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Showing posts with label Ranji trophy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ranji trophy. Show all posts
Parthiv Patel says he is ready to take over as captain from Dhoni
In a deep voice that belies his age, Parthiv Patel has come forward to
be counted yet again. As if keeping wickets for 157 overs against England wasn’t
enough, Patel then went on to open the batting in the Chennai Test. When you
consider the switch between innings is barely ten minutes, you can be sure that
this Gujarati stumper is made of sterner stuff. Patel also opened the batting
in the Mohali Test after keeping wickets for 94 overs. One can argue that he
had the benefit of overnight rest there but to open yet again in the second dig,
orchestrating a tricky chase was nothing short of stunning. Chasing 104 for a
win, Patel gave us a glimpse of the Mumbai Indian dasher that he has turned out
be – smashing 67 off just 54 balls with 11 fours and a six. That too in a Test
match where the maximum run rate was a mere 3.01 runs per over.
Still, putting his hand up to captain India has come pretty much out of
the blue. And even though the underage jokes have died down, and there’s a
thick stubble to go with that cherubic face, captaining Gujarat is one thing,
and being at the helm of the national squad quite another.
However, after just captaining Gujarat into the Ranji Trophy finals, pragmatic
as ever, Patel offers his two cents, “Yes, you can say that captaining India
and Gujarat are entirely different but in many ways once you captain a state
side for as long as I have, you start to enjoy the challenges the job throws at
you. Also after conceding a first innings’ lead to Jharkhand in the semis, we
were determined to give it our all. Back in the dressing room, and you can
excuse my modesty here, but I made a speech that moved not just the ten others
in the team but our coach and little ol’ me as well. At that moment I knew, the
time has come, to not just lead Gujarat into the finals, that too against all
odds but to lead India in limited overs cricket, even it is for a limited
time”.
When asked why he was volunteering for only a limited time, the Gujarat
skipper, proved disarmingly honest yet again, “I have no illusions about who or
what I am. I am basically a stop-gap arrangement for Indian cricket. At 32
years (he turns 32 in March this year), in spite of the fight in this dog,
there is only that much time I can captain Indian cricket realistically.”
The ‘that much time’ refers to when Virat Kohli, the Test captain, is
ready to take over in all formats. Again, Parthiv both agrees and disagrees,
“Yes, that is for Virat Kohli to decide but in my humble opinion, he has just
had a very intense Test series leading us to a mammoth 4-0 victory so a little
more time to ease into the job will be ideal…ideally speaking, the Champions
Trophy in England will be the right stage as Virat really enjoys the big stage
but then again it is up to him and the selectors…whoever or however many they
maybe…” he tapers off with a smile, tongue firmly in cheek.
When asked about MS Dhoni’s legacy, Parthiv Patel minces no words, “I
don’t think I’m in a position to comment on that but this much I will say, if
he was playing for Jharkhand in the semi-finals against us rather than mentoring
them from the sidelines, the result could’ve been quite different…”
Come to think of it, how many players would’ve had the conviction to
call it as it is. Who knows, perhaps it is Parthiv Patel’s time in the sun.
Then again, we may never know.
(However plausible this may sound,
this is largely a work of fiction.)
Mea Culpa
I am sorry. Its hard to admit I am, even harder to say it out loud, but I am sorry.
I am sorry for the outrage, the apathy, and the complete disconnect between me and my team when the going got rough. And I am sorry for being utterly clueless on a number of matters. Let me explain:-
I had some doubt when Krish Srikkanth ascended the post of Chairman of Selectors. And the doubt stemmed from not knowing which Srikkanth would don the mantle of CoS - the man who lead India so inspiringly in Pakistan, with the backdrop of the conflict between players and the Board over player payments, or the man who, on television, slated the Indian captain by saying he should play as the 14th man.
But I let that pass, as we beat Australia at home.And from there on in, it was a smooth ride. Not once did I question the logic of having a wicketkeeper captain the squad in all three formats of the game, nor did I question team selections, even when numbers 12 thru 15 were a lottery, with no consistency or continuity. So much so that the "A" team selection was all over the place. But since we were winning, why did that matter?
And where do I begin with the succession planning?
