Ranji Trophy - Super League 2009-2010 - Discussion thread

[jusarrived]

^ most likey the one featuring mumbai will be telecast

[msb1991]

The Punjab Vs Karnataka match seems to be given the special treatment by cricinfo this round so it could be that one. I hope it is because it'll be good to hopefully (presuming somebody records highlights for me) see Gony, Ablish, Mithun, R Vinay Kumar bowl.

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It's Delhi bowlers versus TN batsmen There was a degree of mystery surrounding the pitch at the Palam sports complex, neither captain — Delhi’s Rajat Bhatia or Tamil Nadu’s Murali Vijay — were sure till late afternoon, which of the two surfaces being simultaneously prepared they would be playing their Ranji Trophy quarter-final on. More... It's Delhi bowlers versus TN batsmen TOUGH TEST :The hosts will need to put in a special effort to hold the visitors Kudos to Delhi for making it to the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals from a rather disheartening position. But, it is here the real test will begin when they take on Tamil Nadu, which boasts of an impressive batting line-up. The good news for Delhi -who have thrived on the strength of their bowlers -- is that the weather conditions are just what their pacers would have desired. The early morning nip can work wonders for them at the Palam grounds -the venue for the last--four encounter. It's for this reason that the toss has assumed importance. "It will be important, but it will also depend on how the team that bowls first utilises the morning conditions," said Delhi skipper Rajat Bhatia. Tamil Nadu coach W.V.Raman had his own theory."From here on, it's going to be a case of the side batting better winning. That has been the history of Ranji Trophy," he said. However, the pitch isn't what the teams would have desired. There was a degree of mystery surrounding the pitch at the Palam sports complex, neither captain — Delhi’s Rajat Bhatia or Tamil Nadu’s Murali Vijay — were sure till late afternoon, which of the two surfaces being simultaneously prepared they would be playing their Ranji Trophy quarter-final on. Having done away with playing the knock-out matches on neutral grounds for this season, the Board of Control for Cricket in India has decided to use neutral curators in order to maintain a level playing field. The BCCI pitch committee chairman, Daljit Singh, didn't look too impressed after seeing the wicket. "We didn't get enough time to work on it. It isn't what I would have desired, but it's okay." Still, Rajat Bhatia was optimistic. "It seems like a good wicket. As far as the record of this track goes, it has assisted batsmen." There were a few cracks on one side of the pitch while the other was dotted with little grass -- a rather odd sight. But, then, the 22-yard track would be the same for both teams and, in the end it boils down to skills. Delhi-Tamil Nadu has traditionally provided riveting contests, and though the best players from both sides are away on national duty, this contest sees two evenly matched teams with the big battle being between Tamil Nadu’s batting against Delhi’s seam bowling. TN is compact Tamil Nadu has looked compact all through the season. “Our strength lies in the fact that every individual has put his hand up. The key factor has been the extra confidence. We hope to maintain it,” asserted Raman, who conceded that batsmen would have an increased responsibility. “It’s mostly been a case of side that bats better doing well in the history of Ranji Trophy,” he added. Considering that Tamil Nadu had amassed three points in their last league match against Mumbai, with two of their batsmen -- C. Ganpathy and skipper Murali Vijay -- scoring fine centuries and S. Bardinath putting on 250 on the board, they are a tough team to face. What's more, their bowling isn't bad either with L. Balaji leading the pace attack and leftarm spinner Aushik Srinivas coming off his career-best performance with seven wickets in an innings against Mumbai. Tamil Nadu’s batsmen have developed a habit of scoring big hundreds and the season has seen different individuals standing up and getting counted. Vijay will lead the way from the front, while Abhinav Mukund has been a run-machine over the last two seasons. KB Arun Karthik has been electric in the field as well as with the bat at number three, while Subramanium Badrinath has always liked spending time in the middle. R Satish, who returned from the ICL, and wicketkeeper U Sunil — replacing Dinesh Karthik — form the batting core with off-spinner R Ashwin and seamer C Ganapathy doubling up as all-rounders. The bowling will be led by Laxmipathy Balaji, with left-arm seamer R Sutheesh and 16-year-old Aushik Srinivas providing back-up. No home advantage for Delhi Delhi is likely to play its own 16-year old left-arm spinner Vikas Mishra, but their strength is their underestimated pace trio of Pradeep Sangwan, Parvinder Awana and Sumit Narhwal, and the onus will once again be on them to take the responsibility while hoping for back-up from their brittle batting line-up. The good news for them is that Shikhar Dhawan, who had scored a double ton against Baroda in the first league match and a hundred against Karnataka in the next game, is back. He had injured his thumb while fielding against Uttar Pradesh in Lucknow. Chopra too would be raring to go after a short break. Mithun Manhas and skipper Rajat Bhatia have been hitting the middle of the bat in the last two games, while Punit Bisht has been the man for a crisis. The two teams took different paths to the quarters — while TN booked an early ticket to the knockout stages, Delhi went through at the last minute when Baroda knocked themselves out. And although Delhi are the hosts, there’s little home advantage to talk about. “The batsmen should know how to handle Delhi seamers. We expect it to be a very competitive game,” Raman noted. Bhatia agreed, “Our bowlers have done exceedingly well and credit to the fast bowlers. But I want everyone to do well,” said the Delhi skipper. He is Delhi’s most trusted man in a crisis and would need to give his best at this lovely venue where, once, the sweet sound of the ball hitting the bat was pleasant testimony of a cricket contest! The teams: Delhi: Rajat Bhatia (Captain), Aakash Chopra, Shikhar Dhawan, Aditya Jain, Mithun Manhas, Puneet Bisht, Gaurav Chhabra, Pradeep Sangwan, Sumit Narwal, Parwinder Awana, Vikas Mishra, Mayank Tehlan, Ankur Julka, Pawan Suyal and Yogesh Nagar. Tamil Nadu: M. Vijay (Captain), A. Mukund, K.B. Arun Karthik, S. Badrinath, C. Ganapathy, R. Ashwin, U. Sushil, L. Balaji, R. Suthesh, A. Srinivas, R. Satish, R. Prasanna, M. Prabhu, P. Amarnath and K.H. Gopinath.

