Indian domestic season 2006-07

[Arjun]

A few highlights from the scorecards uploaded on CricInfo...seems to be live there!

Zaheer Khan got 3 wickets for 38 in his 20 overs against a strong (albeit without Dravid) South Zone batting lineup, and he should make the squad for South Africa rightaway. South were at 281/9 at close of play, with Venugopal top-scoring with 69 and Badrinathan scoring 42. None of the others converted their starts. Bahutule bowled for a very long time and got just two wickets, while Rajesh Pawar returned to the scene to get one. One bad habit has already returned, with three spinners and two seamers making the XI.

Elsewhere, all-rounders Pravin Kumar and JP Yadav opened the bowling and skittled out East Zone for 245. Yadav took 5 wickets for 94, while rookie Praveen Kumar got his foot on the wrong side of the mark nine times and got one for 65. For an India prospect, that is not acceptable. Spinners Chawla and Karthik got three wickets, while the third spinner, Parida, didn't bowl at all! Part-time seamer Sandeep Singh bowled 9 overs and got two wickets. Then came another bad habit in Indian domestic cricket– after both openers departed, Central sent in wicketkeeper Naman Ojha and before you could finish mentioning the names of the top two wicketkeepers in India, he was gone.

 

[Jungle Jumbo]

Intesresting to see Ashok Dinda opening the bowling for Easr - who is he? Who is Sandeep Singh, who you mention Arjun? He's only played one FC game according to cricinfo.

Both the South and West sides appear very, very strong. I know it's unfair to compare the zonal sides to other first-class sides from abroad, but could either of those two sides be the best first-class side outside of the international arena?

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Intesresting to see Ashok Dinda opening the bowling for Easr - who is he? Who is Sandeep Singh, who you mention Arjun? He's only played one FC game according to cricinfo.

I think Cricinfo may have linked to the wrong Sandeep.

As for Dinda, he's doing rather well considering he's the replacement for SS Paul. Six for 52, two bowled, one lbw, one caught behind. I reckon Central missed a trick by not picking Ravikant Shukla, tho.

Edit: Laxman's chance to win the game and maybe a Test berth again? South 156/2, Karthik just gone, he is batting with Venugopal Rao for South.

 

[adharcric]

Edit: Laxman's chance to win the game and maybe a Test berth again? South 156/2, Karthik just gone, he is batting with Venugopal Rao for South.

Laxman is already a fixture in the test side. He's even (almost) a fixture in the test XI at #5, with Yuvraj and Kaif battling it out for #6 if we bench Pathan. He needs a big one though for confidence and form. Good to see that Kumble, Sreesanth and Zaheer, three guys that should be on the trip to South Africa, are all bowling very well.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Laxman is already a fixture in the test side. He's even (almost) a fixture in the test XI at #5, with Yuvraj and Kaif battling it out for #6 if we bench Pathan. He needs a big one though for confidence and form. Good to see that Kumble, Sreesanth and Zaheer, three guys that should be on the trip to South Africa, are all bowling very well.

Ah. Me being stupid. He was dropped a year ago from the Test side though, wasn't he?

 

[adharcric]

Ah. Me being stupid. He was dropped a year ago from the Test side though, wasn't he?

Yeah the selectors did start considering Yuvraj on par with (once in a while, above) Laxman during the last season, which is really unfortunate considering Laxman >>> Yuvraj in terms of class at the test level right now. Yuvi could become a solid test bat, but right now I'll take VVS any day.

 

[Arjun]

I think Cricinfo may have linked to the wrong Sandeep.

As for Dinda, he's doing rather well considering he's the replacement for SS Paul. Six for 52, two bowled, one lbw, one caught behind. I reckon Central missed a trick by not picking Ravikant Shukla, tho.

Edit: Laxman's chance to win the game and maybe a Test berth again? South 156/2, Karthik just gone, he is batting with Venugopal Rao for South.

CricInfo puts up the wrong link, once more. There are countless such examples, I have lost count of how many. They often clone a player or even make one up and link from a live scorecard. Dinda, I once heard, is a fast bowler, unlike Paul.

