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Ranji Trophy, Super league, 2007-08 [Ranji SS available]

Chandan

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Wow. You know India's FC cricket structure is pitiful when players like Agarkar and Powar are scoring big.
Yep, AA and Whale cannot get into double digits in Intl matches. Even the single digit score they make - they look ungainly during that small batting phase in Intl matches. :giggle:
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ROUND IV, DAY FOUR December 4, 2007 Himachal Pradesh 343 and 83 for 5 (Bisla 24*, Ishant Sharma 4-44) drew with Delhi 75 and by 482 for 6 dec. (Chopra 215) Scorecard spacer.gif323567.jpgAakash Chopra scored 215 to enable Delhi to come back in the match and go for the kill on the final day © Cricinfo Ltd Aakash Chopra's double-century set up a declaration and Ishant Sharma's burst threatened to bowl Himachal Pradesh out inside 36 overs, but Maninder Bisla and Barun Sharma hung on desperately for 18.1 overs to bat out a draw, which gave them the three points for the first-innings lead they had attained. When play was called off between Delhi and Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday evening, the cold was beginning to bite and the sun was steadily setting. The hosts, chasing 215, were struggling at 83 for 5, and a win for either team looked improbable. That, however, hadn't been the case all through. Delhi were, at one point, well on their way to chalking up one of the most improbable victories, a victory which, after being bundled out for 75, even the greatest optimist would have stopped short of imagining. But cricket seldom goes according to script. Delhi fought back, first made sure defeat had been avoided, and then, went for the jugular. And they almost got there, too. The final day, like the third, belonged to two individuals. If it was Gautam Gambhir who shared that honour with Aakash Chopra on Monday, this time it was lanky paceman Ishant Sharma. The morning was all about one man - Aakash Chopra. No. 3 in the line-up, Chopra was undoubtedly Delhi's batsman No.1. Resuming on 146, Chopra put on yet another show of flawless batting to finish on 215. It was classic Chopra - rock solid in defence, fluid in stroke-play and clinical in dispatching the bad balls. Perhaps the only uncharacteristic shot Chopra played in the day was the one with which he got to his 200. With the field brought in, Chopra, on 199, decided to smack Sarandeep Singh for a six over long-on. Virender Sehwag declared the innings once Chopra fell, giving the hosts a minimum of 36 overs to get those runs. Himachal were never expected to go for the win, and they didn't either. But Delhi did. Led by a superlative effort from Ishant Sharma (4 for 44) Delhi had, at one stage, reduced the hosts to 34 for 5. Suddenly, the team, which had conceded a massive 268-run lead in the first innings, was emerging as favourites for an outright win. It was fast bowling at its best from Ishant. He bowled with pace and venom, troubled the Himachal top-order with movement and could have easily ended up with at least a couple of more wickets. But it just wasn't to be Delhi's game. The pair of Manvinder Bisla and Barun Sharma stood firm in the face of the Ishant onslaught long enough to secure three points for their side. Though Delhi did fight back superbly in this game to salvage a draw, they should have never found themselves in this position in the first place. The more Chopra batted with command and fluidity in the second innings, the more absurd that capitulation in the first looked. With three tough away games - against Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu - to follow, Delhi needed full points from this game in their quest for the semifinals. That, however, wasn't to be and now they have left themselves with a lot to do in the remaining games. The good thing is they have it in them to do what it takes. Delhi now have 12 points from four matches and are placed second behind Maharashtra in Group A. Karnataka 329 and 153 for 2 (Uthappa 54, Shinde 50*) drew with Rajasthan 393 and 131 (Joshi 4-25, Raghu 2-21) Scorecard On a dramatic final day, the Karnataka spinners bowled Rajasthan out for 131, which set them a target of 196 in 27 overs. Robin Uthappa briefly fluttered hopes of a come-from-behind Karnataka win on a dramatic final day against Rajasthan, but with time and overs fast disappearing a see-saw clash ended in a draw at the Gangothri Glades in Mysore. Sunil Joshi prompted another Rajasthan collapse earlier in the day and in a spectacular twist Karnataka needed 196 