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We have nothing to lose against Mumbai: Sunny The current Ranji season has not shaped up the way defending champions Mumbai would have hoped. After securing only one outright win from seven outings, Mumbai huffed and puffed their way into the knockouts and are desperately looking to make amends against Haryana. More... We have nothing to lose against Mumbai: Sunny Although defending champions Mumbai start favourites, they will be tested by the the guts and gumption of Haryana in the Ranji quarters The last time Mumbai and Haryana met in a match of consequence, the result reduced Dilip Vengsarkar to tears. So shattered was he by Mumbai’s two run defeat in the 1991 Ranji final in front of a packed Wankhede stadium that he couldn’t sleep well for the two months that followed. The stakes, this time round, aren’t quite as high and the setting, the Chaudhary Bansi Lal stadium, amidst the fields in Lahli could not have been any more different. But that’s no reason for either side to give each other any leeway when they meet in the Ranji trophy quarter-finals. Haryana brimming with confidence Haryana doesn’t have players of the caliber of Kapil Dev in their side any longer. But they do have a lethal mix of guts and gumption in abundance. “Hamein toh decide kar liya hai, ki buss ja kar bhid jaana hai (We have decided to just get stuck into them),” said Haryana skipper Amit Mishra. “We have nothing to lose, we have already qualified for the Elite league and this match will help us understand where we stand in the bigger scheme of things.” With seven points more than the next best team in their group and more outright victories than any other side in the Ranji Trophy Plate division, Haryana secured their quarter-final berth and a spot in next year’s Super Elite category under the leadership of Sunny Singh, their 23-year old captain. Despite having a tough draw against Mumbai for a place inn the semi-finals, Sunny believes that his side has what it takes to topple the 38-time Ranji champions. “We will go into the match thinking we are playing the defending champions or the 38-time winners. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain against Mumbai, so there is no pressure on us. Nobody expects us to win this match while Mumbai are the front runners to defend the trophy. All we have to do is to continue playing good cricket and we could cause a big upset,” Sunny told Sportline. With a young side brimming with confidence, Sunny is delighted to have made it thus far and wants to take it one step at a time from here on. “We have been missing out on the quarter-finals berth narrowly for the last two years. This time we managed it with a game to spare. As captain of the side, I am really glad to have secured a place in the Elite division for next year,” Sunny said. While most players in the Haryana squad have never played at this stage before, Sunny feels that their performances will see them through. “The average age of our side is about 23 or 24 and most of our players have never played in the quarter-finals of the Ranji Trophy before, so we are really excited about the game. Making it to the last eight is an achievement by itself. We are a young team and our confidence is sky high,” he said. Captain’s contribution Amongst the runs himself, Sunny believes that to lead a squad, the captain must back his status with runs to bring the best out of the side. “It is good to be scoring runs. When the captain in the team is contributing, you can see that it has a telling effect on the rest of the team. I scored a 140 against Kerala and it feels good to lead from the front. I want to carry the momentum forward on a personal level and as the captain I also want to make sure that we don’t rest on our laurels,” he added. With the big names in the squad coming good together, the captain said that their team peaked when it really mattered. “Our main bowlers, Joginder Sharma and Amit Mishra are picking up wickets and are in prime form. Sanjay Budhwar picked a five-for in the last match and Sachin Rana too chipped in with the ball. Our batsmen too are striking the ball well. There is great unity in the team and we are backing each other to the hilt,” explained the captain. Haryana have