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**Official** Indian Domestic Season 2013/14

Arjun

Cricketer Of The Year
Karnataka win. Good for them. Plenty of outright wins for them this season.

As for the RoI side selections indicate a clear bias against Group C sides.
 

Daemon

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Rasool got in though, which is weird because he didn't have a good season with the ball, and there were batsmen who did better than him.
 

Arjun

Cricketer Of The Year
Rasool got in largely because he's maintained good figures across two seasons, and his bowling actually got better later on in the season, and J&K eventually made it to Group A/B. Rishi Dhawan had much better bowling figures, though not as great with the bat as Rasool, but missed out because HP didn't get promoted. Saurabh Tiwary scored 854 runs, but unusually, he lost out to Natraj Behera, who made 584 runs. This may be because SST's Jharkhand was relegated to Group C, while Behera's Odisha, still survives in Group A.
 

Arjun

Cricketer Of The Year
Looking at Karnataka's individual figures, Rahul stands tall. Definitely a Test opener for the near future, after a couple of seasons, or less, depending on experience. Manish, not so tall, but definitely in the running for the middle-order in Tests- but poor in ODs, so not likely to wear blue. Uthappa has done well in FCs as opener, but not played a whole season. In general, most of the Karnataka players have not played a whole season, with quite a few benched due to rotation, since KA made it to the quarters early, Vinay missed a game for his wedding, while some, like Uthappa and Sharath, have missed out due to injury. Sharath began well, but missed the final due to an injury, which was disappointing, because he shaped up well. Mithun has had a good season, but not looked very impressive.

Rasool, I feel, makes it more as a batsman who can bowl a lot. That place at six has to go to a wicketkeeper or someone who can bowl plenty of overs, and Rasool's bowling has been decent, if not spectacular, and his batting, better than Dhawan's. Aparajith's season, on the other hand, had a great start, but fell away drastically towards the end, and he's had only four scores out of 13 over fifty. Mandeep and Natraj, though, may have made it only on account of being Group A players, while the more impressive Saurabh Tiwary, also a prospective T20 specialist, missed out due to his team's relegation. Natraj, I find, has made it because of four centuries in ten innings and an average of 65, but he's played only six games. And Mandeep? Neither runs, nor average of scores over fifty.

The playing XI can be picked easily, although only two of Dinda (slow and inaccurate), Anureet (new and unproven, only medium pace) and Aaron (didn't play a whole season) can play together. I do hope Varun Aaron plays, because he needs more active cricket to shape his bowling better, and the other options are nowhere as promising from a national perspective, and not much better here.
 
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Arjun

Cricketer Of The Year
Irani Trophy may be very competitive, since we won't be seeing Ishwar Pandey (and several players in New Zealand) and Rishi Dhawan in the mix. Rest of India may have a stronger bowling lineup, since they can field five bowlers, unlike Karnataka, who even lack a spinner. Man for man, here's how it stacks up.
  1. Uthappa can compete with Gambhir. Short seasons, with good performances, and international experience.
  2. Rahul has had a much better season than JJ Singh and the other opener. Clearly, Karnataka's player is better.
  3. Pandey and Jadhav are neck-and-neck. Jadhav's bison-like presence, here, may give him the upper hand
  4. Karun Nair is definitely the better player, compared to Bawne.
  5. Both of Aparajith and Behera fared better than Ganesh Sathish.
  6. Better wicketkeepers than both have been excluded, but it's tied between Karthik and Gautham.
  7. Rasool is definitely a better all-rounder than Binny.
  8. Harbhajan may be a better spinner than Gopal, but that's comparing a heavyweight with a child. In this case, a faded heavyweight still trying to compete.
  9. Pankaj definitely better than Vinay Kumar, but not easily.
  10. Mithun definitely better than Dinda, in absolute wickets and strke rate.
  11. It's anybody's guess who's the better of Aaron/Anureet and Sharath, little experience on both sides.
 
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nsniks

State Vice-Captain
Pankaj selected in the playing XI against Karnataka :thumbup:

Great start for Karnataka. Vinay Kumar picking up 3 wickets and the score is just 13
 

Daemon

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Lol at Vinny and Binny taking all 5 so far. Which channel is this being broadcast on?
 

Arjun

Cricketer Of The Year
Rest of India 201, with Vinay getting six and Binny getting three. What do you make of it? I feel they're making the most of a greentop, and chipping away. Not so sure about the viability of the same bowlers on flat decks, even those which aid a little like in NZ. Dinesh Karthik did well, and so did Mishra. I'd actually prefer ROI having a good game- they're playing five bowlers (no all-rounder, though) so they've shown some intent in taking 20 Karnataka wickets. It's an important game for Pankaj, Harbhajan, Mishra, Manish Pandey, Uthappa (down for zero in first), Jadhav (out cheaply in first), and by a long shot, Vinay and Binny. Only new prospects coming out of this game are Pankaj, Jadhav and Manish Pandey. The rest are fringe national players who need to break in or break back. I am not too optimistic about Rahul playing for India so early.
 

Arjun

Cricketer Of The Year
Not encouraging news, since these events are played on flats- and a century was scored off Vinay Kumar's quota in an ODI on a flat. Maybe Tests/ODIs in New Zealand or South Africa would be better- fair, they're not as biased towards seam bowling as this Bangalore pitch is, but more than what's likely for Asia Cup and World T20.