to win in a probable 27 overs. Uthappa gave an enthusiastic crowd plenty to cheer about with a robust 54 from 38 balls but with the asking rate too high, it was Rajasthan who took the game's honours, courtesy first-innings bonus points. The groundwork for a thrilling chase was done on the fourth morning, when Rajasthan resumed on an overnight 0 for 0 and stumbled splendidly. Karnataka were far improved after near three days of below-par cricket, led by a parsimonious Joshi, who opened the bowling. From the start, Joshi hit the right areas and got the new ball to turn. In his first over, the veteran spinner was up in vigorous celebration even before the umpire adjudged that Manish Sharma got bat on ball for Uthappa at silly point to take the catch. A change in ends for Vinay Kumar gave Karnataka their second breakthrough, as he trapped Vineet Saxena plumb in front of the stumps. Robin Bist struck one gorgeous straight drive off Joshi, but a couple deliveries later, after falling over in an attempted on-drive, was run out by a sharp Sudhindra Shinde at second slip. Bist lost balance, the ball flew wide of silly point off his pads and Shinde, with quick reflexes, threw the ball back onto the stumps. Next over, Rajesh Bishnoi tucked KP Appanna off his hips and short leg intercepted with a good catch. Joshi finished off a tight spell of 17-11-14-1 as Karnataka went in to lunch with their tails up, having prized out four wickets in the first session. After lunch Rohit Jhalani collected a brace of boundaries, but fell while trying to hit Appanna with the spin, as Kumar completed a tumbling catch at mid-off. That made it 110 for 5 in the 57th over. Then came the collapse. C Raghu's part-time offspin gave him two in an over, both caught at short leg, before Joshi returned to have Pankaj Singh snapped up at second slip, again by a sprightly Uthappa. Joshi mopped up the tail in one over - finishing with 4 for 25 from 28 accurate overs to make it ten in the game - and with Rajasthan all out for 131 the mood across the ground had changed dramatically. There are few domestic players who elicit as much cheer as Uthappa does, and with a sense of excitement setting into the lazy Mysore afternoon, Uthappa, sans helmet, strode out with his partner KB Pawan. A hurried two wide of mid-on got him off the mark, followed by singles dabbed wide of gully and cover, with the field spread. Then came a front-foot pulled six over midwicket off medium-pacer Sumit Mathur, cueing a tizzy in the burgeoning crowd. Another saunter down the track and a mistimed slog landed safely between mid-on and mid-off, but next ball the shot was corrected, all along the ground, for four down the ground. For good measure, the last ball was run down to third man. A superb direct hit from long-off sent Pawan packing in the fifth over and Uthappa should have been caught at deep square leg soon after but the fielder reacted too late. Sudhindra Shinde eased singles but as the run rate kissed ten Uthappa reverted to reverse-sweeping Mohammad Aslam's left-arm spin for ones and twos. A four to deep square leg raised a 35-ball fifty to rapturous applause but Uthappa then chipped one to Robin Bist at deep midwicket to put any hopes of a win to rest. Shinde and B Akhil scampered runs and hit a few boundaries to keep spirits high before the game was called to a close with Karnataka 153 for 2 in 22 overs. In the end the crowd got the excitement they wanted, courtesy Uthappa. After struggling for most of this match Karnataka did well to finish with a draw and Rajasthan, by virtue of the first-innings lead, got their first points of the season. Karnataka's next game, against Saurashtra from December 9, has been switched from the nearby Infosys Ground to this ground. Rajasthan next play Mumbai at Jhalawar, from the same date. Rajasthan got their first points in the season, but they were still at the bottom of Group A after Himachal notched up three points against Delhi. Baroda 331 and 148 beat Uttar Pradesh 209 and 225 (Gupta 50*, Yusuf Pathan 4-68, Pawar 3-83) by 48 runs Scorecard Praveen Gupta followed his five-wicket haul with a valiant half-century down the order, but the Baroda spinners - Yusuf Pathan and Rajesh Pawar - proved too much for Uttar Pradesh who fell 48 short in their chase of 274. Days cricket requires patience, and this was very much lacking in Uttar Pradesh batsmen on Tuesday. Despite enjoying an upper hand at the close of Day three, the host batsmen surrendered meekly before Baroda much before the scheduled end of their four-day Elite Group 'B' Ranji Trophy match here. UP's bowling hero in the second