Duleep Trophy 2010-2011

[Sooda]

Something for which the EZ bowlers need to hang their head in shame for the rest of their lives. And by the way it is always easy to talk after the fact. But my broader point of 'His Uselessness' not deserving of a spot in CZ still stands when one sees he is not even in the list of top 50 scorers in the Ranji trophy this season the means for which one gets picked to the zonal teams. Here is the link for the 2010-2011 Ranji. http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ranjisuperleague2010/engine/records/batting/most_runs_career.html?id=5961;type=tournament By the way his teammates like Parvinder Singh and Piyush Chawla outscored 'his uselessness' in the Ranji matches this season.

I know that. And I was pleased but pretty surprised to see him there. Good thing we do not select the Zonal sides eh, clearly class is permanent form temporary as the CZ selectors recognise.

[pensionplan]

I know that. And I was pleased but pretty surprised to see him there. Good thing we do not select the Zonal sides eh' date=' clearly class is permanent form temporary as the CZ selectors recognise.[/quote']Thanks for responding couple of times and giving the chance to call a player what he deserved to be called in cricketing terms - His uselessness. Hope there are selectors all the up to the club level that recognize the 'class' of this Strokeless wonder and keep selecting him as days go by so that I get a chance to praise this Wonderless player that has a FC average comparable to that of the WK batsman Wriddhiman Saha.

[Chandan]

