Ranji Trophy 2010-11: Super League

[Dravid]

yew yewwwwwww, baroda in phinals mannn:dance::dance: did it w/o munna, and yusuf

[Dravid]

What a terrible pitch for the Baroda vs Karnataka match. Such a high profile match and BCCI lets the home team prepare such a shocking team. I am sur there is a pitches committe which inspects the tracks for all domestic matches' date=' wonder how did they give a go ahead to this farce of a pitch.[/quote']

Baroda cricket assoc :finger: A sad day in domestic cricket when pitches are prepared like this. They should be shot.

Hope BCCI will ban the cricket association fro Baroda for the graveyard they prepared..

look at you ppl, sounding like greame smith:hysterical: it was a crumbler, dont tell me green, seaming wicket is the only type of pitch for test cricket pinal shah made 82 for god sakes, tell yo top order to learn to hold a bat!

I won't be surprised if Baroda gets knocked out despite Karnataka coneding a lead here.

surprised now?:finger:

[Sir john]

Rajasthan 552/7d Tamil Nadu 190/3 (69.0 ov)

[Chandan]

SEMIFINAL, DAY TWO Baroda vs Karnataka Baroda enters final as Karnataka capitulates Vadodara: The menace of the pitch played on the minds of the nervous batsmen for the second day running as Baroda's spinners forced a result in their team's favour in the Ranji Trophy semifinals at the Reliance Stadium here on Tuesday. Left-arm spinner Swapnil Singh and Bhargav Bhatt shared the spoils to bowl out Karnataka for 88 in 32.2 overs in an action-packed post-lunch session. The batsmen then completed the formalities before tea, securing the host a seven-wicket victory. The fall of 15 wickets, following the 18 on the opening day, only confirmed the inability of the batsmen to cope with the loose surface. But Baroda, set a target of 43 recorded a comfortable win. Left-arm spinners sizzle It was a field day for left-arm spinners. First Sunil Joshi snapped up the two remaining Baroda wickets. Joshi's six for 58 was an outstanding effort, considering the fact that he was the only specialist spinner his skipper could rely. Despite all the good work done by Joshi, the difference between the two teams in the first innings decided the outcome. Robin Uthappa and K.B. Pawan made a promising start raising 27 in 11.2 overs, but the entire team failed to negotiate the spin of Swapnil and Bhatt. Uthappa was let off on 11 by Bhatt off his own bowling and on 35 by Vahora off his own bowling, though both were difficult chances. The Karnataka opener fell at the same score but was unhappy at being given out caught at slip. Once Uthappa left, Karnataka declined rapidly. Can't blame pitch Karnataka coach Sanath Kumar did not squarely blame the pitch for his team's capitulation. “We played badly. We were not prepared to play on a wicket like this. We have to be consistent and put a first innings score of 450 plus. We may have got a couple of bad decisions, but that's part of the game,” he said. Mukesh Narula was delighted with the performance of his team. “We have a young team drawn from under-19 and under-22 groups. I did not want to expose them on a seaming wicket at Moti Bagh Palace, especially against Mithun, Vinay Kumar and Arvind. “They beat us hollow last year at Moti Bagh. But at the same I did not expect the pitch to favour the spinners here. It was a bonus when seamer Murtuja Vahora took five in the first innings,” said Baroda's coach. In all 33 wickets fell in under five sessions and Karnataka skipper Vinay Kumar felt that Baroda may have struggled to score a fourth innings target of around 80. Pitch and approach wrong foot Karnataka When Baroda decided to play their Ranji Trophy semi-final at the Reliance Stadium instead of their regular first-class venue, the Moti Bagh Stadium, they did so with an intent to blunt the rampant Karnataka pace attack, but they would certainly not have bargained for a dream entry into the final much before tea on the second day. The dramatic denouement is further magnified by the fact that the only other two-day finish this season involved a Plate League mismatch between Rajasthan - who are currently piling it on against Tamil Nadu in the semi-final - and Tripura - who lost four of their five games outright, three of them by an innings, and the other one by ten wickets. Karnataka and Baroda were not as mismatched. Still, Karnataka were the overwhelming favourites going into the match against a side with four bowlers who had never taken a first-class five-wicket haul, a fifth bowler making his debut, and three batsmen with just one first-class century between them. Yet, it was the inexperienced young team that propelled Baroda to their first final in nine years, on a dry track that turned viciously throughout. Thirty-three wickets tumbled in just under five sessions, and the surface - which looked straight out of a drought-hit area - was not a great advertisement for the knockouts of the country's premier first-class tournament. But it was definitely not unplayable, and the batsmen have to shoulder a part of the responsibility for the early finish. There was hardly an attempt to use the feet against spin to smother the turn, and Karnataka were especially guilty of being leaden-footed. Just hanging around, with balls gripping and biting, was of no use, and when shots were played they were off the wrong deliveries. Some fell trying to sweep balls that were too full to be trapped in front, others let the pitch prey on their minds and went fatally back to length deliveries, while some fell poking hard at balls that could have been left alone. "We batted badly. There are no excuses if you want to win the Ranji Trophy. On any kind of surface, one should be able to put up the runs, like Mumbai do," Sanath Kumar, the Karnataka coach said. "Unfortunately, batting has been a problem for us throughout the season. We have struggled to put up runs in the first innings. They were the better side on the day. No question about it." The game was shifted to the Reliance Stadium from Baroda's regular first-class