Having seen nothing of the two matches, I must ask. What on earth has happened to Central? That 130 all out was absolutely dreadful, even if they've got one batsman less. West had done reasonably well in comparison and spinner Ravindra Jadeja is turning out to be a handful with the bat. He'll make a very good A-team prospect, but the captain needs to bowl him more often. As for South, that bad habit of promoting wicketkeepers to open continues, and Dinesh Karthik got out for just 15. When will it ever end?

 

[Perm]

I don't know too much about Indian domestic cricket but I think Gavaskar and Dinda have set East Zone up for a comprehensive victory here unless the Central batting lineup can pull something out of the bag. Gavaksar to get the 21 runs he needs for his second century in the game. Disappointing that Ganguly hasn't really been scoring the runs at First Class level.

South Zone, ladden with international players will look to extend their 170 run lead over West. Great to see Zaheer Khan and Anil Kumble in the wickets. What does everyone think of Venugopal Rao? He seems a brilliant batsman, considering he is only 24 and average 50 in FC and 40 in List A games. How long before he gets a go in the test team?

 

[viktor]

He seems very much a Test player. So, ofcourse he has been tried in the ODIs.
Hopefully a good score here might get him on the plane to SA ahead of, say, Kaif or Raina.

 

[Arjun]

I don't know too much about Indian domestic cricket but I think Gavaskar and Dinda have set East Zone up for a comprehensive victory here unless the Central batting lineup can pull something out of the bag. Gavaksar to get the 21 runs he needs for his second century in the game. Disappointing that Ganguly hasn't really been scoring the runs at First Class level.

South Zone, ladden with international players will look to extend their 170 run lead over West. Great to see Zaheer Khan and Anil Kumble in the wickets. What does everyone think of Venugopal Rao? He seems a brilliant batsman, considering he is only 24 and average 50 in FC and 40 in List A games. How long before he gets a go in the test team?

Interestingly, Ganguly has been getting wickets as a stock bowler, so many of us ask, why hasn't he been doing this since the late 90's? A major problem of a Russian roulette could have been solved that way.

As for Venugopal, he's a decent fit in a Test side, if he makes it. No great hitting power, but can stay at the crease for a long time. He challenged a visiting England A side with a bowling attack led by Sajid Mahmood and Simon Jones and his team won chasing over 500. He's looked totally our of sorts in ODI's, though. Can't hit, can't rotate the strike and struggles against serious pace.

 

[Perm]

I remember reading about his feats against the England A side, if I remember correctly he had only just turned 22 at that stage. With Sehwag, Tendulkar, Dravid all definites for the test side that leaves an opener spot and 2 middle order spots assuming Dhoni would bat at 7. With Yuvraj, Kaif and Laxman it all in the selectors immediate minds then it might take a loss of form from one or two of these players before Rao gets a decent run in the test side.

 

[adharcric]

Rao and Raina might take over when Dravid and Tendulkar retire, but they could get a chance earlier if Kaif runs out of form. Looking at how much the selectors are backing Yuvraj, I think he'll come good as a test batsman and mature in that arena.

 

[Arjun]

East Zone are now all out for 430. Piyush Chawla got five wickets and Pravin Kumar got four. Central have made a big mistake playing three specialist bowlers, when they've got Yadav, Kumar and Chawla, all of whom can get the bulk of the 20 wickets they need. There was no need for that extra bowler, who's been nothing but excess baggage. Anyway, let's just hope they get their act together with their batting this time.

Elsewhere, South are making it really hard for the West bowlers, scoring over 250 for just five. Strangely, Bahutule hasn't yet bowled.

 

[Arjun]

I remember reading about his feats against the England A side, if I remember correctly he had only just turned 22 at that stage. With Sehwag, Tendulkar, Dravid all definites for the test side that leaves an opener spot and 2 middle order spots assuming Dhoni would bat at 7. With Yuvraj, Kaif and Laxman it all in the selectors immediate minds then it might take a loss of form from one or two of these players before Rao gets a decent run in the test side.