the advantage of home conditions and the captain is happy with the pitch prepared by the curator for Thursday’s game. “The wicket at Lahli offers a lot of seam movement right through the day. It is conducive to fast bowlers as well as the medium pacers, who try and move it in the air. Batsmen who are willing to play the waiting game too will reap their rewards.” Mumbai's ordinary season so far The current Ranji season has not shaped up the way defending champions Mumbai would have hoped. After securing only one outright win from seven outings, Mumbai huffed and puffed their way into the knockouts and are desperately looking to make amends against Haryana. Mumbai finished third in Group A, behind Tamil Nadu and Punjab, with 19 points. “We had a very ordinary league stage. Now, as we have made it to the last eight, it has provided us an opportunity to make a fresh beginning to our campaign and we are going to be back stronger,' said Mumbai coach Pravin Amre. The Mumbai team, which boasts one of the strongest batting lineups in the domestic circuit, has been plagued by inconsistency, especially at the top of the order. “With a highest stand of 40, our openers have failed to provide us with a start in all seven games. Last season we were provided with solid starts and this was one of the main reasons for our dominance. We need to sort this issue in this do-or-die game,” said Amre. Bowling is another cause for concern. Mumbai's bowlers have struggled in all matches and no one has been able to bag a single five-wicket haul. “To post an outright victory we need to take 20 wickets which we have not managed so far. We have a very experienced bowling attack and I am confident that they will come good in the knockout stage,” said the Mumbai coach. Get jaffer early Rohit Sharma’s triple century may have put the selectors on alert but Mishra still believes that the man to watch out for is Wasim Jaffer. “Hamarein liye to subse important wicket Jaffer ki hi hai (For us the most important wicket is that of Jaffer). If he gets going, it’s very troublesome. Rohit is a good player but he got 300 runs in the last game,” said Mishra. “Jaffer has been much more consistent so we will value his wicket more.” Rohit, however, isn’t the only triple centurion who will be paying in the match. Sunny Singh accomplished the same in a league match and his impressive tally of 617 runs makes him one of the batsmen to watch out for. Among the bowlers Sanjay Budhwar and Joginder Sharma have enough class to trouble the Mumbai batting stars. Made to shiver Mumbai, on their part, have packed the woolens in truckloads. The temperature in Lahli hovers between a high of 20 degrees Celsius and a low of 7 degrees and that’s enough to send a shiver up their spine. “The mornings are really cold,” said Mumbai coach Praveen Amre. “The trouble is actually getting out of bed because it is very cold in the mornings but that also means that the fast bowlers will be able to bowl longer spells.” With no injury troubles to bother them, Mumbai are set to stick with the squad that did duty against Gujarat in the last league match. “Going into that match, the opener’s slot was a problem but Sushant Marathe solved that problem for us, so I see no reason to make any changes,” said Amre. The BCCI-appointed neutral curator for this match is Dhiraj Parsanna, who conjured up a bowler’s graveyard for the Sri Lanka-India Test recently. In 2008, the same man produced a green wicket that saw India being shot out for just 76. And if you can believe this man of changing tastes, then the wicket for the Ranji game will be a sporting one that will give all the players a chance to contribute. There is a grass covering on one side of the wicket and the team that gets a chance to bowl first might very well have a huge advantage. Then, again Prasanna is hard to predict. Teams: Mumbai: W Jaffer, Ajit Agarkar, Harmeet Singh, Iqbal Abdulla, O. Khanvilkar, S. Kukreja, D.Kulkarni, U.Malvi, S. Marathe, P. Naik, A. Nayar, A. Rahane, A. Salvi, V. Samant, R. Sharma. Haryana: Amit Mishra, Sunny Singh, Rahul Dewan, Vishal Sahni, Abhishek Bhati, Lalit Bhati, Yuzvendra Chahal, Dhruv Singh, Joginder Sharma, Sachin Rana, Ankit Rawat, Nitin Saini, Manav Sharma, Sumeet Sharma, Gaurav Vishist, Sanjay Budhwar.