innings Praveen Gupta though raised team's hope of an upset win after the lunch with a sparkling unbeaten 50 in 54 balls with the help of six fours and a six, it remained a distant dream and the side lost by 48 runs in the crunch game, which saw many ups and downs on all fours days. This was UP's first innings defeat this season in their fourth match so far. Baroda, which fetched five points from this match to take their tally to 14 in three matches, at the Dr Akhilesh Das Stadium on a sunny day, also dashed former champions' hopes of making it to the knockout to some extent. And for this, Kaif and Co should own the blame. Barring opener Rohit Prakash Srivastava (44) and Praveen Gupta (50) no other recognised batsman could play with commitment. Kaif (37, 3x4) too played a reckless shot in desperation and gave a straight-forward catch to R Solanki at the square leg off Rajesh Pawar, who broke the UP's batting line-up on Tuesday morning. Before this, Pawar had UP's main batting-stay Suresh Raina almost in similar fashions. Raina tried to chip the ball over the fielder's head, but it fell into the safe pair of hands of Solanki at covers. Raina made 20 with three fours. Besides Pawar, lanky offie Yusuf Pathan once again proved his might with red cherry, bagging 4/68, taking their match haul to 9/103 as UP's second innings came to an end 58 minutes after the lunch for 225. No one had expected such a pathetic performance by the host batsmen on final day. Opener Tanmay Srivastava couldn't add even a single run to his overnight score of 28 before committing a suicidal run out in the very first over of the day. Irfan Pathan then struck on regular intervals to send back other overnight batsman Rohit Prakash Srivastava (44) and Tahir Abbas (3) to pavilion in quick succession. This, however, opened the floodgates for Baroda bowlers, and left-arm spinner Pawar made full use of this. Certainly, it was because of Irfan's guidance to him time-to-time in the match on Tuesday. Two 'doubtful' decisions before lunch also proved crucial for UP at the end. Chawla (0) was surprised on being declared caught behind off Pawar as the ball was nowhere close to his bat, while I Shivram adjudged Mohd Aamir Khan (17) lbw off Yusuf, when he was full stretched forward and the ball was clearly missing the stumps. UP men had almost packed the bag and baggage for a move, when left-hand batsman Gupta suddenly changed the complexion of the game. He struck two powerful boundaries off Pawar, before sending his next delivery for the biggest-ever six on this ground so far. His stroke play all-around the ground compelled Irfan Pathan to bowl a few overs, but to no avail. Last man Tyagi though survived a drop chance by S Singh at mid-off region off Yusuf, could not last long and in the very next over Yusuf knocked off his off-stump to script the team's facile win. UP would next be playing against archrivals Bengal at Kolkata from December 17, but before that their batsmen have to learn a lot from their mistakes. The remaining two matches are very crucial for the side, and only an outright win can keep their chances alive for a knock-out berth this season. Baroda now have 14 points from three matches and lead the Group B by a fair margin, with Andhra at second place with nine. Bengal 513 for 6 dec. and 45 for 1 beat Punjab 241 and 315 (Sohal 95, Bose 3-55, Sarkar 3-81) by nine wickets Scorecard The Bengal medium-pace trio of Ranadeb Bose, Sourav Sarkar and Ashok Dinda took three wickets each to bowl Punjab out for 315 in their second innings and set an easy win for Bengal. Punjab started the day at 64 for 1, still 208 behind Bengal, and Bose struck in his first over of the day to start Bengal's march. Right after wrapping up a nine-wicket win and shaking hands with the Punjab players, Bharathi Arun and Laxmi Ratan Shukla were off towards the pitch for a conversation with the curator. Having grabbed a lifeline, the Bengal coach and captain were eager to express that a surface like this or even livelier is what they want for the next match to revive their chances of making the business stage of the competition. Bengal were richer by five points which catapulted them ahead of Punjab with eight from three matches, one more than the visitors who have played a game more. But equations in Elite Group B of the Ranji Trophy are still at an early stage to ascertain how the seven teams are placed. Playing well in the next few rounds matters most and Arun and Shukla were trying to ensure that they get the conditions which suit Bengal best. The pitch didn't do anything nasty on Tuesday. The ball wasn't bouncing awkwardly