Kumble retired midway through the Australia test series, and the mantle passed onto MS Dhoni. Virender Sehwag captained in his absence in New Zealand and Australia.And Bangladesh. Gautam Gambhir was the stand in captain for the home series against New Zealand. And in between, and after that, various different players assumed the role of vice captain, Virat Kohli being the latest.There was no tone or tenor to the succession planning, with a TINA situation being created, but what did I care? We were winning, and thats all that mattered.
I did outrage, on occasion, Like before the 2009 Champions Trophy, when an injured Sehwag was taken to England. Or when RP Singh was picked for the third test in England. Or when Jaydev Unadkat was picked for the first test in South Africa.
However, it was not my job to point out that Unadkat pretty much dropped off the radar soon after, with him not featuring in the current list of contracted players, despite playing for India A on their tour to New Zealand. Nor did it matter to me that when RP Singh was picked up for the England tour, he had not played active cricket for nearly 3 months, was not with the India squad for nearly 2.5 years and was not in the list of the 37 contracted players at that time!
I was content at pointing at the Indian bowlers and laughing - for their lack of match fitness, the inability of the attack, twisted and changed with no core bowling group, and no defined substitutes, to take 20 wickets, for being a "popgun attack".
That is someone elses job, some other's responsibility.
And with regards to injuries, lets not even get started. It was all that evil IPL, you hear. Never mind that we never gave the stand ins an extended run, with Mukund making way for Sehwag who was coming in after an injury, with no match fitness to speak of. Or Vijay coming in to play cameos before being forgotten.And different players warming the bench, missing out on game time, losing form, only to be then summoned to wear the India cap.
Much was made of the problems with fitness and injuries in England. Much more was made of the role of the NCA in the whole process. Much was promised with regards to maintaining injury management systems. I bought it all. Not once did I enquire, however politely, as to what happened of those systems, and what was the nature and scope of these systems. A year and a bit later, 8 of the 37 centrally contracted players are injured. Do I care? (In my defense, I did not much care for when Manoj Tiwary injured himself , twice, or when Rohit Sharma did himself an injury, or when Che Pujara did much the same. They all missed the bus on wearing the India cap, and if that did not rouse me out of my slumber, bit much to expect me to react to these other issues).
Take the much vaunted transition. This should have been the time when we had our replacements ready, given them an extended run at home, and prepared them for the away series.But I cannot let go of Dravid. Or Laxman. Or Sachin. Each reverse makes me want to go back to the tried and trusted. And yes, I judge the current crop against the runs and numbers and how they stack up. Never mind how irrational the comparisons, I judge, for thats my prerogative.
Or take the slip cordon.Time was when I was comforted by the knowledge that the slip cordon was set in stone. Rahul at first, VVS at second and, should the need arise, Sehwag at third.Much has changed since then. Now the slip cordon is a game of musical chairs, with the last man standing manning the first slip. Rohit Sharma, Rahul Dravid, Suresh Raina, Virender Sehwag, Yusuf Pathan, VVS Laxman, Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar and Cheteshwar Pujara have all been our first slips in the various formats of the game. Is there a method to this madness? Do I care?
I love to parade my ignorance. I will happily call the NCA a hospital, or variations thereof, but once have I bother to ask, or to find out, the structure, the facilities, or the coaching regimens therein. I did read that the BCCI have separate camps for different facets of the game, but I am clueless on the whys and wherefores. I also read that the BCCI held open camps to recruit new talent, especially in the under 16 age pool. I am also dimly aware that the BCCI had something called Zonal academies, but sketchy on the whys and wherefores. I do not know how the feeder system works, nor have I bothered to ask, let alone educate myself. Ignorance is bliss and all that jazz..
And anyways, not my problem , is it?
I mock our wickets as dead and flat. And when others mock them, I join the chorus. And yet, I did not at all bother with the ramifications of disbanding the Pitches Committee after Delhi was pulled up for a poor wicket. Nor did I bother to find out if corrective measures were put in, and what they meant to the long term health of Indian cricket. Heck, with the new Ranji Trophy groupings, I did not even suggest, let alone demand, that each team have a particular type of wicket, whose nature would not be tampered with, irrespective of how the team performed. And when the new Pitches committee held nationwide camps and tests, I mocked our curators for this , not once bothering to acknowledge that it was a first step in a long journey, and a welcome one.
No Sir, I was outraged that 45% off our curators could not pass the test.