venue, Moti Bagh Stadium. Sanath said that Karnataka were mentally switched on to play on the Moti Bagh track which helps the seamers throughout the match, and offers true bounce. "Our preparations were tuned accordingly. We never thought we would play here, and certainly did not expect it to turn so much." Sanath also admitted that his side might have misread the wicket. "We thought it would be a batting track, and then take slow turn on the third and fourth day." This led Karnataka to play Sunil Raju, a batsman who could bowl spin, rather than opt for a second specialist spinner in Udit Patel alongside Sunil Joshi. "In hindsight, we would have played the extra spinner," he said. "But we opted to strengthen the batting instead." Moreover, Raju, who has had corrective work on his action, was cautioned in the first innings after a delivery reared up. Karnataka certainly had the stronger batting, but Baroda's captain Pinal Shah turned the game with a pivotal 83. Mukesh Narula, the Baroda coach, felt that if Pinal could get runs on the surface, batsmen like Robin Uthappa and Manish Pandey could have done the same. "I have tremendous respect for their batsmen, guys like Robin, Manish and Amit Verma. And when we say the wicket was so tough to bat on, how was Pinal able to score? See, this was a wicket where you needed to play the horizontal-bat shots against the spinners, rather than play in the V. Most batsmen could not adjust, and paid the price. I also think that if they had come forward and left more deliveries rather than jab and poke from the crease, it wouldn't have been so bad." Playing on such surfaces might not be ideal for a semi-final, but Narula felt that batsmen should be prepared to play on all wickets. "Are you telling me that we should never play on turning tracks? The Moti Bagh wicket helps the seamers a lot. In the quarter-final against Railways, from 300-odd for 4, we were seven-eight down in no time after they took the new ball. Now Sanjay Bangar and JP Yadav [the Railways seamers] are no match for Vinay Kumar, Abhimanyu Mithun and Sreenath Aravind. We thought there was no point in playing at Moti Bagh. "I still admit that we don't have the side to beat Karnataka on any sort of wicket. And considering that, why would I want to play on as bad a wicket as this? It's just that it turned out to be worse than anyone expected." While Baroda exploited home advantage perfectly, a disappointed Vinay felt that when it came to important games like the knockouts, the earlier policy of playing at neutral venues should be brought back to avoid such tumultuous matches in future. Rajasthan vs Tamil Nadu Menaria has batting practice on drab day TN bowlers made to toil; host makes no effort to push run-rate CLASSY:Ashok Menaria was balanced in his methods and hit nine boundaries in his unbeaten knock. JAIPUR: A seaming track; a dead track. Whatever it was, cricket remained a mundane exercise at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium here on Tuesday. Rajasthan resumed at 236 for one and closed at 483 for five. Tamil Nadu bowled in hope, in exasperation, and at stumps on the second day was left wondering as to what lay in store. Rajasthan was not willing to condemn the pitch that saw the home team heap endless misery on Tamil Nadu. It was understandable as young Ashok Menaria had a good batting practice session in the middle, hardly hustled, rarely beaten, to finish the day 12 runs short of his second consecutive hundred at this venue. “It was not an easy pitch to bat on. They bowled well,” was how Aakash Chopra had analysed the pitch on Monday evening. He added another 24 runs this morning. “There is nothing in the pitch for the bowlers,” grumbled Tamil Nadu skipper Dinesh Karthik at the end of the day. The diverse opinion only led to a debate in the two camps. How could a pitch present such a contrasting picture? No effort to dominate That Rajasthan was not keen on making that extra effort to dominate and push the run-rate was in keeping with its game plan. “We know what we are doing,” asserted coach Amit Asawa. “You need to bowl in the right areas,” he pointed out. Well, Karthik was not amused. “My bowlers are tired. I don't want to take away any credit from the Rajasthan batsmen but such pitches are not going to help anyone. I have no complaints against my bowlers, maybe they could have been a bit innovative, but they have given their best,” he countered. He was not off the mark on his bowlers' performance today. They tried hard even, if guilty of adapting negative measures at times, which, again, was in keeping with the trend. Rajasthan was not willing to take an aggressive stance and Tamil Nadu was too glad to dry the runs. In the process, cricket became an eyesore! For most periods it was monotonous. Chopra was followed by Robin Bisht and Menaria decided to drop anchor. Too cautious, too choosy, they allowed the game to drift and it suited Tamil Nadu. It was Menaria who proved refreshingly different. He put bat to ball with a purpose to dominate and gained from his style. Styling Bisht Bisht, stylish and composed, batted for 174 balls and hit six boundaries and it was a knock that progressed on a confident note. R.R. Parida did not last long but Menaria and skipper Hrishikesh Kanitkar, who batted with a runner after resuming at 28, thrived. Even a hobbling Kanitkar was hardly in any discomfort and Rajasthan established its supremacy, compelling Tamil Nadu to take the third new ball in the last session. It made no difference really, for the bowlers were flagging. Assured batting Kanitkar played from the crease, but batted with conviction in his 144-ball knock of 64 with eight fours. Menaria was adventurous, shining with some well-timed drives, but he did not allow the impetuous streak to hamper his resolve. He was balanced in his methods and hit nine boundaries and two sixes in a 159-ball show that stood out. He should race to his century on Wednesday to invoke a declaration and allow the mundane proceedings alter their course.