and movement off the seam was not much, in a continuation of what had been the trend on Day three. The Bengal bowlers had to work hard and they earned the breakthroughs at the right times with some significant help from the fielders with debutant Soham Ghosh having an outstanding day at gully. Some late and lusty hitting by Sunny Sohal and the loss of opener Arindam Das denied Bengal a bonus point that accompanies an innings or 10-wicket win, but they were not complaining, coming off an innings defeat in the previous match. The quest for nine wickets began in the right earnest with Ranadeb Bose producing a perfect late out-swinger which Ravneet Ricky had to play. Manoj Tiwary completed the sequence at second slip, diving in front. And after having failed to make the batsmen play more often in the previous days, Sourav Sarkar landed one in the right place to send back Ravi Inder. Bengal had dislodged both overnight batsmen in four overs and Pankaj Dharmani was joined by Uday Kaul in the middle much before they had wanted to. The captain and the youngster were the biggest obstacles in Bengal's path and like in the first innings, featured in a partnership that promised more. Both were compact in defence and cautious outside off without getting bogged down. The pitch had eased out into a good one for batting, and the way the right-left combination stonewalled the attack increased Punjab's chances of saving the match. Bengal needed something special and Sarkar again got Dharmani from around the wicket after having strayed wide bowling over. spacer.gif199071.jpgDebasis Mohanty took 5 for 25 to set up an outright win for Orissa against Hyderabad © Cricinfo Ltd Orissa 298 and 103 for 1 (Pati 52, Das 40*) beat Hyderabad 240 and 160 (Mohanty 5-25) by nine wickets Scorecard Orissa scored their first points in the Super League as Debasis Mohanty's five-for set up a comprehensive nine-wicket win over Hyderabad. Hyderabad cricket hit a new low. For, a team which fancied its chances for an outright win against Orissa in the pre-match predictions, it had to eat humble pie as the visitors notched up a convincing, nine-wicket on the final day of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group match at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here on Tuesday. With former India fast bowler Debashish Mohanty bowling yet another splendid of swing bowling to return with his second five-wicket haul of the match, Hyderabad lower order was found struggling. Orissa wrapped up the Hyderabad innings, which resumed its second essay at 143 for five this morning, for a mediocre 160. Once southpaw S. Anoop Pai (48) was sent back, without adding to his overnight score, by Debashish Mohanty, it was virtually all over.Consequently, Orissa, chasing a modest 103 to win, romped home in style with opener Bikaspathy (52, 8x4) and captain Shiv Sundar Das (40 not out, 6 x 4) batting with authority to put on 102 for the first wicket. The former was more flamboyant with some amazing inside-out strokes both of pace and spin bowlers. With scores level and Orissa all set to clinch the bonus point (if it were to record a 10-wicket win), a ridiculous call for a sharp single by Das who steered one from Ashwin Yadav straight to Amol Shinde at covers saw his partner stranded at the striker’s end leaving the captain dejected for missing a simple opportunity of picking an extra point. It meant Orissa missed out on the bonus point, which would have taken them clear of Hyderabad at the bottom of the table. The teams are not joint-last in Group B with five points each. Maharashtra 451 and 139 for 3 (Kanitkar 50*) drew with Mumbai 436 (Samant 22, Fallah 4-114) Scorecard For all practical purposes, the derby at the Wankhede ended nine overs before lunch on the final day, when Maharashtra claimed the last Mumbai wicket to secure a 15-run first-innings lead that would give them three points. Maharashtra scored a victory of sorts on Tuesday when they took a 15-run first innings lead against their 'big brothers' Mumbai as their fourth round of Ranji Trophy ended in a draw. With three well-earned points, Maharashtra continue to lead Group A with 15 points while Mumbai, with one point, have 10 to be joint third. The reigning champs, Mumbai, will have to aim for nothing less than outright wins with a bonus each from Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Saurashtra in the remaining three rounds of the Super League to aspire for a semifinal berth. Having lost the well-set Ajit Agarkar just before stumps on Monday, Mumbai trusted centurion Ramesh Powar to guide them past Maharashtra's 451. Mumbai, 