And dont even get me started on our captain's demands. If we accede, how are we going to play overseas, because, somehow, someway dominating at home is not so important anymore. Till we lose, in which case, pitch battles take center stage.
Ankit Bawne was the captain of the India U-19 team. When a discrepancy cropped up between his birth certificate and passport, I did not hesitate to call him an "age fudger". Whats more, I even cheered on people who damned the kids for "fudging". Not once did I inquire about the mechanisms that were in place to prevent fudging, their veracity and their viability. Heck, I did not even bother to find out if they existed.
And I was not done yet. Between then and now, I have yet to query Abey Kuruvilla or the BCCI about why Ankit Bawne was never again picked for the U-19 squad. Nor did I bother to enquire of the young man about how he was holding up. I damned, and I moved on.
Ditto Rahul Sharma.. He was the next Anil Kumble. Till he was at the wrong place, at the wrong time. Almost immediately, he became an object of ridicule. And ever since, I havent really bothered
You see, I have been busy lamenting about the bowling cupboard being empty, of the dearth of spin bowlers, about how the new kids dont quite cut it. It would be unbecoming of me to focus on how we treat our kids, or how we nurture talent.
That is someone elses job, some other's responsibility.
And while we are on the topic of wickets and grooming, why not focus on my pet peeve, the domestic season? Ranji Trophy, or Drawphy as I call it, is a snoozefest. And the structure of the domestic season is so irrational - what idiot can chalk up a season like this? So we change the structure of the domestic season - pooh, its flawed. We change the groupings within the Ranji Trophy - it is doomed at conception. The point system is tampered with - it is destined to fail. And so many games to play, with little downtime - the players are being treated like animals!
Not in my DNA is the need to give the changes to play themselves out. Nor is it my prerogative to assert that smaller gaps between games force teams to build a bigger roster. And I most certainly will not point out that irrespective of the structure, the points distribution or the groupings, players will game the system and find the path of least resistance. And while we are at it, did I bother to find out if fitness is a mandatory requirement in player contracts or whether teams have to create specific types of wickets and not change their nature, or create a farm system that will create feeders for the respective Ranji teams? You bet I didn't. I have not even bothered to see if the different Ranji teams have leveraged the concept of IPL catchment areas to build their own rosters. For what its worth, I am not even sure if specialist fielders within the national and "A" teams field in those same positions for their domestic teams.
Instead, I blame the system as flawed, and I point and laugh at journeymen cricketers, sitting in the comfort of my air conditioned apartment.
The 8-0 was my responsibility. The 2-1 series loss to England was my responsibility.
I cannot rejoice when we ascend to #1 in the Test rankings, and win the World Cup, but abstain from the responsibility that comes with back to back white washes, or a series defeat at home.
I can demand all the Inquisitions I want, with all sorts of reports and reviews, but I most definitely cannot shy away from the responsibility that stems from my lack of awareness.
The time has come to introspect. And apologize.
I put up my hand.
Signed,
A fan
I am sorry for the outrage, the apathy, and the complete disconnect between me and my team when the going got rough. And I am sorry for being utterly clueless on a number of matters. Let me explain:-
I had some doubt when Krish Srikkanth ascended the post of Chairman of Selectors. And the doubt stemmed from not knowing which Srikkanth would don the mantle of CoS - the man who lead India so inspiringly in Pakistan, with the backdrop of the conflict between players and the Board over player payments, or the man who, on television, slated the Indian captain by saying he should play as the 14th man.
But I let that pass, as we beat Australia at home.And from there on in, it was a smooth ride. Not once did I question the logic of having a wicketkeeper captain the squad in all three formats of the game, nor did I question team selections, even when numbers 12 thru 15 were a lottery, with no consistency or continuity. So much so that the "A" team selection was all over the place. But since we were winning, why did that matter?
And where do I begin with the succession planning?
Kumble retired midway through the Australia test series, and the mantle passed onto MS Dhoni. Virender Sehwag captained in his absence in New Zealand and Australia.And Bangladesh. Gautam Gambhir was the stand in captain for the home series against New Zealand. And in between, and after that, various different players assumed the role of vice captain, Virat Kohli being the latest.There was no tone or tenor to the succession planning, with a TINA situation being created, but what did I care? We were winning, and thats all that mattered.
