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

[apocalypse]

Delhi v Baroda, Indore, 1st day Baroda hit back after falling for 199 January 5, 2007 Delhi 49 for 3 trail Baroda 199 (Shah 46, Gaekwad 43, Bhandari 4-52, Narwal 4-56) by 150 runs Scorecard Thirteen wickets fell on a bowler-dominated opening day in Indore as Delhi took the early initiative before letting it slip in the final session. Amit Bhandari, now in his tenth year in domestic cricket, made excellent use of the new ball, and four-wicket hauls by him and Sumit Narwal bundled out Baroda for a measly 199. However, Baroda hit back with three quick wickets, before Mithun Manhas and Aditya Jain guided Delhi to 49 for 3 at close of play. The pitch didn't hold any terrors - the ball mostly kept low, though a few cocked up from a length - but both teams still struggled for runs, thanks to a combination of steady seam bowling and injudicious strokeplay, which saw batsmen hanging their bats out to deliveries they should have left alone. Connor Williams won the toss and chose to bat, a decision which suited Gautam Gambhir, who said Delhi would have preferred bowling first anyway. His new-ball bowlers showed why. In his first three overs, Bhandari repeatedly went past the outside edge of Williams' bat, but his first victim of the day was Satyajit Parab, whose poor season continued as he drove at a wide ball and was comfortably caught at point. Williams survived four more overs, before Bhandari decided to switch to round the wicket. It turned out to be a masterstroke. Bringing the ball in with the angle and then seaming it away, he accounted for the left-handed Williams and Rakesh Solanki in successive overs. Williams had no clue to one which pitched on middle and off, and sent off stump cartwheeling, while Solanki was snaffled by Shikhar Dhawan at third slip. Within the first hour, Baroda had slumped to 35 for 3. Azharuddin Bilakhia and Shatrunjay Gaekwad, the son of former India player Anshuman, briefly stemmed the rot with a 27-run stand, but Narwal, who shared the new ball with Bhandari in his debut for Delhi, then got into the act. Bilakhia had got away with a few airy wafts outside off, but his luck ran out when a loose shot gave Dhawan his second catch in the slips. The best passage of play for the batsmen came soon after, as Gaekwad and Pinal Shah, Baroda's top-scorer with 46, put together 48, the highest stand of the innings. Both batsmen started uncertainly, playing and missing outside off, but gradually grew in confidence and played some fine strokes through the off side and down the ground. The partnership was looking ominous when Narwal struck again, as Gaekwad chased a wide one and was smartly held by Puneet Bisht, the wicketkeeper. Shah continued to resist, driving powerfully whenever the bowlers pitched it up. With Yusuf Pathan offering fine support, the pair added 42, but both fell at the same score within four balls of each other: Shah was consumed in the slips, while Pathan miscued a drive to mid-on. Baroda never recovered from the double blow, though a last-wicket stand of 22 ensured they got to within a run of 200. Delhi would have been satisfied with their work in the field, but they were in for a rude shock themselves, as Gambhir, Aakash Chopra and Dhawan all fell in the first five overs. Sumit Singh and debutant Salim Veragi, Baroda's new-ball bowlers, pitched it up, allowed the ball to swing, and reaped the rewards: Gambhir moved too far across and was trapped plumb in front by Singh, Chopra tickled one from Veragi to the 'keeper, and Dhawan edged to Williams in the slips soon after surviving a close lbw shout. Delhi had been reduced to 5 for 3, and it would have been even worse if Rajesh Pawar had thrown the ball to the wicketkeeper instead of taking aim at the stumps when Manhas was way short of the crease. Both Manhas and Jain survived close calls and were beaten outside off, but their footwork and judgment improved as their innings progressed. Their 44-run partnership ensured Delhi suffered no further alarms in the last hour, but with the deficit still 150, Delhi's batsmen have plenty to do on the second day.

[Mr. Wicket]

How about Pujara Salil? Did he struggle in those conditions too against the most mediocre bowlers? Can't believe that Bhandari can trouble a good batsman no matter what assistance he gets from the condition!