Ther'es one problem all of Rao, Yuvraj, Kaif and Raina have– none of them can bowl, so it won't help much. Not enough value addition. It's the same problem with having a fifth bowler, although there's a lot more to gain with the latter. They need to look at outsiders as well, such as Joginder Sharma or Ramesh Powar. Then you decide whom to drop– Harbhajan or one of the specialist seamers, although it would help a lot if Kumble, Harbhajan and Munaf contribute more, because they can.

 

[Perm]

Central Zone are chasing 445 for victory. Gavaskar will be disappointed he didn't reach his century but I'm sure that Piyush Chawla, and the Indian selectors will both be happy that Chawla took 5 wickets.

Laxman hits a 50 for South Zone while Rao goes for 27. Zaheer Khan picked up two wickets already, also it's reported that Bahulute did not bat because he was absent hurt, thats most likely why he didn't bowl.

 

[Arjun]

Central Zone are chasing 445 for victory. Gavaskar will be disappointed he didn't reach his century but I'm sure that Piyush Chawla, and the Indian selectors will both be happy that Chawla took 5 wickets.

Laxman hits a 50 for South Zone while Rao goes for 27. Zaheer Khan picked up two wickets already, also it's reported that Bahulute did not bat because he was absent hurt, thats most likely why he didn't bowl.

Bahutule absent hurt? Now that's a big blow for West Zone. Anyway, they had dropped him a season ago frmo the West squad and chosen Yusuf Pathan, now they've gone back.

Luckily for Central, they bat till eight. A lot will be expected from Chawla, Kumar and wicketkeeper Ojha. Let's just hope they don't try to bat out the whole day and play for a draw.

The CricInfo scorecard for Central v/s East is one for laughs. The score reads 148/5 for Central, with openers Pagnis and Shivkant Shukla not out on 1 each on live. Go to the full scorecard and you'll see both of them out, then Abbas Ali on 52 and Pravin Kumar on 32, with JP Yadav, next man in, out for zero!

 

[adharcric]

Zaheer Khan, Sreesanth and VRV Singh are probably the three guys whose performances in the Duleep Trophy matter the most. All three could be on the (test) tour to South Africa. Among the rest, Gautam Gambhir could earn himself a trip as the reserve opener and Dinesh Karthik could really put pressure on Dhoni and confirm his ticket with strong performances here. The one-day squad for South Africa is due to be announced the day after the India-Australia clash and the second round of the Duleep Trophy. If Sreesanth can pick up a few wickets today and Zaheer can turn in another impressive showing against Sri Lanka A, both deserve a call-up there.

Sehwag-Tendulkar-Dravid-Yuvraj-Raina-Mongia-Kaif-Dhoni-Pathan-Munaf-Agarkar-Sreesanth-Zaheer-Harbhajan-Powar would look very good.
That said, I can very well see RP Singh keeping his spot and Zaheer getting the nod only for the test squad.

 

[viktor]

Dheeraj Jadhav might be a surprise selection if they do take the reserve opener on the Test tour. He did okay in both innings in this match.

 

[Dravid]

Chawla picked up 7 wickets in the match. I'm so happy with his performance and how hes trying so hard to get picked for the national team. This kid has so much talent, I seriously can't wait for him to get selected.

 

[Perm]

36 and 43 is hardly awe inspiring stuff especially considering he would have to push past Gambhir and Jaffer to secure a Test opening birth. If he had scored a century or something then maybe he would've been on the selectors minds.

Central Zone require 298 more runs with 5 wickets in hand, if they do acheive it then they'll be needing good scores from their lower order batsman. It will be interesting to see how that game finishes up. In the other game West Zone are chasing 419 for victory which seems unlikely that they'll reach that, they are now 92/5.

There's one problem all of Rao, Yuvraj, Kaif and Raina have– none of them can bowl, so it won't help much. Not enough value addition.

Yuvraj can bowl, and Raina is being encouraged to develop his bowling by Greg Chappel at Rao has had a bowl in the current game. Not too sure about Kaif though. But the other 3 can all turn there arm over occasionally in support of the frontline bowlers.