I did outrage, on occasion, Like before the 2009 Champions Trophy, when an injured Sehwag was taken to England. Or when RP Singh was picked for the third test in England. Or when Jaydev Unadkat was picked for the first test in South Africa.
However, it was not my job to point out that Unadkat pretty much dropped off the radar soon after, with him not featuring in the current list of contracted players, despite playing for India A on their tour to New Zealand. Nor did it matter to me that when RP Singh was picked up for the England tour, he had not played active cricket for nearly 3 months, was not with the India squad for nearly 2.5 years and was not in the list of the 37 contracted players at that time!
I was content at pointing at the Indian bowlers and laughing - for their lack of match fitness, the inability of the attack, twisted and changed with no core bowling group, and no defined substitutes, to take 20 wickets, for being a "popgun attack".
That is someone elses job, some other's responsibility.
And with regards to injuries, lets not even get started. It was all that evil IPL, you hear. Never mind that we never gave the stand ins an extended run, with Mukund making way for Sehwag who was coming in after an injury, with no match fitness to speak of. Or Vijay coming in to play cameos before being forgotten.And different players warming the bench, missing out on game time, losing form, only to be then summoned to wear the India cap.
Much was made of the problems with fitness and injuries in England. Much more was made of the role of the NCA in the whole process. Much was promised with regards to maintaining injury management systems. I bought it all. Not once did I enquire, however politely, as to what happened of those systems, and what was the nature and scope of these systems. A year and a bit later, 8 of the 37 centrally contracted players are injured. Do I care? (In my defense, I did not much care for when Manoj Tiwary injured himself , twice, or when Rohit Sharma did himself an injury, or when Che Pujara did much the same. They all missed the bus on wearing the India cap, and if that did not rouse me out of my slumber, bit much to expect me to react to these other issues).
Take the much vaunted transition. This should have been the time when we had our replacements ready, given them an extended run at home, and prepared them for the away series.But I cannot let go of Dravid. Or Laxman. Or Sachin. Each reverse makes me want to go back to the tried and trusted. And yes, I judge the current crop against the runs and numbers and how they stack up. Never mind how irrational the comparisons, I judge, for thats my prerogative.
Or take the slip cordon.Time was when I was comforted by the knowledge that the slip cordon was set in stone. Rahul at first, VVS at second and, should the need arise, Sehwag at third.Much has changed since then. Now the slip cordon is a game of musical chairs, with the last man standing manning the first slip. Rohit Sharma, Rahul Dravid, Suresh Raina, Virender Sehwag, Yusuf Pathan, VVS Laxman, Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar and Cheteshwar Pujara have all been our first slips in the various formats of the game. Is there a method to this madness? Do I care?
I love to parade my ignorance. I will happily call the NCA a hospital, or variations thereof, but once have I bother to ask, or to find out, the structure, the facilities, or the coaching regimens therein. I did read that the BCCI have separate camps for different facets of the game, but I am clueless on the whys and wherefores. I also read that the BCCI held open camps to recruit new talent, especially in the under 16 age pool. I am also dimly aware that the BCCI had something called Zonal academies, but sketchy on the whys and wherefores. I do not know how the feeder system works, nor have I bothered to ask, let alone educate myself. Ignorance is bliss and all that jazz..
And anyways, not my problem , is it?
I mock our wickets as dead and flat. And when others mock them, I join the chorus. And yet, I did not at all bother with the ramifications of disbanding the Pitches Committee after Delhi was pulled up for a poor wicket. Nor did I bother to find out if corrective measures were put in, and what they meant to the long term health of Indian cricket. Heck, with the new Ranji Trophy groupings, I did not even suggest, let alone demand, that each team have a particular type of wicket, whose nature would not be tampered with, irrespective of how the team performed. And when the new Pitches committee held nationwide camps and tests, I mocked our curators for this , not once bothering to acknowledge that it was a first step in a long journey, and a welcome one.
No Sir, I was outraged that 45% off our curators could not pass the test.
And dont even get me started on our captain's demands. If we accede, how are we going to play overseas, because, somehow, someway dominating at home is not so important anymore. Till we lose, in which case, pitch battles take center stage.
Ankit Bawne was the captain of the India U-19 team. When a discrepancy cropped up between his birth certificate and passport, I did not hesitate to call him an "age fudger". Whats more, I even cheered on people who damned the kids for "fudging". Not once did I inquire about the mechanisms that were in place to prevent fudging, their veracity and their viability. Heck, I did not even bother to find out if they existed.
