102) and 175 for 3 (Saha 59, Dasgupta 54) beat Maharashtra 179 (Bose 5-67) and 319 (Khadiwale 114, Motwani 59, Bose 5-57) by seven wickets A second five-for in the match for Ranadeb Bose, coupled with fifties from Deep Dasgupta and Wriddhiman Saha, made it a memorable return to the Super League for Bengal as they took full points against Maharashtra in Pune. The hosts could only add 14 to their overnight score, as Bose removed two of the three remaining batsmen to end with 5 for 57. Set a target of 174, Bengal lost opener Arindam Das early but a defining 119-run second-wicket partnership between ICL returnee Dasgupta and Saha gave Bengal full control. It was then left to Manoj Tiwary and another former ICL player, Rohan Gavsakar, to guide them home in the 55th over. Delhi 591 (Dhawan 224, Tehlan 55, Nagar 55) drew with Baroda 326 (Shah 63, Narwal 5-71) and 233 for 4 (Bilakhia 91, Solanki 69*) A much-improved display from the Baroda batsmen second time around helped them hang in for a draw against Delhi at the Moti Bagh Stadium. Resuming on 319 for 8, the overnight Baroda batsmen could hold out for a little over six overs as Sumit Narwal ended with 5 for 71. But it was Azhar Bilakahia who starred with 91 once the follow-on was imposed. He struck ten boundaries during his 140-ball stay, and together with Rakesh Solanki, who scored his second fifty of the match, put on 120 for the fourth wicket. Baroda earned one point from this home fixture. Delhi were hindered in their pursuit of an outright victory by the no-balling of offspinner Yogesh Nagar for a suspect action, leaving debutant Dharshan Kanjania as their only spin option on the final day track. It was a match to remember for Puneet Bisht, who took seven catches in the first innings to equal the record for most dismissals in an innings by an Indian wicketkeeper in first-class matches. Group A Gujarat 270 (Parthiv 83, Dhiraj Singh 4-97) and 301 for 6 dec. (Niraj Patel 107, Parthiv 76, Thaker 52) beat Orissa 192 (Behera 78) and 220 (Mohanty 71*, Mehul 3-21, Yadav 3-52) by 159 runs Three wickets apiece for right-arm fast bowler Mehul Patel and legspinner Salil Yadav handed Gujarat a convincing win against Orissa in Ahmedabad. It was going always going to be an imposing task for Orissa, who needed 370 for the win with nine wickets in hand, but apart from Rakesh Mohanty, who hit a gutsy unbeaten 71, none of the other batsmen put in inspired performances. At 89 for 6, with Mehul on song, it looked to be an early end for Orissa, before Mohanty and wicketkepper Subhrajit Sahoo put on a seventh-wicket stand of 85. But once Sahoo departed, Yadav made light work of the tail, removing the last three batsmen to clinch victory in the 81st over of the day. Punjab 259 (Ravi Inder 104, Agarkar 4-43, Zaheer 4-60) and 311 for 7 (Kaul 62, Ravi Inder 58, Gambhir 50*) drew with Mumbai 471 for 9 dec. (Powar 125*, Kukreja 90, Khanvilkar 87, Ablish 4-53) Helped by half-centuries from Ravi Inder Singh, Uday Kaul and debutant Gaurav Gambhir, helped Punjab hang in for a point by batting out the final day against Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar and Ramesh Powar. Having fallen behind by 212 in the first innings, Punjab got a good start to the day from overnight batsmen, Ravi Inder and Kaul. But they went from 138 for 2 to 164 for 5. Gambhir, though, added 52, 46 and unbeaten 46 for the next three wickets and thwarted Mumbai's charge. Zaheer Khan finished with three wickets in the innings, and seven in the match. Hyderabad 328 (Abhinav 73, Arjun 71, Malik 4-67) and 189 (Thakur 5-22) drew with Himachal Pradesh 350 (Dogra 123, Mannu 68) and 136 for 8 (Ojha 5-52) Pragyan Ojha's 5 for 52 was not enough to give Hyderabad an outright win against Himachal Pradesh. Having conceded a first-innings lead, Hyderabad looked to salvage something from the clash at the Gymkhana Ground, but a five-for from left-arm seamer Ashok Thakur helped HP bowl out Hyderabad for 189. Set 212 to win, opener Bhavin Thakkar looked to have given HP the perfect start with 55. But once he was dismissed by Tirumalasetti Suman, Ojha turned the tide the home team's way, accounting for five of the top seven batsmen. From 97 for 2, Hyderabad were left floundering at 125 for 8. It was left to captain Thakur and Sarandeep Singh to hold fort at 136 for 8, and lock the three points. Railways 327 (Bangar 163*, Mukund 3-5) and 178 for 2 (TP Singh 63*, Cheluvaraj 61*) drew with Tamil Nadu 337 (Badrinatah 111, Vijay, Kartik 4-100) Predictably the match between Tamil Nadu and Railways ended in a draw once the first-innings lead was decided in the first session. Resuming on 312 for 8, still 16 adrift of first-innings points, Tamil Nadu got through thanks to a fighting 32 from C Ganapathy. He had come in to bat at 274 for 6, but by the time he got out he had seen Tamil Nadu through to three points. Murali Kartik finished with 4 for 100. Twin unbeaten half-centuries from V Cheluvaraj and TP Singh managed half-centuries in what was largely inconsequential play in Railways' second innings.

