Ranji Trophy - Super League 2009-2010 - Discussion thread

[vvvslaxman]

Very thoughtful observation from Rahul. You could see Jaffer getting flat pitches and accumulate only to be exposed brutally on a surface that has a bit in it. We need to seperate men from boys. We need seperate Jaffers, W.V.Ramans, Lambas from Dravids, Laxmans.

[Feed]

Karnataka in Ranji 2009-10 : An exhilarating ride The Karnataka Ranji team stumbled in the final but kept its pride intact with a riveting performance. It is perhaps a sign of even better times ahead More... An exhilarating ride K. C. VIJAYA KUMAR The Karnataka Ranji team stumbled in the final but kept its pride intact with a riveting performance. It is perhaps a sign of even better times ahead It was a loss that failed to diminish Karnataka's cricketing aura. The Ranji Trophy final that concluded at Mysore's Gangothri Glades Ground last week, pitted domestic behemoth Mumbai against the enterprising bunch of Robin Uthappa's men. And in a final that bristled with energy and a hard edge between the players, Mumbai snatched a six-run triumph. Mumbai's 39th Ranji title might reiterate its hoary history but it was Karnataka that lured attention and envy right through the season. A mix of young batsmen ranging from the season's highest scorer Manish Pandey (882 runs) to the steady duo of Ganesh Satish (639 runs) and K. B. Pawan (631 runs) helped Karnataka stay ahead. Add to it the potent combine of leading wicket-takers - Abhimanyu Mithun (47 wickets) and R. Vinay Kumar (46 wickets) – and Karnataka surely was running hot. The lone loss in an otherwise largely happy campaign came in the final and that will rankle the team. In the summit clash, Karnataka conceded the lead for the first time this season but Pandey's stunning 144 in the second innings kept the team in the hunt before Mumbai seamers – Ajit Agarkar and Dhawal Kulkarni – shut the door with a mix of swing and acerbic words. The season though will be remembered for a long time just for the promise of youth and the delightful fragrance it whipped up for a Karnataka team that had lost its way after its last Ranji title in 1999. “This team has the strength and potential to stay at the top for the next few years,” said E.A.S. Prasanna, the first captain under whom the team won the premier title in 1974. Right from its first triumph in the opening game against Uttar Pradesh at Meerut last November, Karnataka was the best team of the tournament. In every crisis, a player stood up to be counted and with Vinay and Mithun softening and scalping batsmen with their respective strengths of crafty swing and scorching pace, it was presumed that this team would go all the way. “It is heartening to see the synergy between Mithun and Vinay. They are contrasting bowlers, extremely accurate, enterprising in their own way and in S. Arvind they have a crafty left-arm seamer to provide the perfect back-up,” Javagal Srinath said. Coach Sanath Kumar, who has worked his way up the ranks after having groomed successive junior squads over the last decade, has been a calming influence and with Rahul Dravid lending his solid presence and inspirational captaincy to the beginning and end of the campaign, the team was on an upswing. However Dravid's absence in the final due to his trip to Bangladesh for the current Test series, did rob the team of the needed steel in a fiery clash with Mumbai marred by the visiting team's tendency to mouth expletives and behave in an abominable manner. A few worries do remain. Robin Uthappa, who led when Dravid was away, has dished out cameos and failed in the final. The spin department too relies heavily on the 39-year old Joshi. “We need young spinners to step in but there seems to be no one after Joshi,” said former India batsman Vijay Bharadwaj. The Karnataka State Cricket Association officials however believe that the team is poised to leap ahead. “You have to have faith in players and the results will come,” KSCA secretary Brijesh Patel had said at the start of the campaign. The team proved him right and has the talent to keep the Karnataka flag flying high over the next few years.