And I was not done yet. Between then and now, I have yet to query Abey Kuruvilla or the BCCI about why Ankit Bawne was never again picked for the U-19 squad. Nor did I bother to enquire of the young man about how he was holding up. I damned, and I moved on.
Ditto Rahul Sharma.. He was the next Anil Kumble. Till he was at the wrong place, at the wrong time. Almost immediately, he became an object of ridicule. And ever since, I havent really bothered
You see, I have been busy lamenting about the bowling cupboard being empty, of the dearth of spin bowlers, about how the new kids dont quite cut it. It would be unbecoming of me to focus on how we treat our kids, or how we nurture talent.
That is someone elses job, some other's responsibility.
And while we are on the topic of wickets and grooming, why not focus on my pet peeve, the domestic season? Ranji Trophy, or Drawphy as I call it, is a snoozefest. And the structure of the domestic season is so irrational - what idiot can chalk up a season like this? So we change the structure of the domestic season - pooh, its flawed. We change the groupings within the Ranji Trophy - it is doomed at conception. The point system is tampered with - it is destined to fail. And so many games to play, with little downtime - the players are being treated like animals!
Not in my DNA is the need to give the changes to play themselves out. Nor is it my prerogative to assert that smaller gaps between games force teams to build a bigger roster. And I most certainly will not point out that irrespective of the structure, the points distribution or the groupings, players will game the system and find the path of least resistance. And while we are at it, did I bother to find out if fitness is a mandatory requirement in player contracts or whether teams have to create specific types of wickets and not change their nature, or create a farm system that will create feeders for the respective Ranji teams? You bet I didn't. I have not even bothered to see if the different Ranji teams have leveraged the concept of IPL catchment areas to build their own rosters. For what its worth, I am not even sure if specialist fielders within the national and "A" teams field in those same positions for their domestic teams.
Instead, I blame the system as flawed, and I point and laugh at journeymen cricketers, sitting in the comfort of my air conditioned apartment.
The 8-0 was my responsibility. The 2-1 series loss to England was my responsibility.
I cannot rejoice when we ascend to #1 in the Test rankings, and win the World Cup, but abstain from the responsibility that comes with back to back white washes, or a series defeat at home.
I can demand all the Inquisitions I want, with all sorts of reports and reviews, but I most definitely cannot shy away from the responsibility that stems from my lack of awareness.
The time has come to introspect. And apologize.
I put up my hand.
Signed,
A fan
Oh no, it’s Yusuf Pathan again
First the selectors refused to drop him. He refused to score runs. Didn’t matter. He refused to take wickets. Didn’t matter. Then they stopped playing the IPL highlights package, and everyone realized, Yusuf doesn’t score run in real-time anymore. He was dropped.
But today’s Ranji game could prove devastating. He scalped No.10 Hooda. Figures of 1 for 12. And then, take that you *#$% 65 of 47, 6 4s, and 4 6s (how lyrical). Tomorrow if he scores a hundred, it could even undermine Bhajji’s – is that a bad thing? Which begs the question, who of the two is a better batsman? And of course, an even more relevant question, who of the two is a better bowler?
While Bhajji fires with the bat when you least expect him too in tests, Yusuf’s test career hasn't fired off so far. A thought just came to me, why not undermine the Kiwis some more, play Yusuf against them.
Ridiculous? Hardly, he’s played 37 ODIs, and threatens to, with each domestic whirlwind, play a 38th. That I cannot take. With each Ranji knock, he demeans our Gross Domestic Product. I say, recreate an international environment each time Yusuf chews his way to the centre. Bouncier pitches, bouncier deliveries, 6 bouncier(s) per over. Why the hell doesn’t he go South Africa and play there? England? Australia, c’mon Shane, work something out for your favourite sunny boy.
The day Yusuf learns to counter the short ball, he will chew less, and blow more bubbles.
Want to see Deepak Chahar's 8 wickets?
An interview with top scorer, PA Reddy, who battled to 6, will soon follow. For now, suck on the scoreboard.
Thanks to Sujan, www.cricindian.com for the video and Deepak Chahar, Rajasthan for the wickets.