[kabira]

so what happens if TN are 480 for 7..who goes through??

[vvvslaxman]

so what happens if TN are 480 for 7..who goes through??

Yes..All they have to do is not getting bowled out.

[Cricket_Guru]

wrong wong gong thread

[ludhianvi]

Raj needs to pick up scoring rate and then aim to bowl out TN otherwise if both innings are not completed that TN would go through like in QF (because they have higher points in the League phase)

so what happens if TN are 480 for 7..who goes through??

Yes..All they have to do is not getting bowled out.

I think in this scenario the innings runrate comes into play as long as TN plays atleast 30 overs (which they have). This was the same case in the Haryana/Tamil Nadu QF match as well and it was settled by innings run rate.

[The Rock]

TN will easily win if they don't get out, they just need to score at just under 3 runs an over for the whole day.

[Sir john]

pankaj singh is main bowler for rajasthan

[Chandan]

SEMIFINAL DAY THREE Rajasthan vs Tamil Nadu TN bats with eye on run rate Kanitkar, Menaria score centuries GRITTY KNOCK:Tamil Nadu's S. Badrinath held one end up and remained unbeaten on 78 at the end of day three. JAIPUR: Rajasthan is bending its back and Tamil Nadu stretching every muscle, drawing on its experience to make a match of it. The calculators were out in the evening as the Ranji Trophy semifinal at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium took an expected course where run rate would come into play to decide the winner. This morning, Rajasthan, resuming at 483 for five, declared at 552 for seven after Ashok Menaria (88 overnight) and skipper Hrishikesh Kanitkar (64 overnight) duly completed their centuries. And then the focus shifted to Tamil Nadu where S. Badrinath produced a typically gritty and disciplined innings of 78 that kept the match alive. There was little respite for the bowlers because the pitch continued to test their striking powers. It was not intense but the contest developed into an interesting one. Unlike the Tamil Nadu bowlers on the first morning, the home pair of Pankaj Singh and Deepak Chahar made the batsmen play. Chahar strikes In the process, Chahar struck when he moved the ball in to rattle K.B. Arun Karthick's stumps. But Tamil Nadu dropped anchor to seize the situation with a composed response from Abhinav Mukund and Badrinath. The bowlers toiled; the batsmen waited patiently. It was just what the situation demanded. Badrinath at the crease brought a calming impact on Mukund, who was discreet in his shot selection. A few flowing drives and rasping strokes square of the wicket indicated that both of them were in good touch. The bowlers gradually drifted and suffered in line and length. Badrinath was not tempted but a bowling change saw Mukund misread Pankaj. His dismissal after 162 balls (47, 8x4) was premature considering his splendid form. Guiding role Tamil Nadu now looked up to its most reliable pair in Badrinath and skipper Dinesh Karthik. The partnership developed with Badrinath again playing the guiding role with the assurance that marks his game. Karthik was willing to shed his impulse to play shots and Rajasthan had a tough afternoon. The bowlers changed ends, Pankaj went over and round; Sumit Mathur ran in straight and diagonal, using the crease; Chahar tried working up pace, but Badrinath and Karthik were unmoved. It was leg-spinner Vivek Yadav who broke the stubborn stand when Karthik misread the turn and was adjudged leg-before. Badrinath was now joined by K. Shri Vasudevadas and the two ensured there were no further alarms for Tamil Nadu. Rock solid Badrinath, who has looked rock solid in this innings, has faced 184 balls and hit ten boundaries. He holds the key to Tamil Nadu's march to the final. All eyes would be on him on the final day as Tamil Nadu bats with an eye on the run rate to decide the winner of this contest. Unless, of course, the home team manages to pick up seven wickets! S Badrinath remains the biggest obstacle facing Rajasthan in their attempt to reach the Ranji Trophy final for the first time, Aakash Chopra, their opener, has said. Badrinath was unbeaten on 78 at the end of the third day in the semi-final in Jaipur and is key to Tamil Nadu's fortunes as they aim - they are currently 190 for 3 - to score a further 272 within the full