390 for 7 overnight, needed 62 more when action at the Wankhede stadium restarted. But all that Powar and the ensuing tailenders did was throw away their wickets, taking Mumbai to 436 all out, and handing over Maharashtra the first innings honours, akin to presenting the match on a platter on the opening day itself after winning the toss and asking them to bat first. In their second innings, Maharashtra made 139 for three before mutually agreeing to stop proceedings at the start of the last hour of the match. Powar added only four to his overnight 102 in 23 minutes. In the company of veteran Vinayak Samant, himself no bunny with the bat and who has been in such crunch situations before, Powar seemed to take his team to the magical mark of 452. Powar (106, 235b, 9x4, 3x6) played strangely in the morning. He walked into the medium-pacer Waheed Sayyed repeatedly, though not hitting him over the infield. An outrageous shot against Sayyed resulted in him snicking to stumper Vishrant More. Samant was lucky against Sayyed when an edge fell just short of Harshad Khadiwale at second slip. With number 10 Murtuza Hussain, he added 39 for the ninth wicket in an hour-and-a-half. Every run counted, and the tension mounted in the Mumbai dressing room as the target was within reach. Maharashtra bowlers were also desperately seeking the last two wickets. Samant and Hussain survived many anxious moments, left-arm medium-pacer Samad Fallah repeatedly missing Hussain's outside edge. After a good shot for four off Fallah through mid-wicket, Samant (22, 105m, 64b, 2x4) edged the bowler to become More's sixth scalp. With only one wicket in hand and 19 runs short, Hussain and Avishkar Salvi had a huge responsibility. But the debutant cannot be blamed for not trying. Hussain stayed at the crease for 80 minutes and made 16 before hitting Fallah straight to covers, where Khadiwale dived forward to pouch it. Yet again, Mumbai were undone by a left-arm medium-pacer. Fallah finished with four for 114. Mumbai had surrendered three points to Delhi in the third round with Pradeep Sangwan doing most of the damage. The second innings was only of academic interest. It also saw Powar take his first wickets in four innings, finishing with two for 28. With Mumbai's first choice new ball bowlers Ajit Agarkar (shoulder niggle) and Avishkar Salvi (back spasm) not taking the field in Maharashtra's second dig, Hussain and Abhishek Nayar opened the bowling. Maharashtra now have 15 points from four games. Saurashtra 211 (Ramkumar 4-68, Suresh 3-19) and 105 for 2 drew with Tamil Nadu 531 for 2 dec. Scorecard 83296.1.jpgCheteshwar Pujara was unbeaten on 47 as Saurashtra managed a draw after following on against Tamil Nadu in Chennai Tamil Nadu duly bowled Saurashtra out for 211 to ensure that they secured the first-innings point. Tamil Nadu picked up three points by virtue of its first innings lead over Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy Super league match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium here on Tuesday. The topic of debate on the final day’s play on Tuesday was whether Tamil Nadu could take 15 wickets for an innings victory. Tamil Nadu’s coach W.V. Raman had sounded optimistic the other day basing his chances on a “wearing pitch.” To be fair to TN, some hope lingered as Saurashtra resumed its first innings on 120 for five and folded up for 211, an hour before lunch. Southpaw R. Dhruv’s (46, 64b, 4x4, 1x6) big hitting helping the visitor reach the total. Following on, Saurashtra finished on 105 for two. The win could have been achieved had the spinners exploited the pitch. R. Ramkumar, C. Suresh and S. Suresh Kumar couldn’t make any sort of a breakthrough when Saurashtra batted for the second time. After the loss of opener K. Vaghela and Pratik Mehta, S. Jogiyani (46 not out, 193b, 6x4) and C. Pujara (47 not out, 79b, 7x4) played with a straight bat and put together an unfinished 75-run stand for the third wicket that effectively sealed Tamil Nadu’s desire of garnering six points. Tamil Nadu medium-pacer Yomahesh did not come to the field in the second innings reportedly due to an ankle sprain. Tamil Nadu (seven points from four matches) next takes on Himachal Pradesh on December 9. Saurashtra batted out the remaining 64 overs with ease in the second innings and gained one point for the draw. ------------------------------------------------- Four draws and three outright results! This round has been better than the previous one. But so many pace bowlers are injured: Agarkar, Salvi, Paul, YoMahesh, Sangwan...everyone has some problem or the other. PS: Expanded!