An interview with Deepak Chahar (and his high standards)
Deepak Chahar: To be honest, I’m quite depressed.
KB: Depressed, but why?
DC: Er…if you look at Hyderabad’s score, and my analysis, I conceded nearly half their runs
KB: Isn’t that being a little tough on yourself
DC: No, not really. I feel worse for Pankaj Singh, he not only conceded more than half the teams’ runs, he hardly took any wickets…
KB: Please…what did you expect..
DC: 10 Wickets and much fewer runs… Anil Kumble is my idol
KB: But 8 for 10 on debut is…
DC(interrupting): I would have preferred 10 for 8
KB: What else can we look forward to from Deepak Chahar…
DC: I’d like to score a century on debut, take a one handed somersault catch on the boundary and yeah, a direct throw run-out from the boundary would be nice too
KB: Are you missing something
DC: Yes, I would also like to be the umpire…so in the second innings I record a perfect ten
Deepak Chahar on debut, for Rajasthan vs. Hyderabad: 7.3 overs - 2 maidens - 10 runs - 8 wickets. Nobody's perfect.
Bitter Chocolate Boy.
Painted in white chocolate he took that catch
You’d have thought that would win the match
They referred it, but couldn’t spoil it all
You watch it again, one more time, again
Every angle the camera could show
Go bring one more camera and shove it into the earth
See chocolate boy come right at you
Extra close up of how he took that catch
What else you gotta do, to win the match
Nayar, looking at that effort, I know you wanted to walk
What else you gotta do, hang around and scratch!
Get out there at forty six for three
Rock like you’re from the Ret Hot Chilli Peppers, a guy called Flea
I said, you get out there at forty six for three
And you rock like, rock like - you rock like you’re from the
Red Hot Chilli Peppers, a guy called Flea!
You swat them balls, Nadal style
You make loads of runs, a heap, a pile
You order pizza, runs, everything’s on quick dial
You engineer, architect, sketch them shots
You get a 100, you give it all you got
Chocolate boy, young white chocolate boy
144 runs you got your side
Left 7 guys 82 to get
Is there a hint of remorse?
A little regret?
Young chocolate boy, bitter chocolate boy
Bring back the bad word.
Agarkar. I’ve always had a good laugh at his expense, who hasn’t?
Here’s a sampler from BoredCricket on twitter
When it wasn’t looking good:
Agarkar's spot on the India bench is on the line here
Down the leg, more like the Agrakar we love and loathe
And when it was looking good:
Agarkar will now take the selectors' phone call
Generally being nasty:
Batsmen duck when Agarkar bowls. That's sledging.
At one point a batsman ducked four times to Agarkar. That's sledging
But if only you saw the catch he took to win Mumbai the Ranji – there are those who will call it straight forward, even a regulation catch – but beware, these are the toughest ones. Already a catch had gone down in the previous over, straight forward too; and this was pressure, and you know how he gets with pressure – leg side half volleys. But not this ball. It was right on the money, the Rs 2 crore purse – caught and bowled Agarkar. That’s what the scorecards will say, and that’s what it was meant to be – five for Agarkar, well bowled.
Another thing, you know why we love to pull his leg – because that’s his favoured side. Don’t say lame, say leg.
Rahul Dravid & I.
Dravid 209*. Take it easy Jammie, you know what they do to Ranji high scorers in india #cricket
about 2 hours ago from TweetDeck
For RDX and me, that will always be 2 hours ago on TweetDeck. For that's when he declared the innings. He will always say, the humble lad that he is, he saw it on BoredCricket on TweetDeck, I'd like to think RDX is his own man.
Who declares Ranji innings, esp when you're batting with Sunil Joshi. But no, skipper wanted to go for an outright win, not one of those first innings lead qualifications.
Of course, there's a test series with Bangladesh. Dravid doesn't want to bat and bat, and miss that flight, does he?
But with a highest first class score of 270, didn't that cross his mind - when contacted, RDX said, he ideally wanted to declare the Karnataka innings when he was on 194, but he didn't want to upset a colleague.
You can follow us follow RDX on twitter here
My triples are prettier than yours.