Dunno abt Pujara, I didn't follow the Saurashtra/UP game. Although I did tell Varun on MSN when UP were 7 down that if the conditions were even slightly swing/seam friendly, Praveen Kumar and Tyagi would kill Saurashtra. Glad to be right. :D

[Mr. Wicket]

BTW some of the strokes played were also rather poor. Among the wickets Bhandari took, at least two of the first 3 were to fairly loose drives. He didn't look all that threatening, as you guessed - mostly in the 118-122 range, but did bowl the odd beauty - the one to remove Connor Williams was a gem, angled in from around the wicket, pitching, straightening a bit and ripping out off stump. Helped too that Williams played down the wrong line...

[apocalypse]

MotiBagh wicket is known for helping fast bowlers initially and Saurashtra took advantage of it in the first session. But Kaif really batted well in the second session. UP then returned the favor with the help of Praveen Kumar and Sudeep Tyagi during the start of Saurashtra's inning

[Chandan]

Dunno abt Pujara, I didn't follow the Saurashtra/UP game. Although I did tell Varun on MSN when UP were 7 down that if the conditions were even slightly swing/seam friendly, Praveen Kumar and Tyagi would kill Saurashtra. Glad to be right. :D

Looks like Saurashtra's chances have been killed by now. 18 wickets falling in a single day is not something great. I still can't figure out where to look if you want to keep an eye on where the next test opener can come!! Most of the batsmen have poor technique. Will India's opening woes NEVER get solved?

[Mr. Wicket]

Eh, don't write off Pujara based on this one failure. He's young, he's very talented and he's been making runs consistently until now - even if it is in the MO to bolster what is a very weak batting lineup (IMO a mistake - just let the kid open!) From what I've seen of him, he IS class. And besides, there's Rahane. Watch out for him. :D

[apocalypse]

Virat Kohli had to go to play for India under 19s against South Africa and dint let the team down. He scored a breezy 71 as India U19 defeated their South African counterparts by six wickets in the round robin game In three matches there he has scored 25 n.o., 54 and 71 respectively

[Mr. Wicket]

Delhi also lost Sangwan to the U19 side. Silly, as those kids are far better off playing domestic five day cricket here...

[apocalypse]

Sangwan picked up few wickets there just that his economy rate was a bit high

[Chandan]

Virat Kohli had to go to play for India under 19s against South Africa and dint let the team down. He scored a breezy 71 as India U19 defeated their South African counterparts by six wickets in the round robin game In three matches there he has scored 25 n.o., 54 and 71 respectively

This was apparently the 5th match. Scorecard : - 5th Match How about the other matches? And which is the third team? PS: Just found out. Bangladesh U-19 is the third team and India U-19 has already reached final. Looks like SA U-19 has been knocked out as it hasn't won a single match.

[Mr. Wicket]

Bangladesh U19 is the third team. BTW, check out Iqbal Abdulla's figures - particularly his economy rate in all the games. :D

[apocalypse]

Bangladesh U19 is the third team. BTW, check out Iqbal Abdulla's figures - particularly his economy rate in all the games. :D

yeah he tops the economy rate for the tournament with 3.15 http://stats.cricinfo.com/southafrica/engine/records/bowling/best_career_economy_rate.html?id=3574;type=tournament

[apocalypse]

Saurashtra dismissed for 127 thanks to Praveen Kumar and Sudeep Tyagi who took 4 wickets each Uttar Pradesh 188 and 12/0; Saurashtra 127 On the other hand Baroda 199; Delhi 73/3

[linilmon]

Praveen kumar / Sudep Tyagi / VRV singh Sudeep Tyagi seems to be a really find prospect. It seems he is a tall and energetic type of fast bowler. though not an out and out type of fast bowler he still seems to have the pace and movement to unsettle batsmen. any way he is not the gentl giant like ranadeb bose. Even vengasrkar seems to have been impressed by this lads potential. One another observation of mine is that of Praveen kumar of UP Praveen kumar is victim of the modern day fixation with pace. I personally feel he would have been the ideal third seamer in the indian team. As far as consistency goes he is cut above all the pace bowlers operating in india. a small peek of that was evident from his first one dayer against pakistan. the best thing about him is that he has a well oild action which is smooth and simple and consistent. he hits the deck consistently and gets it to move around on a consistent basis and again of all the current crop of young fast bowlers he seems to have the most settled bowling techihique. Just have a look at his fist class record and one would understand what i am talking about as his record for tghe longer version of the game is far far better than his one day record. this is yet another case of the selectors getting their priorities right or call it lack of foresight. too a discerning eye it is very clear that if given a chance he would be a fine operator in the longer version of the game. As a simple example of his consistency just look at his record in the ongoing ranji mathces after coming back inot the up side in the later stages. there is just one sentence to describe it. Consistent day in and day out I am really aghast at the selection of VRV for australia and that too just on the basis of one five wicket haul against a hapless orissa line up. the previous mathches he was going 7-8 runs per over against lowly opponents and we are talking about 4 day mathces and not one dayers. VRV even though a decent talent has not developed a bit in the recent years due to varios reasons like injry and improper guidance. what he needed was 1-2 years of good domestic cricket before being looked at again. He will once more stagnate as a bowler warming the indian teams dressing room benches. regards