[ViruRulez]

What happened to Kamran. He was bowling at a good speed and I thought he might be good if coached properly. He was hailed a rising star in IPL and never heard of him after that. :giggle:

[Sachinism]

^^ Yeh whats going on with him

[Sachinism]

Mithun picks up a hat trick on debut, nice going

[ViruRulez]

So, Mithun and Pandey are the new emerging talents from this round till now. Which team did Mithun play in IPL and did he bowl as mentioned above. Would really like to see him if he can clock 140+ :icflove:

[rkt.india]

So' date=' Mithun and Pandey are the new emerging talents from this round till now. Which team did Mithun play in IPL and did he bowl as mentioned above. Would really like to see him if he can clock 140+ :icflove:[/quote'] Also Abu Nechim picked up 7 wickets on his comeback to domestic cricket

[ViruRulez]

Also Abu Nechim picked up 7 wickets on his comeback to domestic cricket

yup .. just checked cricinfo and he bowled good in that match.. there was another bowler who took 11 wickets in that match named Pankaj Singh. It is mentioned in his cricinfo profile that

With Sreesanth and Munaf Patel injured, he earned a call-up to India's Test squad to tour Australia

but I do not remember any Pankaj Singh playing recently for India :hmmm: another bowler in the match was A Konwar who has taken 8 wickets but he is 28 years old anyways hope that the ICL returns play well and maybe we might get some backup especially for fast bowling

[msb1991]

Called up to the squad.

[saneindian]

Pankaj Singh has been regularly playing in challenger series, India A teams, BP 11 squads etc. I think he also played for the India emerging players team which won a trophy recently in Australia. But he hasnt been able to break into the final 11 so far. Has a good height and good built, but lacks a bit of pace, is more in the 130-132 kmph range and can extract good bounce using his height. Bowls decent outswing. If he could add a yard or two of pace, he could turn out to be a good pace bwling prospect for us. Is 24 years old and has got some years ahead of him.

[Show_stopper]

^ Don't think Pankaj has what it takes to play for India..needs a dramtic change in his bowling action to be anything close to effective.

[The Dark Horse]

He has a forerunner in Sharath, the former Tamil Nadu captain, who too scored loads of runs for his Ranjiteam but never got to play for India. He too joined the Assam ranji team, before retiring in the end.

[The Dark Horse]

I saw in the papers last year that a J&K guy was coming good. Anyone know the name of this fast bowler? Never heard of him since then.

[Feed]

Loyalty issue: Railways, players caught in a tangle The Railways Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) had short-listed some players for the Ranji Trophy trials, out of which 16 were to be chosen to represent it in the national championships, reports Khurram Habib. More... Loyalty issue: Railways, players caught in a tangle Khurram Habib, Hindustan Times New Delhi, November 08, 2009 First Published: 22:58 IST(8/11/2009) Last Updated: 23:00 IST(8/11/2009) Have the Railways been struggling to get players together for the Ranji Trophy this season and have they been forcing them to play by intimidating them? The Railways Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) had short-listed some players for the Ranji Trophy trials, out of which 16 were to be chosen to represent it in the national championships. Among others, the list, which is with HT, included Uttar Pradesh's Shivakant Shukla and Rajasthan's Sumit Mathur. “I was asked to appear for trials and my refusal didn't go down well with the Railways Board. I was threatened. I have received two to three calls, telling me that I'll be charge-sheeted and might lose my job,” said Shivakant who is with the UP team in Rajkot. “I have been doing well with UP and want to play for them.” Shivakant's team is in the Super League and his stand may make sense. The case of Sumit Mathur is, however, very intriguing. Rajasthan are in the Plate League, while Railways are in the higher bracket --- the Super League. Still, Mathur prefers to play for the Plate League team. Asked why he had done that, Mathur replied, “The atmosphere within the Railways camp is not good. Besides, I don't think I could have got a chance to play in the eleven. I have heard there'll be action taken against me.” A common concern among players is whether Railways would stay in the Super League this season. Both Mathur and Shivakant were asked to represent the Railways in the JP Atray tournament but neither played. Bhavik Thaker, who plays for Gujarat, says he wasn't given a No Objection Certificate by the Gujarat association. “I had been playing for Gujarat before I joined Railways so I need the NOC from my association. I was approached last year and this year as well.” But he says he wants to play for Gujarat. Asked about this issue, Rakesh Yadav, the director of sports, RSPB said in unequivocal terms that action will be taken against players not representing Railways. “We have employed them. They are bound to play for us. In the past too, we have taken action against Bengal players like Sourashish Lahiri and Laxmi Ratan Shukla. We will most likely take action against these players too.” Some within the Railways are not happy at this, however. They call this preferential treatment. Said a player, “What about Yere Goud (a senior player), who has played for Railways as and when he's wanted. When we were in the Plate league, he went to play for his home state. This season, despite no performance to back him, at close to 40, he is playing here because he wouldn't get a chance in his home side. Why didn't the Railway Board take action against him then?”