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Rajasthan,whose cricket director is Greg Chappell, was on the verge of relegation in the 4th round but managed to gain the first points in the domestic season this year. This is a report on Rajasthan's progress and its problems. Slowly but surely, Rajasthan's boys find their feet : Young squad earns its first point of the season and looks hungry for more December 5, 2007 spacer.gif323237.jpg Robin Bist is one to watch out for © /Bangalore Mirror Their draw against Karnataka at Mysore's Gangothri Glades gave Rajasthan their first points in the 2007-08 Ranji Trophy season. And it's a start, though one delayed, they hope to capitalise on. With an average age of 25, lacking star batsmen and under a new coach, Rajasthan are a side in transition. Three losses from four games is hardly the ideal start but there's no lack of positivism in this side. Speak to any of the players, rookie or veteran, and you can see the shared enthusiasm and friendship. The main worry has been the batting. Rajasthan have crossed 300 only twice all season, their best of 393 coming in this game. "Yes, our batting has let us down," says KP Bhaskar, the coach. "It's something that needs addressing. With a young group the good thing is that the boys are ready to learn. There's a lot of pressure on us, but what people tend to see is just a scoreboard, which says Rajasthan lost. We've had some decisions go against us." Bhaskar, a master of the domestic circuit in his day, is in his first term as coach and has inherited a mixed bag of players - the likes of 20-year-old newcomer Robin Bist, with 242 runs at 30.25, and debutant Manish Sharma, Gagan Khoda, at 33 in the twilight of his career and Nikhil Doru and Rohit Jhalani, in their mid-to-late twenties. He says he's excited at the prospect of helping a talented group of players achieve their best. "I was given a brief by Lalit Modi [president of the Rajasthan Cricket Association] about my role and what was expected of me. We have plans in progress and it's only a matter of time before those materialise. Working with Greg Chappell [advisor to the RCA for its Centre of Excellence] is sure to be a great help for the team. The boys can only benefit." Speaking of boys, Bhaskar took positives from the performance of the youngsters. "With Gagan ruled out [for this game], it was good to see youngsters like Robin, Manish and Rohit [Jhalani] step up. We've got a core group of young players we've identified as key going forward. A major part of my role is to inspire the youngsters and tell them what needs to be done. Being a former player I hope to pass on valuable advice. "Fitness is another important factor. Training methods in the game have changed and you need to be up to mark to ensure players are fitter and stronger." As was Bhaskar's batting style during his playing days, patience is the key. "Results won't happen overnight. This is a side in transition. But we have a positive group." For Bist, four matches have been a learning curve. "One thing we've learnt is that you need more than 300 to force a result, or at least earn a draw, in Ranji Trophy cricket," said Bist. "It makes it easier on the bowlers. They need something to defend." quote-left_11x8.gif With an average age of 25, without any star batsmen and under a new coach, Rajasthan are a side in transition. Three losses from four games is hardly the ideal start but there's no lack of positivism in this side quote-right_12x9.gif 33-year-old Mohammad Aslam, Rajasthan's captain, concurred. "It's tough for the bowlers. Bowling day in and day out is not easy. Our batting hasn't clicked yet. We need to correct that. But now we're on the board [in terms of points] and we'll fight harder." "It's only been one game, and I'm just glad to have been able to contribute," said Sharma. "I have a long way to go." Sharma was handed a maiden cap due to Gagan Khoda's viral fever, but as he put it, "If I make the team, good; if not, I'll go back and work hard at the nets." This season there have been six state sides depleted by the advent of the Indian Cricket League, with its seemingly bottomless coffers tempting players to flock to the 20-over tournament. As Aslam says, the lure was there but state came first for the entire Rajasthan team. "We were all approached by ICL officials but every one of us turned it down. Of course, money is important but who's to say how long such a tournament will last. We consulted with seniors and made our decision. There's pride in playing for your state." What Rajasthan lack in experience, they hope to make up for with spirit.