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Elevated Assam hope to make a mark against UP Assam, led by Amol Mazumdar, are massively upbeat, and they have every reason to be, having made it to the Elite Group of the Ranji Trophy for the first time. More... Elevated Assam hope to make a mark against UP GUWAHATI: Former champion Uttar Pradesh will take on Assam in the quarterfinals of the Ranji Trophy at the Maligaon Stadium from Thursday. Host Assam, having made it to the Super League this season, will have to be at its best to advance further in the championship. A well-drilled team like UP, with rich experience of playing the best of domestic sides in the National championship, can be handful for Assam. Yet, its skipper Mohammad Kaif refused to take the host lightly. Assam, led by Amol Mazumdar, are massively upbeat, and they have every reason to be, having made it to the Elite Group of the Ranji Trophy for the first time. Now they have a chance to create a real stir by knocking out one of the major teams. Assam were determined to make an impression when they take on three-time finalists and last year's runners-up Uttar Pradesh in their quarterfinal match. “We are in the Elite Group for the first time and I am pleased with this. I want this trend to continue in the knock-out too,” said Muzumdar. “It's a great opportunity for a young and talented side and I know the boys have the ability to do it in style,” said Muzumdar. “It's going to be a good game for both teams as UP are a strong side with many experienced and national team players in the mix.” UP's coach Gyanendra Pandey, for his part, claimed his team were not taking Assam lightly. “In today's cricket you can't underestimate any side. Moreover, they (Assam) have qualified for the Elite Group so we have to be very careful. Batting is one area where we have to improve in the match, as our bowling has been very good this season.” The only worry for the two sides is the pitch at the NF Railway Stadium in Maligaon. “It's a low bounce and slow pitch and batsmen have to apply themselves, especially against spinners,” said Mazumdar. Besides Suresh Raina and Sudeep Tyagi, UP will also be missing Praveen Kumar, who is on national duty in the ongoing ODI series against Sri Lanka. “The absence of PK does matter a lot to us, but we have good bench strength for this match,” said Pandey. Left-arm seamer Shalabh Srivastava, who already has 11 wickets in two matches this season, will share the new ball with RP Singh and all-rounder Bhuvaneshwar Kumar. Besides openers Shivakant Shukla and Tanmay Srivastava, skipper Mohammadd Kaif and UP's 'Mr Dependable' Parvinder Singh will share the batting burden. Among Assam's players, all eyes will be on the experienced Dheeraj Jadhav. Seamer Abu Nachim Ahmed and offie Arien Konwar and veteran leggie Sairaj Bahutule will take care of the bowling department. The teams (from): UP: M. Kaif (capt.), Amir Khan (wk), R.P. Singh, Piyush Chawla, Tanmay Srivastava, Parvinder Singh, Shivakant Shukla, Bhuvnesh Kumar, Praveen Gupta, Ashish Yadav, Imtiaz Ahmed, Hamid Zaidi, Prasant Gupta, Shalab Srivastava, Rohit Prakash and Eklabya Dwivedi. Assam: Amol Muzumdar (capt.), Dhiraj Goswami, Kunal Saikia (wk), Dheeraj Jadhav, Parvez Aziz, Tarjinder Singh, Swarupam Purkaystha, Sairaj Bahutule, Arlen Konwar, Abu Nechim Ahmed, Sujoy Tarafdar, Amit Sinha, Rishav Das, Abhijit Singha Roy, Ranjit Mali.