[Holysmoke]

The Mumbai Cricketer There was a time when Mumbai had as many as nine players in the Indian squad. Today, they barely have one or two, not counting Sachin Tendulkar, in the ranks. Yet, they continue to be invincible in the Ranji Trophy, winning the title again and again. As they barely managed to hold back Karnataka late last week, Crest examines what makes this side so special... I was enjoying a short holiday in Rajasthan when my cell phone buzzed and the message flashed on my screen: The lions roar again. I didn’t have to rack my brain to unravel this one: I already knew that Mumbai had outlasted Karnataka, in a thriller, and had annexed the prestigious Ranji Trophy. Once again. It was a close call, no doubt; the young Karnataka team had come within six runs of pulling off a stunning chase, of an amazing victory. I could only smile as a wellknown truth in Mumbai cricket circles came to mind. There is only way of winning the Ranji Trophy: tiptoe past the sleeping lion; dare you provoke the lion, you might as well kiss your life goodbye. In the four decades that I have been associated with the game, I have covered at least 100 Ranji games involving Mumbai; they included a few finals, and I must say this affair has been as sweet as any romance. I have seen many teams make the mistake of sensing a victory too soon, and strutting their stuff on the field. The early celebrations only woke up the lion from its seeming slumber and inevitably ended in tears and heartbreak. Weren’t Karnataka in a winning position in front of a packed, partisan crowd in Mysore? Didn’t they just have to hold on to their nerves, if not their excitement, to complete the kill? Now, as they collect the broken pieces of their hearts, this young lot would have learnt a very important lesson: the Mumbai cricketer is a different player when he wears the crest of the lion on his heart. "When you wear the Mumbai colours, the lion on your chest, you hunt like a lion on the prowl, not like a cat," said Dilip Sardesai once. What is this khadoos (stubborn) attitude that sets the Mumbai player apart, especially in the Ranji Trophy? How did they acquire this fight-till-the-end spirit? Does it have anything to do with the Mumbai way of life? Perhaps, it does. "Why would a youngster travel in a crowded train, from far-flung places like Virar or Kalyan, come to central or south Mumbai, and throw his wicket away or bowl badly," asked former Mumbai captain Nilesh Kulkarni. Nilesh comes all the way from Dombivali by train to ply his wares. Herein, probably, lies the spirit of the Mumbai cricketer. That cricket runs in the veins of an average Mumbaikar is a known fact; what is, however, not known is that this hardship makes him pursue the game even more vigorously. A 10-year-old Prithvi Shaw, who lost his mother when he was only four, wakes up at 4.30 every morning, catches the 6.09 train from Virar to make it for the school practice at Bandra, or to play a match at Churchgate; in the evening, he takes the same train - even more crowded this time - to get home. He is the future Tendulkar, they all say. At just 10, he is already the mainstay in Mumbai’s under-14 side. Everyone who’s ever heard of train travails in Mumbai knows it’s a survival game in itself: you have to board the train in barely a few seconds even as hundreds are trying to get in; you have to jostle for leg room inside, where there is no place even to plant your feet; more importantly, you have to make sure you are not thrown out of the moving train by the rush of humanity. Prithvi, and many such kids, have to undergo this battle everyday, with a huge kit-bag in tow. It’s this type of travelling that makes a Mumbai cricketer mentally tough. Vijay Merchant may have initiated the monsoon league to prepare the player for all the vagaries of weather and pitch; but even he wouldn’t understand the kind of impact it had on the psyche of the aspiring youngster. There are times when scores of boys start early in the morning, from far-flung Dahanu, Boisar or Kalyan, to play in the Kanga League; they leave in bright sunshine but by afternoon incessant rains bring the city to a halt and disrupt the train services too. The boys have to trek all the way back home... on foot. But by the next morning, they are ready for the ordeal again. Life goes on in Mumbai. The Kanga League has perhaps taught the Mumbai cricketer the art of survival. He learns early enough that the pitches, the umpires and even the weather are the unpredictables; that these are all part of life. Company and academy-driven selection policies make him reconcile quickly to the fact that the tree of nepotism will grow; but when he rises above all this to wear the lion’s crest, and turn out for Mumbai, he is one among a handful. He becomes a part of the team, of the family, and there is no dearth of support after this. This never-say-die spirit is so deep rooted that nothing really can really stop him. In 1968-69, in the Ranji final at the Brabourne Stadium against Bengal, Mumbai found themselves struggling to surpass Bengal’s tally of 387. At draw of stumps, the not-out batsmen, Eknath Solkar and Milind Rege, were the last recognised pair. That night, Solkar lost his father. Next morning, after performing the last rites, he was back at the ground, taking guard with probably tears in his eyes. He joined Rege and added a crucial 51 runs to win the Ranji Trophy. A few years ago, just after Wasim Jaffer wore his pads to open Mumbai’s second innings against Himachal Pradesh, he was told that his mother had passed away. For a moment, he shut his eyes; he prayed for her, gathered his composure and went on get Mumbai a very crucial bonus point. -Makarand Waingankar http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/domestic-cricket/ranji-trophy/Can-Mumbai-still-produce-more-Gavaskars-and-Tendulkars/articleshow/5490740.cms