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A look-back on some on and off-field incidents during the Round IV: Spoilt sporting declarations, and nervous keepers December 5, 2007 spacer.gif318667.jpgWriddhiman Saha had a bad day behind the stumps when his parents came to watch him play © Cricinfo Ltd When declarations backfire Services, languishing somewhere at the bottom of the Group A of the Plate League, after having attained a first-innings lead against Assam, went for the jugular on the final day. They set Assam, who had a highest score of 259 this season, 306 runs to get in 78 overs. Assam got them in a quite a matter-of-fact way, with S Ramesh and S Sharath scoring nineties. It was not such a bad move, though, because a win here could have taken Services up to seven points and given them an outside chance to reach the semi-finals. In Agartala, Kerala who had fallen behind in the first innings, went for a similar gamble, but set a way easier target for Tripura to get. It might have had to do with the low-scoring nature of the match till then, but a target of 270 in 99 overs smelt of over-confidence. Tripura had more than 20 overs to spare when they reached the target with four wickets to spare. None was a great advertisement for sporting declarations, but what difference does it make if you are No. 4 or No. 5 in the Plate League? Parental pressure One wonders how those 18-year-old blondes win Grandslams with their mums and dads watching from the VIP box. Look at our cricketers who develop sweaty palms when playing in front of home crowds. Wriddhiman Saha, Bengal's wicketkeeper who scored a century on debut, just couldn't take the pressure of having to perform in front of his parents. Bharat Arun, the Bengal coach, told the Statesman that Saha perhaps wilted under the pressure. He dropped a sitter, gave away nine byes, and get out for only eight. Unforgivable in passionate Bengal. Not even Daddy had encouraging words for Wriddhi. "The pressure to perform on home soil is always very high. But it is sad that Wriddhi couldn't cope with the pressure," said Prasanta Saha, who allegedly didn't miss a single ball of the match till then. It is sad, indeed, that when Saha was letting the nerves get the better of him, Bengal's very own Sourav Ganguly was burying the home-pressure ghost. In his 99th Test, Ganguly finally scored a century at the Eden Gardens, and there was Saha mucking up in Siliguri. Hard yards During the current Test series against Pakistan, India have been following the creditable practice of sending the reserves to play Ranji Trophy. Ishant Sharma, who suddenly came into the Indian equation after injuries to RP Singh and Sreesanth, has been travelling to the Test venue first and after not being selected in the final XI, to wherever Delhi are playing. He was at the Delhi airport, with the Ranji team team going to Mumbai, when he was asked to stay back for the first Test and then sent back to Mumbai a day later. Then he travelled to Kolkata and trained with the Indian team, from there went all the way to Dharamsala to play against Himachal Pradesh. Now, that's what they mean by doing the hard yards, literally. Yuvraj Singh, in Kolkata with the Indian team, tried the same, as his state side - Punjab - were playing Bengal not too far in Siliguri. Yuvraj, keen to play there, reached the venue, but came down with dysentery and had to be sent back to Kolkata. Yuvraj's absence, though, gave Avik Chowdhury, who is yet to represent Bengal in a first-class game, the thrill of his life: Chowdhury it was who fielded for India in the Kolkata Test when Ganguly went out for an over. He got to share the dressing room and wear the India whites. Most glorious day for Mumbai selections Never has a Mumbai selection meeting generated more interest than it did yesterday. And there wasn't a crucial decision, on which hung Mumbai's fate, to be made. Yet as soon as Dilip Vengsarkar, the chairman of selectors, came out of the Mumbai dressing room, he was mobbed by the media, the cup in his hand spilled, and he had to somehow escape. Now, the Mumbai Cricket Association doesn't have any problems with Dilip Vengsarkar, an honorary selector, writing columns in newspapers. And Vengsarkar doesn't have any issues with being present at the Mumbai selection meetings. The hoopla had all to do with his other job, and whether he would go to Bangalore to select the Indian team for the Australia tour. All the selection meetings could do with a superstar or two, one feels. Quotehanger "I just wanted to get it done with," said Robin Bist, after ending his innings against Karnataka with a rash pull shot, on 99. "It was a silly shot, but batting in the nineties is so very tough that it seems like you're stuck there for ages and you just want to get past the hundred."