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Karnataka upbeat against Punjab Punjab face a daunting task in containing Karnataka's rampaging batsmen in their upcoming knockout quarterfinal tie at Mysore on Thursday. More... Karnataka upbeat against Punjab Punjab face a daunting task in containing Karnataka's rampaging batsmen in their upcoming knockout quarterfinal tie at Mysore on Thursday. They not only face a rejuvenated Karnataka unit who have grabbed all attention this season, in the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal to be played here on Thursday, but a lethal combination of batsmen and bowlers who have come to the party when it mattered most. Karnataka's batsmen have enjoyed phenomenal success this season. The likes of Manish Pandey (553), Ganesh Satish (441), Amit Verma (481), KB Pawan (486), are all among runs. The already fearsome batting will become all the more dangerous with the return of Rahul Dravid, as captain. With 28 points from their league stage, the table toppers have batted out their opponents so far. "We are taking it like another match. We are just taking it one game at a time," said Karnataka coach Sanath Kumar. And boosted by the return of skipper Rahul Dravid, Karnataka are in with a great chance to make it a memorable Ranji season. With a hosts batting line up shining bright with a good blend of youngsters, Punjab will have to be on their toes to curtail a confident Karnataka side. With the younger lot making big contribution at crucial junctures both with the bat and ball Pankaj Dharmani and Co have their task cut out. With Rahul Dravid at the helm, the Karnataka camp is in an upbeat mood and the host holds the advantage against Punjab in the Ranji Trophy Super League quarterfinal commencing at the Mysore University Platinum Jubilee cricket grounds at Manasagangothri here on Thursday. Dravid lauded the youngsters in the squad. “The youngsters have done well and that’s why we are here, but it’s a tougher ride from the quarterfinal onwards. The medium-pacers too have done exceedingly well,” Dravid said. While youngster’s Manish Pandey, Ganesh Satish, Amit Verma, KB Pawan and CM Gautham have all recorded big scores in the league phase, pacer A Mithun leads the younger lot in the bowling department. Amit Verma in particular has shown a lot of intent this season, smacking two centuries and a couple of attractive half centuries, the Bangalore lad has shot himself into the limelight with his elegant shot making. Manish Pandey has learnt to convert his brisk starts into big knocks, his 197 in the opening encounter against Uttar Pradesh showed why he can still be the next big thing in Indian cricket Coach Sanath Kumar added: “We intend to go into the match with seven specialist batsmen and four bowlers on this placid wicket, which is expected to turn as the game progresses. The inclusion of Dravid, Sunil Joshi and R. Vinay Kumar (the three players who were rested for the final Super League tie against Saurashtra), gives us balance and we want to continue our winning streak.” Consistent batting Karnataka’s batsmen have been in fine form this season. Consistent performances from Manish Pandey, Ganesh Satish, Amit Verma and K.B. Pawan have added solidity to the batting with wicketkeeper-batsman C.M. Gowtham too wielding the willow purposefully, while Robin Uthappa has chipped in with a few cameos. But its Ganesh Satish's run spree which has caught many by surprise, equipped with clinical technique this right hand bat is a sight to watch when in full flow. After scoring tons of runs at the junior level, Ganesh has hit the right chord at the right time. 'Ganzi' as he is called by mates is looking brighter than ever with two centuries and a fifty already to his credit. CM Gautham who replaced long standing wicketkeeper Thilak Naidu has shuffled well in filling the openers slot and coming down the order when required. Opener KB Pawan (with two centuries to his credit) has managed to provide good starts along with Robin Uthappa who is yet to fire on all cylinders. However with Ryan Ninan and B Akhil not finding a place in the squad Stuart Binny fills the all-rounder‘s slot. Deadly duo In the bowling department it’s been a Vinay Kumar-Abhimanyu Mithun show as both of whom have shone on different occasions. Sunil Joshi will spearhead the spin department while KP Appanna might have to make way for the veteran. On the bowling front, Karnataka’s pace attack, spearheaded by Vinay Kumar (33 wickets) and assisted by the find of the season A. Mithun (31 wickets) and S. Arvind (21 wickets), has done well with left-arm spinner Joshi lending variety. These four bowlers would like to continue their good work for Karnataka to wrest the initiative. Nothing to lose Meanwhile, Punjab has nothing to lose and according to its skipper Pankaj Dharmani, the team will play positively and try and outsmart its fancied rival. Punjab’s batting depends on the performances of Dharmani, Uday Kaul, Ravi Inder Singh, Vishwas Bhalla, Rohit Sharma and T. Kohli. Medium-pacers L. Abhilish (33 wickets) and M.S. Gony (30 wickets) have been incisive and they have to strike early for Punjab to dent Karnataka’s strong batting line-up. Punjab will hope their new ball bowlers, Love Ablish and Manpreet Gony, provide early breakthroughs as they did so often in the league stage. But the duo have their task cut out as the conditions won't be as favourable for fast bowling as the ones they're used to back home, where they played six of their seven matches. Their only away game, against Railways, was drawn. Skipper Pankaj Dharmani is hopeful that his young side has it in them to get past Karnataka. "We arrived here two days early to get used to the conditions and we have the necessary momentum to knock out any side. So I am hopeful we can catch them off guard if we continue to bowl they way we have," he said. Punjab's batting hasn't been at its best . Wicketkeeper batsman Uday Kaul is the highest run getter with 428, while opener Ravi Inder Singh has scored a creditable 408 runs from seven outings. As for Karnataka, their only worry is form of Robin Uthappa. He is averaging way below his potential but will have to apply himself in this tie. The teams: Karnataka: Rahul Dravid (captain), Robin Uthappa, K.B. Pawan, Amit Verma, Manish Pandey, C.M. Gowtham (wicketkeeper), Ganesh Satish, Sunil Joshi, R.Vinay Kumar, A. Mithun, S. Arvind, Stuart Binny, Udit Patel, K.P. Appanna and Aditya Sagar. Coach: Sanath Kumar. Punjab: Pankaj Dharmani (captain), Sunny Sohal, Ravi Inder Singh, Uday Kaul (wicket-keeper), Taruwar Kohli, Mayank Sidana, Vishwas Bhalla, L. Abhilish, Manpreet Gony, Rahul Sharma, G. Rajwinder, C. Madan (wicketkeeper), Sarbjeet Ladda, Harmeet Bansal and Gagandeep Singh. Coach: Bhupinder Singh.