CENTRAL ZONE VS EAST ZONE, DAY FOUR Central pulls off a remarkable win CUTTACK: Cricket has always lent itself nicely to demonstration of character. On Saturday, when there was to be only the unexciting completing formalities at the Barabati Stadium here, the message was driven home again. This time in dramatic fashion. East Zone, sitting pretty with the crucial first innings lead, saw their Duleep Trophy dreams come crashing down as Central forced a 9-wicket victory on the final day to snatch a semifinal berth. The East Zone players, who on Friday evening were making preparations for the trip to Hyderabad, where South Zone awaited the winners, will be heading home. Having stopped Central`s reply to their 427 at 390 on Friday, East were all but sure of progress to the next round on the strength of their first innings lead and no one was quite ready for what followed. Central Zone turned the tables on East Zone to come back after surrendering the first innings lead to clinch a nine-wicket win, in the quarterfinals of the Duleep Trophy on the final day at the Barabati Stadium here on Saturday. In little over two hours and less than 27 overs on Saturday morning, East had been reduced from an overnight 24 for 1 to 96 for 9, which effectively was the end of their second innings in the absence of the injured Saurabh Tiwary. Left with a target of 134 in 61 overs, Central cruised home. Aakash Chopra and Mohnish helping themselves to half-centuries and Naman Ojha finishing it with a six! After having conceded a 37-run lead, Central, as admitted by its coach Abhay Sharma, had a ray of hope going into the fourth day's play with East on 24 for one. While the hosts did help generously in their extraordinary fall with some atrocious strokes, Saturday`s turnaround was a credit to the character shown by Central`s new-ball bowlers in what was the last throw of the dice. While RP Singh, Pankaj Singh and Umesh Yadav shared the nine wickets that were available in East`s second innings, no one quite carried belief over the four days as Pankaj did. Making most of the conditions, Central medium-pacers Pankaj Singh and R.P. Singh produced superb spells to bowl out East for 96 in just 35.4 overs, leaving Central with a victory target of 134, which it duly achieved, losing opener Mohnish Mishra. The winning stroke, a six, came from No. 3 Naman Ojha (19) off Manoj Tiwary. Breathing fire The big-built Pankaj Singh, the second highest wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy this season, breathed fire from the first ball. With R.P. Singh bringing into play his experience, guile and variety it was clear that it was not going to be East's day. Pankaj picked up Niranjan Behera (7) in his first over. Skipper Manoj Tiwary came and witnessed the departure of Ishank Jaggi (20) and Wriddhiman Saha (0) in the same over of Pankaj (his fifth of the day) to leave East in tatters. With RP Singh summoning his experience, cutting down on pace for accuracy and swing, and the pacy Umesh Yadav bowling in the right areas at last, East batsmen were suddenly up against it. They made it worse with some showing a horrible lack of patience. After Pankaj finished his only spell of the day (7-2-19-3), Umesh Yadav took over from that end. He scalped Tiwary (21), Alok Sahoo (4) and Basanta Mohanty (20). R.P. Singh added the wickets of Natraj Behera (14) and Ashok Dinda. With an injured Saurabh Tiwary unavailable, East's second innings ended 18 minutes before lunch. Central openers Chopra and Mishra began to gather runs in an unhurried manner adding 93 before Mishra gave a simple return catch to left-arm spinner Iresh Saxena. Ojha and Chopra completed the formalities just before tea. An angry Manoj Tiwary slammed his teammates. “Some got out to good balls, but most fell to lack of application, technique and temperament. The way the team capitulated, it looked some of the boys did not belong to this level of competition,” he said. Central will now travel to Hyderabad where it will take on South in the semifinals beginning on January 26. Manoj hits out at batsmen Manoj Tiwary has been an unlucky captain. While he himself has shone with the bat, the sides (Bengal, East Zone) he has captained have sunk. After a shock defeat against Central Zone in a Duleep Trophy match, in Cuttack, Manoj slammed the technique and temperament of the batsmen. “There’s a definite lack of technique and temperament among the batsmen. I would also add a lack of work ethics to that. The way we collapsed (96) today, the batsmen need to go back to the basics… They need to learn how to play at this level,” Manoj said. Manoj, in fact, had said after the first day’s play that the pitch had eased out. What then led to such a downfall? “Lack of application mainly… But credit must also be given to the Central bowlers. They got a bit of help from the pitch, but at the same time they kept pitching the ball on the right areas… Had the swing too,” said the right-handed batsman who had slammed a century in the first innings. East also missed Saurabh Tiwary, who didn’t bat in the second innings due to a shoulder injury. “We definitely missed him in the second innings,” rued Manoj. Meanwhile, Ashok Dinda has injured his shoulder. He bowled just one over on Saturday and Manoj confirmed the news as he said: “He was not comfortable with his shoulder… There was some pain, so we didn’t use him.” Kaif eager to bounce back He has been away from the limelight for sometime now but that doesn't stop Mohammed Kaif from working hard. In fact, his fitness regime is same as he has been following over the years and he is fitter than ever. After a dismal Ranji Trophy season, where he didn't live up to the expectations, he needed a turnaround and to be picked by Royal Challengers Bangalore in the re-auction was just a kind of confidence he needed. He is back with a fighting hundred against East Zone in the Duleep Trophy. "At this stage of my career, money is not important. When I started playing this game in streets, I didn't know one day I will play for my state and then country. I kept working hard and got the results. I am still working hard though things may not have gone my way. But I am hoping for a turnaround. It's just the passion for the game that keeps me going. I am just focusing on performing well in whatever opportunity I get. I just want to play good competitive cricket, which I have been doing for the last few years. I just want to be in loop," Kaif told TOI after scoring a crucial hundred for Central Zone against East Zone in Duleep Trophy. There's something about Duleep Trophy that keeps adrenaline flow-ing in him. He always does well in this zonal competition. His hundred against East Zone on Friday was his third successive in Duleep Trophy. Last year he has scored back to back hundreds against East and South Zone. "I have always enjoyed playing against quality oppositions. The good thing about this tournament is that you play in international grounds. You get competitive wickets with something in them for everyone. I knew I didn't perform well in Ranji Trophy this year, so I was keen to do well here. Things went my way this time and I am hoping for the same in the semis against South Zone," he said. Last few years haven't been smooth for Kaif and he has seen quite a few ups and downs. The Uttar Pradesh captain, who was the costliest Rajasthan Royals player in the inaugural edition of IPL, was sent back from South Africa and didn't get enough opportunities in IPL-3. Apart from semifinal against South Zone, Kaif is looking forward to the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League. On whether he was disappointed on going unsold twice during the auction, Kaif said, "No. I am happy that I would be part of IPL. As I said, at this stage money is not that important for me. I am thankful to Anil (Kumble) Bhai, Mr (Vijay) Mallya and Siddhartha Mallya for showing trust in my abilities. I think I am better Twenty20 player now. It needs slightly different approach and adjustments. I am work-ing on few areas. I know how important this IPL is for me. I have played a lot with Anil Bhai and he has always helped me whenever I needed. I am happy to share dressing room with him again," he said.

[Sooda]

Thanks for responding couple of times and giving the chance to call a player what he deserved to be called in cricketing terms - His uselessness. Hope there are selectors all the up to the club level that recognize the 'class' of this Strokeless wonder and keep selecting him as days go by so that I get a chance to praise this Wonderless player that has a FC average comparable to that of the WK batsman Wriddhiman Saha.

Haha, you can call him whatever you want as it seems to make you happy. And Im sure youll keep getting the chance as long as he does keep making tons at Zonal level (btw he did this last season too- I think in fact he scored a double ton and a ton in two matches, that should have got him a slot in the squad vs SA at home- after a pretty ordinary Ranji season) he could well keep getting picked...

[saneindian]

Importance of Duleep Trophy matches for Yuvi, Raina, Nehra, Munaf, Ashwin, Chawla etc The semi final of Duleep Trophy starts from 26th Jan. East Zone is out so MSD cannot play. But for Yuvi, Raina, Nehra, Munaf, Ashwin, Chawla, it could be a golden chance to get some good form going into the WC. They haven't played much cricket off late and should not use the excsue of being tired to skip these matches. BCCI in fact should ask them to represent their zonal teams. Also, hopefully before the WC warm ups, we will have a 4-5 day long training and conditioning camp where we can strategise, taste players fitness and work on some of the problem areas.

[Sooda]

Well Rainas been on tour and played test cricket- admittedly not a huge amount of it- but the others youre right about. Will Nehra play a 5 day game?

[saneindian]

Well Rainas been on tour and played test cricket- admittedly not a huge amount of it- but the others youre right about. Will Nehra play a 5 day game?

Nehra should be asked to. I find it ridiculous that someone playing int'l cricket for India does not play any form of domestic cricket and gains entry directly into in't cricket. In fact not playing domestic cricket has hurt Nehra's own bowling form. With some match practice behind him, he could do better than the crap he bowled on this tour and last few series. On Raina, for a 23 year old, struggling for form, appearing for the zonal side should be an honour. Could prove crucial to a turnaround in his form.

[pensionplan]

Haha' date=' you can call him whatever you want as it seems to make you happy. And Im sure youll keep getting the chance as long as he does keep making tons at Zonal level (btw he did this last season too- I think in fact he scored a double ton and a ton in two matches, that should have got him a slot in the squad vs SA at home- after a pretty ordinary Ranji season) he could well keep getting picked...[/quote']Tons? His uselessness has a total of 15 tons in 202 FC innings one of the lowest conversion rates in the history of Indian cricket for someone considered a batsman at the FC level. Ofcourse the strokeless wonder is a not a batsman and not worthy of considering as one is another story. Thankfully this shaker in the boots is not allowed anywhere close to the Indian team for almost 5 years now. Better late than never.

[The Outsider]

UP used to be an utterly crap domestic side. The single biggest reason for their rise in domestic cricket has been Kaif. He is a batsman with limited ability, but puts forth his grittiest best on the field. He played a big part as a batsman in UP's rise. However his biggest contribution has been as a captain. In a state riddled with nepotism and favoritism in all areas, he has managed to eradicate the menace to a huge degree. He has personally sat through local trials and matches to push for the inclusion of the best available candidates. P Kumar, RP Singh, Tyagi, Raina, B Kumar - ask any of them about the support and influence Kaif has had on their careers in a degenerate system. A team which was an also ran for it's entire existence has made the Ranji final 4 times in the last 6-7 attempts. It's amazing how people with no clue about domestic cricket hand over titles like His Uselessness. Sure, he might not be the best option or close to it for the national team, how does it automatically qualify him as useless. BTW, his FC average is not much different from certain primadonas of Indian cricket like Yuvraj and Raina, neither his Test average.

[fineleg]

in b4 p.khota complains about length of thread title

The semi final of Duleep Trophy starts from 26th Jan. East Zone is out so MSD cannot play. But for Yuvi, Raina, Nehra, Munaf, Ashwin, Chawla, it could be a golden chance to get some good form going into the WC. They haven't played much cricket off late and should not use the excsue of being tired to skip these matches. BCCI in fact should ask them to represent their zonal teams. Also, hopefully before the WC warm ups, we will have a 4-5 day long training and conditioning camp where we can strategise, taste players fitness and work on some of the problem areas.

Agree with you S.I. Some of our players need to score runs in the middle.

[pensionplan]

I think it is about time people here take things with a pinch of salt. To me the kind of batsman Kaif is and how many international matches he got to play for India which in my estimates is undeserved he is a mediocre player overall that India unnecessarily invested into and putting up with that I as a fan is within my rights to address him as His Uselessness or whatever I choose to. It is not as if I am whacking someone here or abusing any poster personally. I think as fans sometimes we can and should say what we feel about players as long as we can explain it and I did that once in another thread about my observations on Kaif and why I like to refer to him as His Uselessness. As they say to each his own. Also it helps if people take things with a grain of salt and loosen up a bit.

[The Outsider]

Why aren't you equitable in your generosity of the title of His Uselessness - given Yuvraj and Raina have similar FC and test records without the distinction of changing their states' cricket?

[pensionplan]

Despite me being a skeptic of Raina and YS the Test cricketers I feel they are better than Kaif overall (ODI +Tests) and more talented. If someone thinks lowly of YS/SR as I do about Kaif it is up to them on how they address these players or any other player for that matter. They are not hurting my feelings.

[The Outsider]

Aaah okay...we are free to liberally abuse players who have done a lot for the game in Inida...I got it, saaar!

[pensionplan]

That is your take on things which does not necessarily mean each person should or will view the game or the players the same way.

[The Outsider]

It necessarily does mean that you are a domestic cricket illiterate, heaping abuses on one of the best domestic cricketers in a domestic cricket thread showing your ignorance.

[pensionplan]

It necessarily does mean that you are a domestic cricket illiterate, heaping abuses on one of the best domestic cricketers in a domestic cricket thread showing your ignorance.

You can yell all you want. Kaif = His Uselessness IMO. EOD.

[Mariyam]

Forgive my ignorance, but how does playing a test match and that too against substandard opposition ( compared to what we'll face in the WC) improve these players for an ODI WC? Can't a strict fitness routine + hours of practice in the nets solve the problem and iron out the batting/bowling flaws? Do we have to risk injury to these guys in some obscure test match. And what is with all these weird names? Duleep Trophy? Why do we have to name it after some person? Why can't it be called the BCCI cup or the Indian national championships or something?

[Ranjha]

I dont think duleep trophty aainst sub-stabdard bowling will help them...they all need to strenghtne themselves mentally..talentwise they are all good.

[Chandan]

East Zone were good but our bowlers prevailed Aakash Chopra, Hindustan Times January 23, 2011 We, Central Zone, had the resources. With an All-India bowling attack by our side, we could well give sleepless nights to most domestic teams. The track, quite unusual for a domestic game, had a thorough covering of fresh grass with enough moisture underneath to make the ball talk, in fact shout in this case. And with a ball like the Kookaburra, used exclusively in the Duleep Trophy, difficult to handle of a responsive surface, it was just going to get tougher for the batsmen, especially the openers and No. 3. The toss was crucial and after winning it, we quite carelessly assumed the job was half done. And perhaps, that’s where we got it all wrong. We didn’t bowl in the right areas and allowed the opposition to get off the hook, a fatal mistake regardless of the quality of resources at hand. We squandered the advantage and East grabbed it with both hands. Both Manoj Tiwary and Ishank Jaggi (a talented cricketer from MS Dhoni’s land) helped themselves to fine centuries, though guilty of not converting them into big ones, something they might be regretting now. We, on the other hand, realised our mistakes. We tried to undo our errors with the second new ball and managed a mini-comeback to restrict the East Zone from posting a mammoth total. 428 was by no means paltry, but at 284/2, one would have expected them to exceed 500 with ease. They failed to, and in spite of mounting the pressure, East didn’t bat us completely out of the game. If Central Zone had the resources, East Zone had the resolve. They made up for their lower batting order failure with a spirited bowling effort. The Kookaburra ball behaves in a very peculiar fashion, it swings and seams (if the conditions are conducive) while it’s new. Both the shine and seam disappears the moment it gets old and it becomes hard toil for the bowlers (more about the Kookaburra ball in my next column). East’s bowling was not even half as threatening as ours but their discipline and hunger to gain the first-innings lead made all the difference. They bowled their heart out and with a lot of discipline, to gain a slender lead, which everyone thought was enough to book a place in the semi-finals. But Pankaj Singh and co. had other plans. They ran in hard, hit the right areas consistently and made the ball swing and seam. If Pankaj bowled with a lot of pace, RP Singh bowled with a lot of control. Then Umesh Yadav came and blew away the rest, for his pace was too hot to handle for the lower order. Orissa Cricket Association deserves a special mention for making a track which had something in it for the bowlers even on the last day. The bounce was consistent (slightly higher than the slow/low tracks we find in most other venues) and there was enough movement off the surface if you pitched the ball in the right areas. The grass remained green till the last day and wasn’t there just to keep the surface together. We wouldn’t have clawed our way back into the game if the track had been docile. Kudos to the curator! This particular game showed, once again, that talent without resolve is simply not good enough. And if talented men put their mind to matter, even the inconceivable can be achieved. ------------------------------------- But what exactly was there in the track that in the in 1st inning 400+ runs were scored but the same same team couldn't handle the same attack on the same track and got bundled out for just 96!! It is simply hard to fathom that it was just bowlers getting their acts together!