[Karan114]

Manish and Mithun: The stars of tomorrow http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/domestic-cricket/ranji-trophy/Manish-and-Mithun-The-stars-of-tomorrow/articleshow/5490789.cms Manish and Mithun: The stars of tomorrow Satish Viswanathan, TOI Crest, 23 January 2010, 05:20am IST Karnataka, after losing the Ranji final, could do nothing but find solace in the emergence of Manish Pandey and Abhimanyu Mithun. The duo came up with commanding performances throughout the season to announce their arrival. This is a study in contrasts. As a pairing, the flamboyant Manish Pandey and the quiet Abhimanyu Mithun are like chalk and cheese. If the extrovert Pandey, the only Indian to have scored a century in the Indian Premier League (IPL), is all class in his batting, Mithun is the large-hearted big fast bowler who is more reserved in his ways. What they share in common, apart from playing for the same domestic team - Karnataka - is the ability to single-handedly destroy an opposition. Meet Indian cricket’s biggest rising stars, both of whom stamped their class on the nation’s premier domestic tournament recently. While Pandey was the highest run-getter and nearly took the game away from Mumbai in the final with a bold, defiant century under pressure, Mithun ended up as the highest wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy. Suddenly, they are big names, the quality of their performance prompting murmurs, even outside India, of the birth of two potential winners. Here, too, there are disparities. Their rise up the ranks has been quite different. Pandey, born in what is now Uttarakhand, has been in the news for a while because of his stint with the Royal Challengers, expert eyes having praised his batsmanship much before the world woke up to Mithun. Pandey’s career was chalked out more meticulously, as can be expected from an Army officer’s son. With the father always on the move, a permanent base was set up for the batsman in Bangalore, allowing unfettered devotion to the sport. Mithun’s success is more inadvertent, a chance step to train regularly in his father’s gymnasium leading to one thing after another. His father owned the place, was also the chief fitness instructor, and the first signs of a pacer were honed in the unlikeliest of places. In fact it was barely three years ago, in 2007, that Mithun first got hold of a leather ball. "I used to play tennis-ball cricket and friends told me I was good. I joined a cricket camp and started bowling with the leather ball. I started enjoying the experience and then it all fell in place for me," says the unassuming 20-year-old. It certainly did at breakneck speed, with each game he played. Mithun, who has a hat-trick to show on his under-19 as well as Ranji debut, feels he has now learnt what it takes to make it big. "Though I have always been quick, I didn’t know how to bowl the bouncer," is his candid confession. These days, though, that delivery is one of his main weapons, showing he’s a real quick learner. He also knows how to use it judiciously, leaving the likes of Javagal Srinath thrilled to bits. Bowl the same bouncer to Pandey, also 20, and the hook will inevitably follow. He has the makings of a quintessential attacking batsman. Pandey’s ways are curious, to say the least: even at the nets, it is always about making hard contact. That doesn’t mean, of course, that he’s not technically correct. In fact, he’s a treat to watch. Karnataka coach Sanath Kumar shares an interesting insight. "He can play every stroke and instead of discouraging him, we have tried telling him to be a little more choosy. We have tried to identify some strokes that can be played on a particular type of track, instead of trying everything." Pandey himself partly begs to differ: "A lot of people have told me that I seem to have that additional time to play the ball. I watch the ball very closely. I can play every shot in the book. The trick is to play the right stroke to the right ball." There are specific instances that mark the right-handed Pandey out as someone really special. In the Karnataka Premier League, a T20 bash on the lines of the IPL, a finger injury meant Pandey was a doubtful starter. But when his captain requested him to play, Pandey went out and literally batted with one hand, the top (left) one. The result was the first century of the KPL. Much later, in a practice session with the Ranji side, he asked assistant coach Somashekar Shiraguppi for an additional 100 catches. That particular day he mocked the coach by asking him to hit the ball "harder, not like a sissy". The tired coach finally gave up, but Pandey ended up with the catch of the tournament to send back Mumbai’s Abhishek Nayar in the final. The turning point, though, came earlier, in the IPL, as he bludgeoned his way into recognition with the highest T20 score by an Indian. Bigger challenges lie ahead for both, and the road is paved with distractions and pitfalls. Luckily, both seem to have a steady head, and Pandey is likely to make the grade faster. "It’s best to live in the present," he says. "If I continue to score, I will play at a higher level. The focus is on the now." Mithun, only nine first-class games old, is of a similar view. "If I continue to take wickets like this, I should make it," he says, revealing that until just last year, he would watch India’s fast bowlers in awe, wondering what made them so different. Maybe it won’t be long before he’ll be telling us exactly that. 11 Number of wickets Abhimanyu Mithun took in his debut firstclass match, against Uttar Pradesh in Meerut last season. If his 6/86 in the first innings put the hosts on the backfoot, his second innings burst of 5/96 ensured that his side won the match handsomely to pocket five crucial points. Overall, Mithun has taken 47 wickets from nine matches at an impressive average of 23.23. 51.19 Manish Pandey’s first-class average, which the Karnataka batsman has managed after playing 14 matches. He has so far accumulated 1075 runs with the help of four centuries and six fifties with 194 against UP at Meerut in the last season being his best. His strike rate of 72.09 reflects the free-scoring and aggressive side of this middle-order batsman.