[Feed]

BCCI cracks whip on suspected chuckers : "No warning for proven chuckers" The BCCI has cracked the whip by asking the umpires to call the suspected bowlers for chucking without issuing a warning. More... Sunday 8th November 2009 "No warning for proven chuckers" The BCCI has cracked the whip by asking the umpires to call the suspected bowlers for chucking without issuing a warning. Having sent a whopping 32 players with suspect bowling action for rehabilitation, the Cricket Board has cracked the whip by asking the umpires to call these bowlers for chucking without issuing a warning if they transgress the law in domestic matches. After providing the list of the 32 bowlers with doubtful actions to match referees, umpires' coaches and its panel of umpires as well as all affiliated associations, the BCCI has asked match officials to stay away from suggesting or instructing any cricket association or captains "not to play a particular player." "During the pre match meeting the match referee will only convey the warning and the outcome as per action replay if any bowler from the circulated list plays and bowls with suspect action," said the guidelines issued by BCCI Chief Administrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty. "Since the warning is already conveyed to the captain during the pre match meetings by match referee, there is no need for an umpire to give any further warning to such bowlers on field of play," he said. "If the bowler with suspect action plays and if in the opinion of the umpires he bowls with suspect action they can immediately call and stop him from bowling as per the law. He should not be allowed to bowl during the match. This action should be clearly communicated by match referees to team officials," the BCCI guidelines said. The Cricket Board also stressed that umpires and referees "should not encourage any discussions with reference to 15 degrees criteria or comparison with any international bowler who may have peculiar action." The 32-strong list of bowlers with suspect action includes twelve whose degree of transgression ranged from 0 to 15 degrees which has been accepted as permissible by the International Cricket Council. The other 20 bent their arms to a higher degree, with five doing it between 15-20 degrees and fifteen by more than 20 degrees, as per a copy of the guidelines available with PTI. Among those who underwent rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore for bending their arm above 15 degrees, four bowlers belonged to Kerala Cricket Association and the rest were from Tripura (3), Maharashtra (2), Bengal (2), Assam (2), Baroda (2), Gujarat (2), Hyderabad (1), Vidarbha (1) and Jammu and Kashmir (1). The guidelines identified these 20 bowlers as "proven chuckers as their actions could not be rectified during the rehabilitation." However, the BCCI has asked its officials to be vigilant even with those who bend their arms below 15 degrees "as rehabilitation at the NCA and bowling during match situations are two different issues." The guidlines also gave a list of 10 bowlers who were called for chucking during this season's junior and senior Twenty20 tournaments. The list: Mohnish Parmar, Amit Singh (both Gujarat), Sagar Sawant (under-19 player from Maharashtra), Mohammad Norman (UP), Yogesh Nagar (Delhi), Rohan Thapa (Baroda), Sayed Zaki (Orissa), Ankur Jund (Punjab), Vobhor Bisen (Vidarbha), Debabhakt Jamta (Tripura) and Arlen Konwar (Assam).

[Feed]

Depleted Bengal lose Gavaskar due to injury As if missing Manoj Tiwary, Wriddhiman Saha and Ashok Dinda to the Board President's XI squad for a warm-up match against the Sri Lankans wasn't enough. On Sunday, former skipper Rohan Gavaskar limped out of the training session at Eden Gardens, two days before Bengal host Baroda in a Ranji Trophy match. More... Injured Rohan out A STAFF REPORTER Calcutta: Rohan Gavaskar has been ruled out of Bengal’s Ranji Trophy Super League tie against Baroda that gets underway at the Eden from Tuesday. Rohan is suffering from a groin injury, which he picked up during Bengal’s opener against Maharashtra in Pune, and will be out for the next 10 days. Anustup Majumdar has replaced him in the squad. Bengal are already without Manoj Tiwary, Ashok Dinda and Wriddhiman Saha, who have been selected in the Board President’s XI side to play against Sri Lanka in Mumbai from Wednesday. Anustup, however, has played against Baroda earlier. In the 2007-08 season, when Baroda thrashed Bengal by an innings and 59 runs, Anustup scored 103 in the first innings. Arindam Ghosh is also in the running to take Rohan’s place in the XI. Coach Roger Binny, who wasn’t there in Pune because of personal reasons, joined the side on Sunday. Pacer Ranadeb Bose, who took 10 wickets against Maharashtra, said: “Each session will be tough with our batting and bowling line-up weakened. However, Sourav Ganguly’s presence will inspire us,” he said. Problems for Baroda The Baroda team, too, seems to be in some trouble. Choosing not to bring the three bowlers who were hauled up for suspect action in their last tie against Delhi, including seasoned left-arm spinner Rajesh Pawar, coach Paras Mhambrey tried looking at the positives. “It’s unfortunate for Pawar,” Mhambrey said after practice. “But we are very happy to have Irfan Pathan joining us besides having his brother Yusuf in the team,” the former Bengal coach added.