[Chandan]

Delhi vs Baroda, semifinal DAY TWO Baroda 199 and 8 for 0 trail Delhi 271 (Manhas 97, Vohra 4-39) by 64 runs Scorecard Mithun Manhas' 97 helped Delhi gain a first-innings lead of 72 over Baroda © Cricinfo Ltd Mithun Manhas helped Delhi edge ahead after the second day of their Ranji Trophy semi-final against Baroda in Indore. A match in which no other batsman topped 50, Manhas scored a fluent 97 and was largely instrumental in Delhi managing a first-innings lead of 72. They were bowled out just before close of play for 271, while Baroda's openers saw off four overs without too many alarms to ensure that they still have a good chance of fighting back. The Baroda bowlers kept it tight throughout the day, with Sankalp Vohra, the left-arm medium-pacer, being the pick of the lot. Pitching it in the corridor and getting the ball to angle away from the right-handers, Vohra finished with impressive figures of 4 for 39, and was helped significantly by Yusuf Pathan in the slips, who snaffled four catches. Resuming at 49 for 3, Delhi's overnight batsmen, Manhas and Aditya Jain, put the team on the ascendancy with a fine 131-run stand. The Baroda new-ball bowlers had managed plenty of swing and seam late on the opening day, but neither Sumit Singh nor Salim Veragi could repeat the act on the second morning, which allowed both batsmen to drive through the line of the ball much more freely. Manhas was the more aggressive of the two, and turned it on even more when the spinners were introduced into the attack. Pathan, the offspinner, was deposited over long-on for the first six of the match, while Rajesh Pawar, the left-arm spinner, was driven down the ground for four as Manhas used his feet effectively. Jain played his part well, and was just two short of his fifty when he played the ball square on the off side, raced down the pitch, and had no chance of regaining his crease when Manhas refused the single. Manhas reached his 26th first-class half-century from 83 balls, and was motoring towards his hundred when a rush of blood spoilt all the good work: he charged down the pitch to Pawar, but miscued his lofted drive to Pathan at long-on. Rajat Bhatia and Puneet Bisht, the wicketkeeper, added 40 and helped Delhi past Baroda's first-innings total of 199, but the pair was separated soon after when Pawar trapped Bisht in front as he lunged forward and was hit in line. Bisht looked surprised at the decision, but replays showed it was the correct one. Bhatia and Sumit Narwal - one of the bowling heroes from the opening day - got another useful partnership going before the second new-ball did the trick for Vohra and Baroda. Bhatia had batted patiently for his 38, but couldn't resist the cut shot when offered some width. The edge flew to Pathan, and Delhi were seven down with the lead just 38. It got even better for Vohra when Narwal and Amit Bhandari fell in the same over - Narwal poked an edge to Pathan at second slip, and Bhandari carved a drive to cover. Parvinder Awana, the No. 11 batsman, frustrated Baroda briefly, hitting a couple of fours on his way to 12, before fending a short one to the waiting hands of Pathan. Baroda's bowlers had restricted Delhi to 271 on the second day, and the deficit to 72. With the pitch still playing well and all ten wickets intact, Connor Williams and Co will feel the bowlers have given them an excellent chance of coming back into the match despite their feeble first-innings performance. DAY THREE Baroda 199 and 281 for 6 (Solanki 96, Yusuf 86*) lead Delhi 271 (Manhas 97, Vohra 4-39) by 209 runs Scorecard Rakesh Solanki's 96 put Baroda back in the reckoning against Delhi in Indore © Cricinfo Ltd Rakesh Solanki kept Baroda in the run at the end of the third day of their Ranji semi-final against Delhi in Indore. Solanki