[Ram]

Yep, both of these guys should make their ways into the national team in the not-so-distant future.

[achilles]

Pandey's spot is being held by Raina, who serves no purpose to the team or to his talent by batting at no.5/6 and Mithun doesn't have a free slot atm

[Sooda]

:headshake: Raina is a cracking ODI player and is going no where soon. It dosent HAVE to be an out and out style slogger down there. A few good India A matches should see Mithun come close to a spot in the pace bowler pack.

[Sooda]

Didnt Virat Kohli do the same thing, some into bat and score a ton the day after his dad died? Oh the lion-hearted Delhi cricketer :adore:

[Feed]

Time to overhaul points system in Ranji Trophy : Akash Chopra The bulk of the Ranji Trophy matches this season were draws. So much so that only one outright win was enough to take Mumbai into the final. The loopholes in the points system, perhaps, gave Mumbai the leeway to not force the issue. More... Time to overhaul points system in Ranji Trophy Aakash Chopra, Hindustan Times January 25, 2010 The bulk of the Ranji Trophy matches this season were draws. So much so that only one outright win was enough to take Mumbai into the final. The loopholes in the points system, perhaps, gave Mumbai the leeway to not force the issue. The bonus point for every win with 10 wickets or an innings is a good attempt in taking things forward. It, in fact, secured Delhi a place in the Ranji Trophy knockouts. Yet, most teams are not willing to go that extra yard. After all, taking 20 wickets is a task that requires quality and physical strength from the bowlers. Perhaps, it's time to give the Ranji Trophy a facelift and make the 'system' and the approach a lot more exciting. How about making the first innings lead not as significant in the scheme of things? How about giving teams a substantial initiative for winning the game? My suggestion would be: a) Introduce the system of grace points for batting and bowling, b) Either completely do away with points for the first innings lead, or to give them away nominally. Sample this: A maximum of 5 batting points shall be awarded, starting with 125 runs on the scorecard. Thereafter, the batting team would get a point each for every 75 runs scored till they reach a total of 425 runs, which means a maximum of 5 batting points. For the bowling team, every two wickets taken would mean a bowling point. Now, to make things a bit more interesting, the batting points would only be available till the 125th over. This essentially means the batting side has to maintain a healthy scoring rate of 3.4 runs per over. As for the bowling side, they can get bowling points till the entire opposition is bowled out. By doing this, the batting side would want to declare after batting for 125 overs as it's only the bowling side who can gain points after that. Points for the team which got the first innings lead could also be granted, though not in excess. As for the second innings, there should be at least 10 points at stake for an outright win. This would encourage both teams to force a result. The team batting last will have a good chance to win the game and hence teams may be tempted to field first on more occasions. This may also negate the impact of toss on the game. This system can be followed in the league phase because if some teams still don't force the issue, they run a risk of finding themselves in the relegation zone very quickly. But for the knockouts, we can put a limit to the maximum number of overs at a team's disposal (125 overs in the first innings and 100 overs each in the second assuming it's a five-day match) which in turn would give us an outright result every time.