quota of 90 overs to advance to the next stage based on net run-rate. "We need to remove Badrinath as early as possible," Chopra told ESPNcricinfo. "If that doesn't happen, we need to go all-out at the other end because we need to bowl them out." Rajasthan, thanks to three centuries, including one from Chopra on the opening day, managed to pile on 552 for 7 before declaring. But on a track that has eased out since an overcast first day, and with Tamil Nadu batting out 69 overs on the third, Chopra believed there was little to choose between the teams. "The match is evenly poised. I won't give any team an edge at this point of time because the fourth-day pitch will still do something, though they require 270-odd in 90 overs. "Chasing such a score in a semi-final on the last day won't be too easy. There will be wickets falling at some stage, and once you have a couple of wickets, things might change drastically." "The track has eased out a bit but every now and then the ball keeps alarmingly low, and that's what may cause problems. The uneven bounce will play on the batsmen's minds. The second-new ball is due in another 11 overs so that might play a huge role in the outcome of this game." Rajasthan are playing Vivek Yadav, a legspinner, as their frontline slow bowler, but Chopra believed, even on a final-day track, his role would be a supporting one. "For spinners, there's nothing much happening except the variable bounce. There isn't much turn on offer but that's what happens on black soil. "Yadav bowls quicker through the air, with a flatter trajectory and relies on the batsman making a judgement error. That's what his role is going to be - to give the seamers some breather because they are the ones going to do most of the damage, and to make the variable bounce work in his favour." With a depleted Baroda upsetting Karnataka in the other semi-final, Rajasthan's progression, if it happens, would set up a final clash between two underdogs. The incentive of a continuing their dream campaign was too huge for Rajasthan to let it slip on the final day, Chopra said. "What is going to work in our favour is the intensity. The hunger that we all have to get to the next round, if we manage to replicate the intensity that we showed today on the final day as well, I think Tamil Nadu will buckle down." KSCA lodges protest over Baroda pitch Bangalore, Jan 5, The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) on Wednesday lodged a complaint with the match referee, expressing its unhappiness over the nature of the pitch for the team’s semifinal match against Baroda at the Reliance Stadium. The last year’s finalists were beaten inside two days on a minefield of a pitch that saw 33 wickets falling in less than five sessions. “When we were preparing for the semifinal, we had the Moti Bagh stadium, where the pitch will assist pace bowlers, in our mind. We didn’t think that we would have to play on this kind of a turner. The wicket was not fit for a Ranji semifinal,” State coach K Sanath Kumar said. Baroda had shifted the venue from Moti Bagh to Reliance Stadium at the last minute. Manu Nayyar, former Delhi batsman and the match referee for the semifinal tie, confirmed that he had received the complaint. “I have received the complaint and I will submit it to the Board of Control for Cricket in India along with my report,” he said. Prof Ratnakar Shetty, Chief Administrative Officer of the BCCI, said, “We will look into the matter once we get the match referee’s report. But a call on this issue has to be taken by the technical committee, not by the BCCI.” Javagal Srinath, former India pacer and secretary of the Karnataka State Cricket Association, said he will meet Sanath on Thursday to discuss the match before taking any other step. “They have lodged a complaint in their right with the match referee. I want to talk to the coach before taking any step to find out what’s in their minds,” Srinath said. Meanwhile, Nayyar said he and the umpires had inspected the video footage of off-spinner Sunil Raju’s action at the end of the first day’s play and found nothing amiss. Umpire Sudhir Asnani had cautioned Raju for suspected illegal action during the lone over he bowled in Baroda’s first innings. “There was nothing alarming. That’s we allowed him to bowl in the second innings,” he added.