anchored the innings with a fine 96 but it was Yusuf Pathan who helped Baroda seize the initiative with an unbeaten 61-ball 86. Delhi, though, removed Solanki in the last over of the day to ensure that they remained in the hunt. Baroda had struggled in the first session, losing three wickets but Solanki featured in two partnerships that swung the momentum. He was involved in a 79-run stand with Shatrunjay Gaekwad before adding a further 118 runs with Yusuf, who turned on the heat in the last session. Yusuf had walked in to face the second ball of the final session and immediately chose to counterattack. He drove, cut, lofted and swept merrily in an entertaining innings that had Delhi bowlers in complete disarray. Spin or seam made no difference as he plonked the front foot forward and knived through the line. He started off by driving the legspinner Chetanya Nanda to the straight boundary before flashing Amit Bhandari twice in succession to the cover boundary. Nanda went around the wicket and aimed at the rough but Yusuf continued to attack, hitting two towering sixes over long-on and sweeping a couple to the boundary. The new ball too didn't make any impact on him as he repeatedly drove Sumit Narwal and Parvinder Awana. But the wicket of Solanki kept Delhi in the game. It was a marginal decision as Solanki played across to a full delivery from Rajat Bhatia and it appeared to be heading down leg side. By then, though, Solanki had played a stellar part in reviving the fortunes of Baroda. He started off uncertainly, playing and missing outside off, but hit a few punchy drives to get going. As the day wore on, he got increasingly confident and the nervous pokes were replaced by confident drives and cuts. Whenever the bowlers pitched short, he pulled them for boundaries. Solanki sealed one end during the final session of the day while Yusuf went berserk to charge Baroda towards a sizeable lead. Though Solanki was given a reprieve, on 93, when he cut to gully where Aditya Jain spilled a straightforward chance but he couldn't capitalise. But it was Gaekwad who led the repair job in the second session with an assured knock of 46. He defended compactly and showed impeccable timing while attacking. The highlight of the knock was his successive boundaries of Amit Bhandari. The bowler had hit the full length from around the wicket - a line that had proved very profitable for him on the first day - but Gaekwad stretched well forward to drive him to straight boundary before producing the shot of the day - a gorgeous cover drive. Baroda had begun to break free. Solanki too found his stride and 78 runs came in the second session before Gaekwad fell to a soft dismissal. He closed his bat a touch early to a short-of-length delivery from Awana, only to see the leading edge carry back to the bowler. The first session had seen Baroda repeat the mistakes of the first day. The bat was pushed away from the body, the feet didn't come in line and the reading of line left a lot to be desired. Awana kept the ball in the right areas to lure the batsmen to their demise. Connor Williams drove away from the body, Satyajit Parab dragged on a loose drive to the stumps and Azharuddin Bilakhia shouldered arms to a length delivery around off stump only to lose the off stump. Baroda were still trailing by 16 runs at that point but Solanki and Gaekwad started the fightback. The next setback for Baroda came in the first ball of the final session. Nanda got one to skid on straight and had Pinal Shah playing all around it. Nanda should have had the new batsman Yusuf early with another slider but the umpire turned down a confident shout for lbw. By the end of the day, Baroda had stretched the lead to over 200 but Delhi struck in the end to leave the game tantalisingly poised.

[Chandan]