[Sachinism]

Pretty good idea. Kinda similar to what is used here in England's domestic circuit and similar to what we use at club level too. It needs to be implemented, 1st innings lead is a very bad idea

[Feed]

Ranji Trophy : Time to pitch in for better surfaces Despite sparks flying on a lively Mysore track in the summit clash, the Ranji Trophy surfaces for the 2009-10 season produced disappointing results. More... Ranji Trophy : Time to pitch in for better surfaces S. Dinakar CHENNAI: Despite sparks flying on a lively Mysore track in the summit clash, the Ranji Trophy surfaces for the 2009-10 season produced disappointing results. Battling for the first innings lead, detrimental to the objective of domestic cricket, has increasingly been the norm. The statistics are chilling. In the 2009-10 Ranji season, only 30 (36.14 per cent) matches out of 83 resulted in outright victories. In 2008-09, 53 out of 88 games (60.22 per cent) saw a team winning. And it was 51 out of 85 (60.00 per cent) in 2007-08. Bounce and carry Tamil Nadu coach W.V. Raman says, “Most of the pitches were nowhere close to what we would call a decent pitch. If there is little assistance for the bowlers even on the fourth day, then what is the point in two teams competing? I am not even talking about lateral movement or spin. Why can’t we have pitches with good bounce and carry? If there is bounce, the bowlers will always be in with a chance.” Adds Raman, “If the curators in Himachal Pradesh and Mysore could do it, why can’t the others achieve the same? The surfaces in Himachal and Mysore encouraged good cricket.” Maintain the balance What Raman is talking about here is the balance between the bat and ball. In other words, runs piled up on a batting paradise contribute little while assessing emerging players. And preparing a sporting track is no rocket science. N. Nagaraj of Mysore University, a soft-spoken curator, has come up with an absolute gem at the serene Gangothri Glades ground. When Australian legend Greg Chappell visited the arena with a bunch of budding cricketers from down under last year, he was pleased with the good and consistent bounce in the surface. “He walked up to me and congratulated me,” remembers Nagaraj. “The foundation is strong. We have strived to make the surface hard and firm,” says Nagaraj. This unassuming man is a hero for his outstanding preparation of the pitch. All about the pitch Talking about the surface, Nagaraj reveals, “We have one and a half inches of boulder, six inches of jelly stone, eight inches of gravel, six inches of clean sand, eight inches of red soil, and the right amount of bricks and black soil. Then the surface is rolled well. How and how much the surface is rolled is extremely important for making a hard wicket.” The watering of the pitch is looked after closely by him. “A week before a big match, we stop the watering of the pitch with sprinklers. We water, with a can, only those areas that need to be watered. The live grass that sprouts from the pitch is from Srirangapatna. The pitch is a combination of different ingredients.” Karnataka has unearthed an exceptional pace bowling prospect in Abhimanyu Mithun and the pitch in Mysore has been a huge contributing factor. When seam movement is complemented with bounce, the batsman is asked searching questions. Amarnath’s prescription Former Indian batting great Mohinder Amarnath, while acknowledging the pitch at Mysore, feels that wickets for domestic cricket should be left uncovered. “While you might get the odd pitch such as the one at Mysore, most of the wickets are so batsmen-friendly that everybody makes runs. I think uncovered wickets could be the answer.” He elaborates. “From the 60s, when I began my career, till probably the end of 70s, the pitches for domestic cricket were not covered. Batting was a bigger challenge. There would be more moisture for the pacemen in the morning session and then the pitches would gradually dry out. “You needed to be good to make runs. The bowlers were in with a greater chance. Then they started covering the wickets and the batsmen dominated. If we have a fair idea of the weather in different parts of the country, I see no reason why we should not have uncovered pitches for domestic cricket. Otherwise, we have to prepare wickets such as the one in Mysore.” The Board also needs to have more grounds and more pitches due to the increasing number of matches. As the games increase, the wickets tend to slow down. The nature of pitches will be at the heart of India’s consistent growth as a cricketing nation.