Build-up to Indian Domestic Season 2008-09

[viktor]

Well it seems Mumbai and Guj won while the rest were draws. Does anyone have more info?

[Arjun]

Originally Posted by viktor

Well it seems Mumbai and Guj won while the rest were draws. Does anyone have more info?

Here is a complete wrap of the first round.

[Arjun]

Second round is on- and CricInfo gives NO coverage at all- and nor do N(E)O Cricket, though they had a Test match to cover. Still, we'd expect coverage of this match-

Baroda vs UP: It's a disappointing display by Baroda, who still have an ageing batting top order. Praveen Kumar bulldozes them with five wickets, while Chawla picks two for not too many. This is a cracker of a match.

Gujarat vs Mumbai: Great batting performance by Mumbai, with Jaffer gobbling up the Gujarat bowling, though Rahane's century is a lot more relevant, as he can improve a lot with A-team cricket, and we've seen enough of Jaffer for some time. It's good for Mumbai, but something that leaves us yawning as we've got used to Jaffer and Mazumdar scoring big. Only two wickets to fall, and Trivedi has none.

Hyderabad vs Delhi: Boring first day. Hyderabad are at 247 for five, with a century by SA Pai and another over 50 by Abhinav Kumar in consecutive matches. A wicket goes to middle-order batsman Rajat Bhatia.

[Manee]

Nooo, looks like Nehra is injured .

[brockley]

Arjaun kumar sarnia moved from aust to new dehli in india,is he lined up with a club yet?

[Arjun]

Originally Posted by brockley

Arjaun kumar sarnia moved from aust to new dehli in india,is he lined up with a club yet?

I don't know about that- maybe in the Delhi club scene there is news...

[Arjun]

Anyway, check the Baroda/UP match- both Irfan and Praveen Kumar have scored, and Kumar has followed his five wickets with a rapid score of 38 at a run a ball.

With Kshemal Waingankar getting five against England, he may soon see himself in a Mumbai uniform, and he's worth it. I've read a lot about him and heard from those who have seen him, and he's one of the better seam/swing bowlers around, and surely a lot better than Kulkarni. He's been unlucky not to get too many matches for Mumbai.

[Precambrian]

Originally Posted by Arjun

Anyway, check the Baroda/UP match- both Irfan and Praveen Kumar have scored, and Kumar has followed his five wickets with a rapid score of 38 at a run a ball.

With Kshemal Waingankar getting five against England, he may soon see himself in a Mumbai uniform, and he's worth it. I've read a lot about him and heard from those who have seen him, and he's one of the better seam/swing bowlers around, and surely a lot better than Kulkarni. He's been unlucky not to get too many matches for Mumbai.

Pujara gets another 300. What are your thoughts on him? Is it time we blood him on the International scene?

And disappointed to see Praveen Kumar missing out in the ODIs.

[Precambrian]

RT Update

Mumbai thrash Gujarat by an innings and 239 runs.
Scorecard Gujarat following on, was all out for a mere 44. Agarkar, Kulkarni, Powar all took 3 wickets as only one of the Gujarat batsmen managed to get to double figures.

Punjab beat Rajasthan by 9 wickets
Scorecard

[honestbharani]

Originally Posted by Precambrian

RT Update

Mumbai thrash Gujarat by an innings and 239 runs.
Scorecard Gujarat following on, was all out for a mere 44. Agarkar, Kulkarni, Powar all took 3 wickets as only one of the Gujarat batsmen managed to get to double figures.

Punjab beat Rajasthan by 9 wickets
Scorecard

other matches?

[Arjun]

Originally Posted by Precambrian

Pujara gets another 300. What are your thoughts on him? Is it time we blood him on the International scene?

And disappointed to see Praveen Kumar missing out in the ODIs.

He's made a habit of scoring triple centuries. He scored two in a row for his club and now this. Like most other batsmen, he needs to play more FC cricket and finish a season with India A before getting an India cap. An India A team with Vijay and Pujara looks strong. He's got all the right raw material for a national prospect.

[Arjun]

Originally Posted by Precambrian

RT Update

Mumbai thrash Gujarat by an innings and 239 runs.
Scorecard Gujarat following on, was all out for a mere 44. Agarkar, Kulkarni, Powar all took 3 wickets as only one of the Gujarat batsmen managed to get to double figures.

Delicious, if you're a Mumbai supporter. A scratchy win against weak Rajasthan followed by this is a huge step up.

Originally Posted by Precambrian

Punjab beat Rajasthan by 9 wickets
Scorecard

Not very interesting, with no international prospects except probably Gagandeep, Gony and Pankaj. Rajasthan still struggle. Surely they need some overseas players, sooner than later. Punjab's lesser players are having a good time out there. Sunny Sohal is scoring over 83 with two centuries already.

[Arjun]

Originally Posted by honestbharani

other matches?

Baroda vs UP: Cracker of a match. UP gain a lead with a lower-order 50 from Praveen Kumar. Irfan takes one more, so it's six in the match. Chawla has been patchy, but with Praveen Kumar off during his third over, who knows what's next.

TN vs Karnataka: Hungry for runs? Read the first innings of the scorecard. Weird.

Hyderabad vs Delhi: Strangely, nothing registered on the scorecard.

[Arjun]

Hungry for an all-round performance and overwhelming innings win? Saurashtra crush Orissa. Cheteshwar Pujara scores a triple century, as we found out then. Ravindra Jadeja scores a double century and then takes a wicket cheaply, then runs through the batting with five wickets. What does Niranjan Shah Jr get? Merely 11 runs!

Baroda vs UP: Looked interesting, and then ended in a tame draw. It was a good match for Irfan and Praveen Kumar, as also the less-fancied Rajesh Pawar, among the all-rounders. No big scores by any batsman, but they all add up to big team scores.

The rest have been boring draws. Will update a little later, if you want. These were the more interesting ones.

[Manee]

Alas, judging by the scorecards, it would seem Praveen and Nehra are injured.