UP v Saurashtra, Ranji Super League semi-final, 3rd day Seamers bowl Uttar Pradesh to final January 7, 2008 Uttar Pradesh 188 (Kaif 80, Maniar 6-88) and 100 (Dhurv 5-20) beat Saurashtra 127 (Shah 57, Praveen Kumar 4-40, Tyagi 4-49) and 113 (Kotak 52, Praveen Kumar 4-39, Tyagi 4-42) by 48 runs Scorecard For 33 tense minutes, Uttar Pradesh struggled for a wicket - grassing a catch and missing two run-out opportunities - before grabbing the three needed to beat Saurashtra, by 48 runs, and reach the Ranji Trophy final for the second time in three years. The day started with Saurashtra needing 69 runs with three wickets in hand, but they could only manage 20 in 12.5 overs. Sudeep Tyagi and Praveen Kumar bowled unchanged, not giving away any free runs, never letting Saurashtra feel they were within striking distance. Praveen Kumar took the first two wickets, while Tyagi splayed Shitanshu Kotak's stumps to finish the match and trigger frantic celebrations. Two shies at the stumps in the first few overs would have found Kotak short had they hit. And when Tyagi induced an edge, Ravikant Shukla dropped a regulation catch at third slip. However, with the runs not flowing for Saurashtra, UP kept persisting and Praveen Kumar finally got an edge off Kamlesh Makvana, which was caught low in front of first slip by wicketkeeper Amir Khan. Makvana had battled for close to an hour scoring 13 and adding 40 for the eighth wicket with Kotak. In his next over, Praveen Kumar squared Sandeep Jobanputra up and took the top of off stump to make it nine down. With UP scenting victory, Kotak chose to trust the No. 11 Sandip Maniar. UP didn't have top go for a defensive field as Saurashtra didn't show the intent to go for quick runs, which ideally should have been the case. Kotak reached his half-century with a couple through the covers, but Tyagi produced a fast yorker that beat Kotak's high backlift. The match, one of the shortest semi-finals ever, ended in less than seven sessions, and will be remembered for the batsmen's lack of application. Seamers Maniar, Jobanputra, Tyagi and Praveen Kumar exploited the conditions well, taking between them 28 of the 40 wickets to fall. With eight wickets from the match, Tyagi moved into the second place on the wicket-takers' list with 39 wickets. He's now one behind R Vinay Kumar, whose team Karnataka have already been knocked out. After making a confident start to the match, Saurashtra lost their way, just as they did the last time they reached the semi-finals, when they were beaten by Delhi by eight wickets in 1980-81.

[Chandan]

Delhi v Baroda, Ranji Super League semi-final, 4th day Gambhir ton charges Delhi to final January 8, 2007 Delhi 271 and 272 for 3 (Gambhir 132) beat Baroda 199 and 342 (Yusuf 113) by seven wickets Scorecard Gautam Gambhir played a captain's knock to lead Delhi to the Ranji Trophy final. © Cricinfo Ltd Gautam Gambhir hit a furious ton to help Delhi defeat Baroda and enter the final of the Ranji Trophy Super league. His 136-run opening stand with Shikar Dhawan allowed Delhi to overcome the 271-run target without breaking a sweat. The victory came with an unexpected ease. The target could have proved tricky, especially considering they had lost the services of their regular opener Aakash Chopra - on drips in the hospital after a sudden bout of nausea and giddiness - but Gambhir and Dhawan attacked from the start to put Delhi on a cruise mode. Baroda had earlier folded up after stretching their lead from the overnight 209 to 270. Yusuf Pathan fell after reaching his ton. But with his aggressive knock he had shown the pitch held no demons and probably inspired the Delhi openers to adopt a similar path. Gambhir, in particular, pounced at every opportunity to attack. He had missed out on the first innings, trapped by a length delivery from Sumit Singh that curved in. He took care not to repeat the mistake here. The front leg was not pressed too far across and he negotiated the new ball easily. He started off with a couple of trademark crisp off drives before easing into his cuts and pulls when the bowlers erred on length. Known for his penchant to take the attack to the spinners, he never let Rajesh Pawar settle into any kind of rhythm. It was textbook batting on how to attack spin. Go down the track to play a few shots, force the bowler to alter the length before unfurling cut shots. Lofted drives crashed into the straight boundary, cuts pinged the point boundary and he threw in a couple of inside-out drives over cover in the mix. Gambhir also attacked the offspinner Yusuf with gusto. He drove him repeatedly before upping the ante with improvised strokes. Twice in succession he backed away, made his own room and cut deliveries outside leg stump to point boundary. The third ball, of the same over, also disappeared to long-on before he fell to a sharp diving take from Connor Williams at midwicket. Williams gave him a non-verbal but animated send-off and Gambhir stalled briefly before walking off to a generous reception from his team-mates. Gambhir had been involved in some heated exchanges throughout the day with the fielders, in particular Azharuddin Bilakhia and Pawar and his celebration upon reaching his hundred - he reversed the bat, pointed the handle to the dressing room, as his wont, and gave a furious wind-up of the wrist - had shown how badly he wanted to make his presence felt. Aditya Jain, with an unbeaten 39, ensured that Delhi would just suffer one more casualty before wrapping up the victory. Chopra had returned from the hospital by the end to see his team cross the line. Delhi would now take on Uttar Pradesh in the final, starting from January 16 in Mumbai.