[Akshat]

I'm supporting Delhi even if TN is the stronger team.

[ludhianvi]

Any channel showing this stuff? Score updates: U. Pradesh 111/2 v Assam Tamil Nadu 80/0 v Delhi Mumbai 55/3 v Haryana Punjab 47/1 v Karnataka Edit: Mumbai 4 wickets down :D But Rahane is still there and Aggy and Powar, Abdulla can still do some damage.

[ludhianvi]

U. Pradesh 111/2 v Assam Tamil Nadu 94/0 v Delhi Mumbai 83/4 v Haryana Punjab 124/3 v Karnataka

• Mukund and Vijay in control for TN
• Mumbai in trouble requiring fightback
• Punjab top order goes quickly , current partnership of kaul and Dharmani is crucial. Mithun and Vinay wit the wickets
• UP in fairly good position.

[TheWall]

Punjab 124/3

[vvvslaxman]

TN is as usual bullying the opposition with their batting might.

[msb1991]

UP have collapsed to 191/8 thanks to 4/67 from Konwar. Missing Praveen and Tyagi, it looks like UP could be going out.

[urbestfriend]

Punjab 292/9 , Balla and Harmeet are batting with a partnership of 41 runs for 10th wicket :whack:

[msb1991]

292 might just be enough, consdering how well Harmeet, Gony and Ablish have done this year.