[Sir john]

Rajasthan 552/7d Tamil Nadu 272/4 (101.0 ov) Tamil Nadu trail by 280 runs with 6 wickets remaining in the 1st innings TN on driving seat here now

[Sir john]

RAJASTHAN (2.90 runs per over) TN 272 (2.69 runs per over) :omg:

[rkt.india]

It's all about striking the right balance when preparing the pitch for a 4 day match especially when you want a result. The maches at Baroda have been low scoring ones earlier in the season. The only advantage that Baroda has is by probably having played in similar situations at the Moti Bagh stadium against UP/Punjab earlier in the season. The pitch at the Moti Bagh was quite reddish (clay) and offered assistance to both the pacers and spinners. Not sure about this one. Karnataka probably edges out Baroda with their bowling - atleast on paper. I was a bit surprised to see the Karnataka batsmen fold very easily and that too twice considering their batting depth. Anyhow, I was rooting for Baroda/Rajasthan to go the finals anyways. Now contrast this pitch to the one at Rajasthan - a very placid track. While the Rajasthan batsmen, especially Chopra/Saxena set the tone for the match with a solid opening partnership, this is very much a batsmen friendly track and Rajasthan's strategy is to outbat the opposition like they did against Mumbai. An interesting incident happened when Akash, having gotten to his century, was being congratulated by the umpire, Tim Robinson, and he most likely asked Akash about his stint at the International level. The stumps picked up Aakash saying that he played most of his matches outside of India. Actually, he looked quite good in the innings, very good cover drives, and easily getting the way out of the bouncers by swaying back while keeping his eyes on ball. For TN, the left arm pacer, Ranaraj Suthesh, was impressive at times and has a bit of pace compared to the others. Suresh Kumar, the offie, can be a good LOI bowler.

At what pace he was bowling?

[zubinpepsi]

TN 381 AO.....Rajasthan Vs Baroda Finals.. why would anyone wanna field 1st in a patta wicket.... serves them right..

[urbestfriend]

TN reeling at 381/9. So its Rajasthan Vs Baroda final. Imagine if a plate team wins Super league :haha:

[CoverDrive]

Congrats Rajasthan on making it to the finals!!

[saneindian]

What an achievement for Rajasthan. From the plate league to Ranji finals. Kudos to the team. WIll now be rooting for them in the finals.

[The Dark Horse]

Another potential cup win goes abegging for TN:(( But Badri is the man yet again, scoring 175* Well done Akash Chopra:bow:

[The Rock]

Rajasthan :yay: Come on, win the finals. A plate league team winning would be awesome :haha: