Ranji Trophy 2011-12: Super League

[bulbul]

thanks for the explanasan. I'm really surprised none of our former players have criticized bcci for such moronic scheduling...or is it that they dont care a s**t about Ranjis?

no one cares...even Players some of them even turn out wih their IPL frnchise helmets Only guys who want/have future in the game put efforts...for rest its like day to day job

[Sir john]

1st Semi-Final: Haryana v Rajasthan at Rohtak Jan 10-13, 2012 Scorecards:

Rajasthan Vs Haryana Mumbai Vs Tamil Nadu

Haryana: The 'simple boys with self-belief'

In a season of tackling hairpin bends and skimming cliff edges of elimination, Haryana find themselves on solid ground and in their very element. Their first Ranji Trophy semi-final in 20 years will be only their third game at home this season - at the Bansi Lal Cricket Stadium in Lahli, outside Rohtak. It is a venue that coach Ashwini Kumar believes has played its part in altering his team's fortunes - despite last season's quarter-final loss to Tamil Nadu. In the semi-final, Haryana will meet a team whose success last season unlocked belief and confidence among the lower orders of Indian first-class cricket. Rajasthan arrive in Rohtak as defending champions, their surge out of the Plate League causing a stirring among the Ranji small fry. This season Haryana have produced the early aftershock. Their victory over Karnataka in a low-scoring game lasting only three days in Bangalore was the only outright result in the quarter-finals. Ashwini, whose tenure as Haryana coach since 2000 was briefly interrupted before he returned in 2009, said his team is only now hitting its full stride. "Struggle has been our habit this year," he told ESPNcricinfo, "We've had so many ups and downs and still the team has managed to get past everything." Whether it was injuries to key players, playing four of their six league matches away from home or heading into their final league game against Gujarat with relegation looming. Haryana's batsmen crossed 300 in each of their first five league matches, but they took the first-innings lead in only two. The team followed on against Madhya Pradesh in Rohtak, and went into their last league game with the big drop looming. Their batsmen produced 207 in their first innings against Gujarat. Yet thanks to their bowlers, only a seventh-wicket partnership took Gujarat past the Haryana total. From this situation Haryana produced a big victory and gave their season the gear it will require to keep going. In their second innings, Haryana declared at 321 for 5, with middle-order batsman Priyank Tehlan 15 short of his maiden first-class century in only his sixth game. "We could have batted for another five or ten overs but we needed overs to get them out," Anirudh Chaudhry, the Haryana Cricket Association secretary, said. Six wickets went to the spin team of captain Amit Mishra and debutant offspinner Jayant Yadav, who was picked over legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal. "Rajasthan has won the Ranji Trophy. Our boys saw how Jharkhand won the 50-over title last year and Bengal the Twenty20 title. We had qualified for the knockouts in all three. The players now believe that it doesn't matter if you come from a small state, if you do well, you can represent India." Haryana coach Ashwini Kumar Haryana has had a rash of rookies this season. The five debuts in their opening match against Delhi came from injuries to key players even though there was a worry of opening the Ranji season with "half the team made of up new players," according to Chaudhry. Medium-pacer Sanjay Badhwar was recovering from a surgery, Mohit Sharma had a hand injury, Mishra a shin problem and halfway through the season, Joginder Sharma had an accident. Chaudhry said Haryana had been "fired up" fighting for promotion to the knock-outs. "These are simple boys with self-belief." The victory over Karnataka, which Chaudhry followed on live streaming, was the team's giant stride after three years of quarter-final defeats. "Karnataka was a very good team. They are an old association, they have a history. The country's leading wicket-taker is president. They have a wealth of experience to consult." It took a "bowling spell of his life" from Harshal Patel, the Gujarat fast bowler signed on as a professional, to break open Karnataka's batting which set up the eventual victory. After his parents' migration to New Jersey, Harshal stayed on in India for cricket and it is a decision he may never regret. Ashwini counts seven debutants for Haryana this season, with Chaudhry pointing out that along with that, there are two players playing their first full Ranji season. The average age of the 17 players who have turned out for Haryana in 2011-12 is just over 23. The sudden mushrooming of twenty-somethings has come, Ashwini said, due to a combination of factors, one of which he believes is the HCA's fully-equipped cricket facility at Lahli. "It is our own stadium. We are able to hold off-season camps and have good practice facilities. We can train our coaches here. It is convenient for kids to get here for long periods of training. We can have trials." Compared to 150 players who would turn up for open trials in a city, Lalhi's trials pull in 350 from towns and villages, Chaudhry said, their bats "wrapped in gunny bags." The other reason for the surge in Haryana's overall fortunes and aspirations in the Ranji Trophy is "a big difference in the thinking of the players over the last decade," Ashwini said. This comes from the success of their peers from other states. "Rajasthan has won the Ranji Trophy. Our boys saw how Jharkhand won the 50-over title last year and Bengal the Twenty20 title. We had qualified for the knockouts in all three. The players now believe that it doesn't matter if you come from a small state, if you do well, you can represent India." It has been many years since Haryana produced a player who gets the kind of attention that makes selectors bolt upright in their seats. Any performance that gets them into their first Ranji final since 1991, though, might just do it.

[BeautifulGame]

Hope Haryana makes it through to the final.I always had some fascination for them in Ranji ever since i learnt Kapil played for Haryana. They are probably the first lesser established Ranji team to produced a super star for Indian cricket.So we owe them a lot IMO

[bulbul]

Is thia Ranji thing still going on..i thought its finished a long time back :hysterical:

[saneindian]

Hope Haryana makes it through to the final.I always had some fascination for them in Ranji ever since i learnt Kapil played for Haryana. They are probably the first lesser established Ranji team to produced a super star for Indian cricket.So we owe them a lot IMO

Haryana used to be in the QFs regularly during the late 60s and 70s. They struggled to move ahead of the QFs though. You are right about the super star part though, Kapil paaji was among the first set of players to emerge out of the hinterlands.

[BeautifulGame]

2nd Semi-Final: Mumbai v Tamil Nadu at Mumbai Jan 10-13, 2012

A peep into the Ranji Trophy history tells a thousand heroic tales of 39-time champions Mumbai. However, if this week they get past Tamil Nadu in the semi-finals and go on to clinch their 40th title, this feat has the potential of a script for a book or a movie. A dramatic turn of events has accompanied Mumbai's jumpy ride to the last four stage: a key player turning his back on his team and catching a flight home in a huff, promising youngsters that have proved equal to the task when more illustrious team-mates have left on national duty and a captain striking form at the right time who became the highest run-getter in Ranji history. Mumbai's achievement is even more significant when you consider it comes at a time when there is resurgence among teams with smaller reputations and growing ambitions. Rajasthan, the defending champions; Haryana, who are in the semi-finals; and Madhya Pradesh, who lost to Mumbai in the quarter-finals this season. All three are manifestations of this growth of cricket in the nation. When Mumbai entered the quarter-finals, the Wasim Jaffer led team had a depleted look on paper with their star players missing. Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane were in Australia, Ajit Agarkar had caught a flight to Mumbai before the December 2 match against Orissa after being informed by his captain and coach that he would not feature in the game, and Abhishek Nayar was down with an injury. But the youngsters put their hands up when the chips were down and turned the fortunes for Mumbai. Chasing Madhya PradeshÃÔ paltry first-innings total of 192, Mumbai were 60 for 5 and looking down the barrel when Kaustabh Pawar, in his debut first-class season, scored a gritty 160 off 328 deliveries. Later, left-arm spinner Ankeet Chavan batting at No.9 also slammed a century, which was instrumental in Mumbai taking a first-innings lead and winning the quarter-final tie. Mumbai are just two matches away from lifting the coveted Ranji Trophy title for the 40th time. In the process, they have seen their captain become the highest run-getter in Ranji history, surpassing his former team-mate Amol Majumdar in the match against Punjab. More importantly, they would be encouraged by the performances of youngsters like Suryakumar Yadav, who is now fourth in the run-charts, and the sparks shown by Pawar and Chavan. They also have a healthy competition for places in the bowling department, be it between pacers Dhawal Kulkarni and Balwinder Sandhu, or left-arm spinners Iqbal Abdullah and Chavan. Nayar, who hit a massive double ton against Rajastan in the Group A match in November, missed out in the next few matches due to injury, but is available again to face Tamil Nadu in the semi-final. The fit-again allrounder is pleased with the team's and his own performance so far. ŵhis Ranji season Tamil Nadu has played good cricket, but if Mumbai continues to play how they have played in the last matches then we have a chance of winning, a positive Nayar told Cricketnext.

Probable team: Mumbai: Gurav , Waghela , Pawar , Jaffer , Yadav , Nayar , Shah , Kulkarni , Chavan , Pawar , Sandhu Tamil Nadu: Mukund , Vijay , Badrinath , Karthick ,Vasudevadas , Prassana , Sunny Gupta , Yo Mahesh , Balaji , Kaushik , A Srinivas Toss will be the key since there is always early morning moisture in the wicket in Mumbai and its difficult to comeback once u concede first innings lead in Ranji trophy. With A Nayar back from injury and Mumbai playing at home they will be favourites.Hopefully Tamil Nadu can prove me wrong Scorecard: Haryana vs Rajastan http://www.bcci.tv/bcci/bccitv/community/domesticresult/livescorecard/708 Mumbai vs Rajastan http://www.bcci.tv/bcci/bccitv/community/domesticresult/livescorecard/709

[The Dark Horse]

Go TN:cheer:

[bulbul]

Common TN thrash MI

[TheWall]

Is thia Ranji thing still going on..i thought its finished a long time back :hysterical:

Its there to produce some FTBs

[Sir john]

Madrasis vs bambaiva :band:

[ganeshran]

This is Mohali all over again.Come on TN :cheer:

[shinchan]

This is Mohali all over again.Come on TN :cheer:

:confusedman::confusedman::confusedman:

[mishra]

I think the game is going to be interesting. I am going to follow this league now on.

[1983-2011]

[amiret]

And the crowd chants only Rahul, Rahul! Good article by Dilip D'Souza from FirstPost.

So Bombay wins easily on an enormous six smashed just in front of where I sit, no less and the players shake hands and they all retire slowly to the pavilion. WhatÃÔ the happy audience at the Wankhede chanting? Jeetega bhai jeetega, Mumbai jeetega? to push the team on to greater Ranji glory? Jaffer, Jaffer? paying tribute to the captain, now the most prolific run-scorer in Ranji Trophy history? No, it's Rahul, Rahul? Which manages to leave me simultaneously encouraged and sad. Somewhere in that conundrum is a story about a once-proud tournament. December 21: Bombay took on Punjab in their 7th Ranji match of the season. In the absence of several stalwarts Sharma, Agarkar, Khan, Rahane, a certain Tendulkar the team seemed weakened. But an endless supply of eager young cricketers is nearly a Bombay Ranji trademark. This season, their stars have been Abhishek Nayar, Suryakant Yadav and Ankeet Chavan, though nearly everyone has contributed. Bombay has won, writing yet another page in a glittering Ranji history. Jaffer is out there, emphatically one of domestic cricket's all-time greats. In this match for example, a bustling 24 year-old medium-pacer called Balwinder Singh Sandhu makes his debut for Bombay memorable with five Punjab wickets on the first day. Cricket nuts like me read that name and think: Sandhu? DidnÃÕ he play like 30 years ago? World Cup 1983 Sandhu, took out Greenidge in the final? Indeed, but another Sandhu. But get this: that was Balwinder Singh Sandhu too. A bustling medium-pacer too. Made his Bombay Ranji debut at 24 too. And in that December match (too!) back in 1980, he took five wickets too. Cricket nuts like me, we love this stuff. On the second day, Wasim Jaffer set his record while collecting 82 runs. Third day, the tubby Ramesh Powar smashed 81 to drive Bombay to a yawning first-innings lead. In wiping out which, Punjab lost four wickets. Fourth day, I settle in my seat half an hour into the dayÃÔ play. Free entry, yet sadly, there are only about 60 people watching all men. I remember the 1977 Bombay-Delhi Ranji final; we bunked classes at college to listen to the radio commentary; the stands, we heard, were roiling with fans. Today, not even the eventual cascade of Punjab wickets Chavan does the damage manages to bring in substantially more supporters. The man in front of me hands his friend his iPhone and poses for a shot, cricket behind him. His friend turns the phone around for a shot of himself, my elegantly naked shin IÃÎ in shorts behind him. Then they leave. Roiling, we are not. Sandhu gets just one over, attracting cries of Å°ye paape! PunjabÃÔ last pair adds obdurate runs and soaks up obdurate time. Eventually, Bombay begin their chase of 127 in front of a crowd grown to 150. One of whom, a boy wearing a Å¥aytona T-shirt, strolls casually down and tosses his (full) Bisleri bottle over the fence, onto the field. His pals giggle. He grins. Apparently he thinks this is a bold achievement. Jaffer plays out a maiden to shouts of Å¢rre Jaffer-bhai, timepass mat kar! and ŵea break mein masala chai pi ke aa! On cue, a real maiden first woman of the day walks in, accompanying four men and carrying two crisp ůM Medical bags. SheÃÔ come to the match straight from a medical checkup? One of her companions points out the cricketers. He dwells at length, I notice, on a tall fielder in a bright blue cap. Why him? Later, the man takes off his cap and bowls, to shouts of ųahul, Rahul? ItÃÔ nice to hear a visiting player being cheered, but now I put it all together. This is Rahul Sharma, legspinner, the best bowler for the Pune Warriors in the last IPL. His exploits then including, accounts always say, TendulkarÃÔ wicket set off a buzz. But his Ranji record? Mediocre. Today, he makes no impression on BombayÃÔ charging batsmen. ItÃÔ off his bowling that Praful Waghela, a left-handed pocket dynamo, clubs the six that wins the match. And the crowd Daytona fellow included chants only ųahul, Rahul!Ǽ/B] No disrespect to Sharma, may he have a long and storied career, but this speaks of the IPL rise and the Ranji fade. For, consider: Bombay has won, writing yet another page in a glittering Ranji history. Jaffer is out there, emphatically one of domestic cricketÃÔ all-time greats. With him are several other upcoming and established domestic stars. But what dominates the thoughts of a sparse Wankhede audience? Some four-over spells from a cricket carnival. It could be an epitaph I've just sat through.

http://www.firstpost.com/sports/for-saturday-dont-cry-for-me-ranji-ana-174408.html

[Crookbond]

Mumbai versus Tamil Nadu reminds me of Ranji Trophy 1999-2000 where Sachin Tendulkar hit a brilliant 233 NOT OUT to take them into the finals. http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/69/69565.html Sachin later said, "This is one of my best innings. This includes one-day internationals and Test cricket also."

[StatsRock]

^^^^ Eh, who are these guys? Go TN! Looks like Mumbai fans are outnumbered on ICF :--D

[singhprakash72]

"But get this: that was Balwinder Singh Sandhu too. A bustling medium-pacer too. Made his Bombay Ranji debut at 24 too. And in that December match (too!) back in 1980, he took five wickets too." LOL Sandhu from 80s was nowhere close to "bustling medium-pacer" he can qualify as fast spinner, although he could swing & spin if that makes him happy (if he is reading this somewhere). Remember delivery to Greenidge, it was top spinner hitting top of off stump !

[Cricketics]

Will be interesting game. Mukund and Jaffer the real key bats for both sides.

[StatsRock]

Kapil only played about one-tenth of Haryana's games. However they were a powerhouse in the 80s since they had Malhotra, Goel, Talwar and Chetan Sharma. Goel and Talwar had close to 973 wickets between them.