[urbestfriend]

292 might just be enough' date=' consdering how well Harmeet, Gony and Ablish have done this year.[/quote'] :haha::haha: Karnataka is going to make 500+ runs in this pacid pitch no with RD scoring a century :two_thumbs_up:

[Sachinism]

Agarkar made 78 :giggle:

[Laaloo]

Agarkar made 78 :giggle:

Jai Maharasthra :isalute:

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Rahane, Agarkar halt Mumbai slide after Rana strikes for Haryana Ajinkya Rahane and Ajit Agarkar revived Mumbai’s fortunes after the defending champion had a disastrous start on the opening day of its Ranji Trophy quarterfinal against Haryana at the Chaudhary Bansi Lal Stadium, Lahli, here on Thursday. More... Rahane, Agarkar halt Mumbai slide after Rana strikes for Haryana ROHTAK: Ajinkya Rahane and Ajit Agarkar revived Mumbai’s fortunes after the defending champion had a disastrous start on the opening day of its Ranji Trophy quarterfinal against Haryana at the Chaudhary Bansi Lal Stadium, Lahli, here on Thursday. At stumps, Mumbai was on a respectable 238 for five in its first innings with Rahane, on 116, and Powar, yet to open his account, at the crease. In the cold winter morning, Mumbai’s choice to bat first required a lot of courage. The challenge was to negotiate the morning session, but the visiting batsmen failed to rise to the occasion. Sahil Kukreja played left-arm pacer Sanjay Budhwar to Rahul Dewan at square-leg and Sushant Marathe was trapped in front by Joginder Sharma. The worse was still awaiting Mumbai. Two paced track Marginally short of length, the ball spat and bounced off the turf, beating a disgruntled Rohit Sharma all ends up for the third consecutive time. Although it was only during the throw downs, minutes before the commencement of Mumbai’s quarter-final match against Haryana, Rohit had made his discomfort with the length clear. And while the practice bowler made amends immediately and flung the leather further up towards the middle of the willow, Rohit wasn’t quite as lucky during the match. The Mumbai batsman, who had made a triple century in the last match, was out for a golden duck, after Haryana fast bowler Sachin Rana’s rising delivery forced him to spoon a sitter at short cover, leaving the visitors reeling at 55/4. Against the ropes and with Haryana calling the shots, it took a brilliant Ajinkya Rahane (unbeaten on 116) and a gritty Ajit Agarkar (78) — the duo added 174 for the fifth wicket — to pull Mumbai out of the hole and finish Day One on 238/5. Rana was the standout performer for Amit Mishra’s side, with figures of three for 41 in 21 overs. Self destruction Nestled in the remote interiors of Haryana, the Bansi Lal cricket stadium rises out of oblivion from a clearing of sugarcane fields. Draped in woollen shawls, farmers atop tractors witnessed Mumbai press the self-destruct button in the first hour’s play after Jaffer won the toss and elected to bat. Well into the fourth over and with only five runs on the board, opener Sahil Kukreja met Sanjay Budhwar’s bouncer with a cross bat, only to be caught at square-leg by Rahul Dewan. Fresh from a century against Gujarat, left-hand opener Sushant Marathe scored the first boundary of the match in the eighth over, off an outside edge. But unable to read the pitch’s bounce, he was trapped leg before by Joginder Sharma for six soon after. Jaffer smacked three boundaries in his 19, but he too succumbed to the two-paced track, trapped leg before by Rana. Rana’s figures after Rohit’s wicket next ball read 3-3-0-2. Thereafter, the Agarkar-Rahane pair played the waiting game, weathering the Haryana storm and seeing the team through to lunch at 85/4. The post-lunch session belonged to the visitors, with Agarkar playing the aggressor while Rahane depended on his timing. They went to tea at 203/4 having plundered the hosts, with Rahane on 95 and Agarkar on 66. The former brought up his century after the break but Agarkar’s dismissal — lbw to Rana — saw Mumbai going into a shell as they scored only 35 runs in 26 overs in the final session. Pushed in the corner Earlier, Mumbai had fought their way out of dire straits but Haryana to their credit had forced them into a corner in the early going. The home team started off with three maidens to set the trend for the day. Their opening bowlers, Sanjay Badhwar and Joginder Sharma, claimed the wickets of Sahil Kukreja and Sushant Marathe respectively to peg back the visitors and then Sachin Rana added to the misery with his dibbly-dobblies by claiming Wasim Jaffer and Rohit Sharma’s off successive deliveries. Mumbai lost no wicket in the post-lunch session but in the last session, Haryana fought back by conceding just 35 runs in 26 overs and claiming the vital wicket of Agarkar. Rahane, however, seemed oblivious to pressure yesterday. He is an inherently aggressive player but the manner is which he curbed his natural instinct deserves a lot of praise. But for a few shots that went in the air, he seemed confident and secure all the way through to his second century of the season. He had struggled in the early part of the season, but his 265 not out against Hyderabad paved the way for this knock. “He learned that it’s better to bat in the middle then to get out and sit in the dressing room and watch the action blankly,” said Mumbai coach Pravin Amre. “But what pleased me most was that he never looked overawed by the situation. It was a chanceless innings.” The fight however is far from finished. The wicket remains good for batting and Haryana will still fancy their chances. Pat for Rahane Mumbai coach Pravin Amre was effusive in his praise for Rahane. “I hope he bats like this tomorrow and helps us reach a bigger total,” Amre said, predicting batting would become more difficult in the fourth innings. Rana was again the man to bring Haryana into the game by claiming Agarkar. The veteran Mumbai all-rounder hit nine boundaries and one over it in his innings. Mumbai closed the day on a cautious note as it tried to preserve wickets. That explained why it scored just 35 runs from the 26 overs bowled in the last session. Haryana coach Ashwini Kumar lauded his bowlers’ performance and cautioned against allowing Mumbai to get a 300-plus total. With Mumbai’s total reading 55 for 4 just 20 overs into the match, the Chaudhary Bansi Lal cricket stadium was bristling with excitement. Haryana’s crew of four medium pacers led by Joginder Sharma had done the early damage and the 38-time Ranji champions were tottering in a bad way. Ajinkya Rahane plays a forward defensive shot to Haryana leg-spinner Amit Mishra; below Ajit Agarkar In Ajit Agarkar’s words, “It was as hopeless a situation as any side could hope to be on the opening day.” It was into this scenario that Ajit Agarkar strolled in to join Ajinkya Rahane. By close of play, he had helped Mumbai reach a fighting 238 for 5. The Mumbai vice-captain has always been an exciting batsman to watch but grit is not a quality that one readily associates with him. However, in the company of the steady Rahane, Agarkar proved to be a revelation. Mumbai went in to lunch at 85 for 4 and to all those present at the stadium is was clear that the post-lunch session would be crucial. Another wicket and Mumbai might well have been consigned to the gallows. But the duo eschewed risks in a manner that would have done Rahul Dravid proud. By tea, Mumbai had progressed to 203 for 4. Slowly but steadily they helped Mumbai claw back into the match and by the time Agarkar was eventually dismissed for 78, the partnership had spanned 349 balls and added 174 runs to Mumbai’s total. The scores: Mumbai — 1st innings: S. Kukreja c Dewan b Budhwar 5, S. Marathe lbw b J. Sharma 6, A. Rahane (batting) 116, W. Jaffer lbw b Rana 19, R. Sharma c Dewan b Rana 0, A. Agarkar lbw b Rana 78, R. Powar (batting) 0; Extras (b-8, lb-6): 14. Total (for five wkts. in 90 overs): 238. Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-17, 3-55, 4-55, 5-229. Haryana bowling: Joginder 17-3-44-1, Budhwar 18-4-67-1, Rana 21-9-41-3, Dhruv Singh 13-2-40-0, Amit Mishra 21-8-32-0.

[Indus_Army]

Good performance by Punjab so far. At 166/3, the game is well poised. If Dravid falls anytime soon, then bettering 300 under pressure might not be all that simple for Karnataka (though there is some decent batting left). Come on RD! Assam can still put one across heavyweights, UP. This would be a great achievement for Amol Muzumdar, if he does take Assam past UP's score. EDIT: damn...Dravid gone and now, it's 190/5 :nervous:

[urbestfriend]

mmm....Karnataka struggling against Punjab...! All depends on Manish Pandey, he should play aggressively in last session and aim for first innings lead.