[Chandan]

January 7, 2008 Domestic batsmen have struggled on pitches which offer assistance to bowlers © Cricinfo Ltd A wicket fell every 13.2 runs in one of the shortest semi-finals in the Ranji Trophy - played between Uttar Pradesh and Saurashtra at Moti Bagh Stadium in Vadodara. Fifty-four was the highest partnership, 21 overs the longest wicketless spell, and 32 of the 40 wickets fell to medium-pacers. The semi-final ended in all of 191.2 overs, and the question everyone would want to ask is: was the wicket so bad or has India found new sensational bowlers? The answer to both will be negative; UP's Sudeep Tyagi, though, has the promise but a long way to go. The wicket was helpful, the bowlers smart, and the batsmen incompetent. The surface was firm, had some grass, there was a little moisture, and it afforded seam movement throughout the game. At worst the wicket was merely difficult, and at best sporting. The batsmen, all virtually born and brought up on paatas [flat tracks with no lateral movement], just did not show the application to tackle the moving ball, and never looked at ease. That none of the 40 dismissals came from a shot played early shows that the ball didn't stop on the batsmen. Nine of the 14 caught-behind dismissals came off deliveries could have been left well alone. That runs could be scored on this wicket was shown by Mohammad Kaif and Jaydev Shah, the two captains, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Kamlesh Makvana, the tailenders who showed the application and the will to hang on with the better batsmen. Kaif is not the owner of the best technique, but he showed the determination to negate the difficult conditions. He cut down on his strokes and once he got used to the movement, he accelerated. It took a special catch from Shah at mid-off to get him out. India have picked many a batsman based on the numbers in domestic cricket only to find them exposed as soon as they play at the international level - against better attacks on better wickets. When dropped, those batsmen have come back and continued to score heavily in domestic cricket.. That, and what happened at Vadodara, is a statement on the kind of wickets domestic cricket in India is played on and the quality of players it generates. Dilip Vengsarkar, chairman of the national selection committee, who watched the game, was singularly unimpressed. "There is nothing wrong with the wicket; they haven't shown any application. They are playing way too many shots." Kaif seemed to agree. "Domestic batsmen are used to playing on flat wickets. The moment they are given a wicket better than that, they seem to struggle," Kaif said. "And when one or two fall to an inside edge, the others also go with the mindset that the wicket is not good to bat on." It is interesting to note here that this is the first time the semi-finals are being played at neutral venues. At the same venue earlier this season, Bengal were 221 for 0 on the first day against Baroda, and in another match Baroda drew against Orissa. On both occasions, the team winning the toss had chosen to bat first. Here for the semi-final, when there was no home team around, the Moti Bagh Stadium track, which has a reputation of being helpful to the fast bowlers, returned to its characteristic self. It is obvious and an open secret that no association wants bowler-friendly wickets for its home matches and the curator has to work accordingly; unless the team is in dire need of an outright win, the tracks are all flat. The home captain has a big say in the kind of wickets prepared. Is it a surprise, then, that of all the 15 teams in the Super League, not one has a bowling captain? ----------------------------------------------------------------- Not a good sign, once our current set batsmen in the test team retire. If these things are not sorted out quickly, we won't be able to get batsmen with good technique for a long time.

[guju24]

^ they should continue make pitches like that so that batsman can see a task ahead of that pertcular game....so when they go overseas they dont face big problems even if they dont get enough practise there...

[msb1991]

Such pitches are more helpful than flat tracks. They provide a challenge for the batsmen and give more to the pace bowlers. India should concentrate on producing faster pitches which carry through well to encourage faster bowlers of 130kph or more. Currently, it is smart to bowl 120kph at domestic level because it is the best ticket for success and such a paradox is counter productive for Indian cricket.