[Feed]

Irfan is raring to go Out of favour India bowler Irfan Pathan, who will be playing his first match after a two-month injury lay-off, felt playing against former India captain Sourav Ganguly would be a pleasure. More... Irfan is raring to go A STAFF REPORTER Calcutta: Out of favour India bowler Irfan Pathan, who will be playing his first match after a two-month injury lay-off, felt playing against former India captain Sourav Ganguly would be a pleasure. Baroda play Bengal in a Ranji Trophy Super League tie at the Eden from Tuesday. “We’ve played together mostly… So it will be a different experience to play against him. But it’s always a pleasure to play with or against Sourav,” said the left-arm medium pacer Sunday. “It will be a challenge for us to get wickets against Bengal,” he added. When asked who would be their main target in the match, “Sourav”, was the 25-year-old’s prompt reply. However, on a more serious note, Irfan said that they aim to take a first innings lead. “We would try to get a first innings lead,” he said. Irfan also felt that their coach Paras Mhambrey, who had trained Bengal in the past, would provide vital inputs about their opponents. “His experience with the team would definitely help,” he said. But he was quick to add: “Ultimately it’s up to the players. We need to implement the strategies and adapt to the conditions.” Irfan had last played for India in June in a World T20 match against the West. A knee injury had forced him to skip the Irani Trophy. On his comeback, the left hander believed it would be a gradual process. “A professional cricketer has a short career span. I’ll try my level best but then again, will take it slowly,” he said. Speaking about brother Yusuf, he said: “Though his (Yusuf) reach as a batsman is more, I am a better bowler! There’s no additional pressure on us both.”

[rkt.india]

yup .. just checked cricinfo and he bowled good in that match.. there was another bowler who took 11 wickets in that match named Pankaj Singh. It is mentioned in his cricinfo profile that but I do not remember any Pankaj Singh playing recently for India :hmmm: another bowler in the match was A Konwar who has taken 8 wickets but he is 28 years old anyways hope that the ICL returns play well and maybe we might get some backup especially for fast bowling

Pankaj is a tall 6 foot 5 bowler but not much pace just around 125 to 130, plays for BRC in IPL, selected fro Indian tour of Aus in 2007. Nechim is better prospect. He is not a big tall guy but young and can bowl briskly with good surprise bouncers and Yorkers with slingy action.

[bharat297]

I really really hope Irfan Pathan can return to form soon. When he is in form, he is a cut-above the other contenders for the all-round spot in my opinion. I think he just needs to forget about trying to bowl fast and work on bowling accurately ball after ball and varying his pace. He tends to bowl either too short or too full, too straight or too wide. If he can get to a consistent line and length and have the ability to bowl yorkers consistently (which besides Zaheer, no other Indian paceman has shown he can do), he will find a place in the ODI team again @ no.7. His batting is better suited to all-conditions that Yusuf's or Jadeja's imo.

[Feed]

Laxman raring to go against Lanka Fit again after recovering from a back injury, senior batsman VVS Laxman said he was looking forward to playing against Sri Lanka. More... Laxman raring to go against Lanka Fit again after recovering from a back injury, senior batsman VVS Laxman said he was looking forward to playing against Sri Lanka. "I am fit and back in the groove," Laxman, skipper of the Hyderabad Ranji team, which takes on hosts Punjab in their second match at PCA stadium on Tuesday, told reporters. Laxman said the series against the islanders will be challenging. The stylish right-hander had an extensive batting session at the nets in the afternoon. Both Punjab and Hyderabad drew their opening Ranji tie, against Mumbai and Himachal Pradesh respectively, earning a point each. Grab the espnstar.com cricket widget on your favourite social network "Punjab is a formidable side. We will need to play well," said Laxman. The Hyderabad skipper also said left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, whose five-wicket haul in the previous match nixed Himachal's victory hopes, will not be playing the match. Ojha is featuring in a tie for the Board President's XI against Sri Lanka.