Ever since Rohit Sharma was dumped from national duty, it appeared to me, he was just marking time – one innings from him, one injury to a player, and he’ll be back. Rohit knocked off a triple for Mumbai, not just any triple, but a Sehwagesque triple – 309* (322). Which is when I saw the return ticket go into print. Now that Yuvraj’s injury rules him out of the Bangladesh tour, I see Rohit’s return ticket almost mail-ready.
When he made that triple, I was thinking Che Pujara – how many triples has Che made? Why is he still not playing for India? Why must I read this at cricinfo - "Yuvraj could be replaced by batsman Rohit Sharma, who last week boosted his chances of a national recall with a triple-century for Mumbai against Gujarat during the Ranji Trophy."
Now I’m thinking what would’ve happened if Yusuf Pathan had scored anything, leave alone a hundred?
I’m also thinking, this is some fancy tour; India play Bangladesh and Sri Lanka twice each (great, so it’s really a 7 ODI series with Lanka) – 4 games in a week; from Jan 4 – 11; game days – 5th, 7th, 10th, 11th. Nice, second ODI after a 1 day break, third after a 2 day break, and fourth after a no day break.
Frankly I’m disappointed – when will we play two ODIs in a day; one day game and the other, a night game. Together they can be called day night games.
A little light banter, so you too can overlook Che, again.
When First is not First
The Ranji Trophy is about to enter the knockout stages and it seems the organisers need a lesson in how to make the draw. Picture this: Tamil Nadu and Karnataka topped their groups by a margin of 7 and 10 points respectively. Yet, they were not the top two ranked teams for the quarterfinal stage. That luxury was extended to last year's finalists - Mumbai and U.P. Mumbai finished third in their group while U.P were second behind Karnataka.
Apparently this is how things were back in the day. However, the Ranji Trophy switched to a new format last season with the top three teams from the Super League making the quarterfinals alongwith the winners of the semi-finals from the Plate League. The Super League group winners played the qualifiers from the Plate League while the second placed teams played the third placed winners. Sounds like a straightforward way of doing things. So what was the need for reverting to the old system which made no sense in the first place. More importantly, why weren't the teams aware of this at the start of the season? Why did W.V.Raman and the media have to wait till the eleventh hour for confirmation of the same?
The points system in the Ranji Trophy is bad enough as it is. There is too much emphasis on getting the first innings lead and not enough incentive for winning games outright - 30 of the 49 matches in the Super League were drawn. To add to this, teams like Karnataka that do manage to win games have to play the second placed team from the other pool. So where is the incentive to play positive and aggressive cricket? The best thing to do is somehow make the finals one season, meander your way to a third place next year and face a qualifier from the Plate League.
Aushik who?
Deliberate on these numbers for a moment
39.1-12-107-7.
Then deliberate on this number
16.
And if that hasn't whetted you appetite, here is Cricinfo
"This was the precursor to the most engaging battle of the day, between Ajinkya Rahane and the 16-year-old left-arm spinner Aushik Srinivas, who taunte and tormented the restless batsman with his loop and flight. Rahane is technically straight and likes to take charge immediately to gain the upper hand against the bowler. Having rolled his wrists to flick Balaji for his first four, Rahane steadily grew confident. Srinivas, who comes to the bowling crease with a lovely action full of rituals, understood his opponent's attacking psyche, and so pulled his length a few inches back and gave the ball the right amount of loop to put a question in the batsman's mind. Thus Rahane became indecisive. On 12 he stepped out and was beaten in the air, but Sushil fumbled collecting the ball and missed an easy stumping opportunity. Srinivas stood there without any emotions."
Wow!
Freak show
There’s a Ranji game on, Railways vs. Gujarat. Look at the scorecard, and it’s more like Gujarat vs. Gujarat – 91 in 58.2 overs. But that’s the least of it; look at Sanjay Bangar’s figures: 19.2-11-17-3, what has he become, a bowling machine? Top that he comes and bats, 31 not out. If he goes on like this, they’ll have to call Railways Airways.
Then there’s captain, Murali Kartik, he didn’t even bowl one over. With a name like his, no matter what you do, how you spell it, (Karthik or Kartik), Indian cricket treats you like you’re thick or something – anyway he grabbed three catches.
Also discovered this fiery sounding name – Cheluvaraj, nickname Chalu. He’s also the Railways' wicketkeeper; if ever MS needs a break from tests they should try him. He has the patience of a European doctor in Africa: 10 of 90. And guess what he opens too.
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