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This round's main match would be Delhi vs Maharashtra, the leaders what a picturesque location 324417.jpgDelhi (likely): 1 Aakash Chopra, 2 Virender Sehwag (capt), 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Shikhar Dhawan, 5 Mithun Manhas, 6 Rajat Bhatia, 7 Puneet Bisht (wk), 8 Chetanya Nanda, 9 Narinder Singh, 10 Amit Bhandari, 11 Pradeep Sangwan. Maharashtra (likely): Harshad Khadiwale, 2 Vishant More (wk), 3 Hrishikesh Kanitkar, 4 Venugopal Rao (capt), 5 Yogesh Takawale, 6 Vishal Bhilare, 7 Kedar Jadhav, 8 Sairaj Bahutule, 9 Salil Agharkar, 10 Wahid Sayyed, 11 Samad Fallah.

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After more than a month of the 2007-08 Ranji Trophy, there have been many unexpected results. It's next to impossible to predict favourites at the start of the season, but it can be said that three out of the top four sides, at the moment, were not expected to be here. This is also the time where mistakes will prove fatal; failures at this stage are difficult to come back from. Teams who are lagging behind and are looking for that final dash will have to start right now. Here's a look at the Super League matches starting Sunday: spacer.gif318791.jpg Bengal are on a roll, but should not underestimate Orissa © Cricinfo Ltd. Bengal v Orissa at Siliguri Bengal have undone a poor start to their season with an outright win against Punjab and need to continue their comeback when they play neighbours Orissa. They stay back at the same venue - Siliguri - where they registered their first win of the season. With eight points from three matches, they are now placed at No. 3. Orissa, though, are themselves coming off an outright away win over Hyderabad and should not be taken lightly. Hyderabad v Andhra in Hyderabad For a change, Andhra will go in as favourites in this derby. They are placed second in Group B and would want to create some gap between them and Bengal, as they take on a weak Hyderabad side. Hyderabad have just lost to Orissa and are in desperate need of a boost, which will help them stave off relegation. Currently they are locked with Orissa at the bottom of the table. Punjab v Baroda at Amritsar Baroda have been the team to beat so far. They have beaten Bengal by an innings and 59 runs and Uttar Pradesh by 48 runs and have first-innings points from a draw against Hyderabad. Punjab, with a depleted side, have put up a creditable show so far, with first-innings leads against UP and Andhra, but will have to recover from the loss against Bengal. Baroda will ensure that won't be easy. Karnataka v Saurashtra in Mysore Karnataka, who many tipped as one of the favourites in Group A, have put up an ordinary show so far, conceding first-innings leads to Mumbai, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan. Saurashtra have surprised many with their grit and will be tough opponents for Karnataka, who need no less than five points from this match to give themselves a realistic chance of progressing to the next round. Maharashtra v Delhi at Nagothane The two surprise leaders of Group A meet at an unusual venue and could take a definitive step towards the semi-finals, something nobody would have predicted before the start of the season. You can read the full preview here. Rajasthan v Mumbai at Jhalawar Mumbai, defending Ranji champions, have had a disappointing start so far, conceding leads to Delhi and Maharashtra. But they have three weak opponents up next, and with Rajasthan they could start a finishing flourish akin to what they showed last season, after they had four points from four matches. Rajasthan, playing at home, can claim the mental boost of having scored their first points with a first-innings lead against Karnataka. Tamil Nadu v Himachal Pradesh in Chennai With three points from the game against Saurashtra, Tamil Nadu have steered clear of the bottom of the table, but in the match against Himachal Pradesh they will want to ensure that relegation is off. Himachal have put up good shows in patches against the strong teams, and they would like to see that potential transform into results against TN, one of the weaker teams in the group. They will take heart from having bowled Delhi out for 75 in the previous game.

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