That Mandeep Singh was chosen over both Bawne and Behera is surprising. An FC average of 38 with two centuries wasn't a good performance- Behera, though also short of runs, scored four centuries, while Bawne had a great season, taking his team to the finals. None were as impressive as Saurabh Tiwary, but it was only individual brilliance as his team sank to the bottom tier.
 
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Arjun

Cricketer Of The Year
Now some spicy food for thought. Roger Binny is a national selector. Stuart Binny is a domestic player vying for a place in the national team. Stuart has had a slightly-better-than-average season, and is in the running for a place in the team. Do you see a conflict of interest here?
 

Arjun

Cricketer Of The Year
Pankaj Singh bowling tight, Dinda spraying it all around and getting spanked. Karnataka at 67/1.

UPDATE: Ganesh Sathish, after giving the odd chance, has got his fifty, while Manish Pandey, in after Anureet dismissed Rahul, has raced to 31 off 39. Good for his limited-overs prospects.
 
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Arjun

Cricketer Of The Year
This is one of those rare Irani Trophy matches where the Ranji Champions are on top of the Rest Of India side. When the Rest Of India side has the best Indian players (or so it seems) not playing for India, it means, either Karnataka are a very strong side with a strong base, or the best Indian domestic/fringe players are not doing well.

Plenty of comments on Cricinfo are bagging the scene in general, and Vinay Kumar in particular, for him getting a rich haul of wickets. It's irksome on multiple counts. First, they bait the IPL, saying it is hit and giggle. It is still, then, of a higher standard than siesta cricket that Ranji/Irani Trophy has become, hasn't it? The same Vinay Kumar struggles to complete four overs without getting hammered here.

Then, they say, the gulf between Indian Domestic and top-flight cricket is very, very wide. But how many players who have performed well in the domestic scene been given an extended run in the national side? Very few. The ones who are persisted with in the Indian side are in because of Dhoni's influence, the state lobby, age certificates, or even advertisers' pressure. Can't blame the scene for that.

A tale of two domestic long-running seam spearheads. Vinay Kumar has played a few games, but not the whole season, and has got a decent wicket haul of 27, and has taken six in the first innings. Dinda, on the other hand, has sprayed it left, right, up and short, and got stroked, driven and cut all over. It's also one team against a composite team from the rest of India. Clearly, the selectors now know whom to pick
 

Arjun

Cricketer Of The Year
Stuart Binny and Gautham have identical scores of 122, both over 76- and Binny Jr has a strike rate of a hundred. That's following up Binny Jr's three cheap wickets and Gautham being a wicketkeeper. Both, together, helped Karnataka amass 606- likely on a flat deck, but Rest Of India's bowling is not weak at all. It's the strongest they've got, Dinda or no Dinda- unless they missed Varun Aaron. I'm not so sure about Gautham's prospects as a Test/ODI wicketkeeper (Saha, Naman Ojha and Mahesh Rawat have outscored him across two seasons, and they've been more consistent), but Binny is definitely an immediate limited-overs all-rounder prospect, especially in conditions like what were served to the Indians in SA/NZ ODIs.

Now Vinay Kumar bowls a wide-outside-off, edged by Gambhir to Manish Pandey at second slip. Food for thought, in the light of the Indian Test slip fielders dropping catches. Rest of India at 15/1. Karnataka all over a strong Rest of India side.

EDIT: All over, especially with JJ tripped by Vinay Kumar. Rest of India at 26/2. Up to Apara and Kage to save them.
 
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Arjun

Cricketer Of The Year
This is not a spin-friendly pitch. Both experienced (Mishra and Bhajji) and young (Gopal) spinners are struggling on this pitch. Kedar, though, is making merry off some poor bowling by Gopal. After the initial cautious phase, we're seeing the Kedar we're used to. Unfortuately, he's out, edged to Pandey at slip again. Pandey gets closer to an India Test cap.

Harbhajan's captaincy, I'm sure, has been very poor across this game. He had the better playing XI, until he chose Mandeep and Dinda over Bawne, Behera and Aaron. Much of the weaknesses in Dhoni's captaincy are now showing up in his.

EDIT: Stumps. Rest Of India at 114/3. Jadhav out. Gopal gets him, with a catch by Pandey.
 
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Arjun

Cricketer Of The Year
Karnataka >>>>>>>>> Rest Of India

They've crushed Rest Of India by an innings and 222 runs! Gopal took a hat-trick to clean up the tail, and completed five. Vinay took a big ten, while Pankaj Singh was on a different planet from the rest of the struggling (except Dinda, who isn't much good) Rest Of India bowlers. Pankaj took his 300th FC wicket. This time, surely, he should play Tests and ODIs for India, even if he isn't in Dhoni's club.

What's also quite an impressive statistic is the number of Irani Trophy wins against Ranji Trophy wins for Karnataka. They have won Ranji seven times, and out of seven Irani Trophy events, they have won five. They're also the first team to beat Rest Of India in eight years. Good show. Hopefully we'll see a few more Karnataka players in the national side.
 
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Arjun

Cricketer Of The Year
The first day of Vijay Hazare Trophy ODIs has started. Scores are available on BCCI.tv, in the domestic scores section.

Rajasthan against Goa are in a spot of bother at 111/5. Umesh Yadav has struck some form, coming in first change, taking two for 15 in five overs, but I'd prefer Rajasthan, the more complete side, to win on the back of a rich haul by Pankaj Singh. He needs a good tournament to restore his chances of an India recall. The selectors' patience with Ashok Menaria seems to have worn off, because he's not playing in this game.

Services at 135/2 against Himachal. No wickets for Rishi Dhawan, but Bipul Sharma got one. Baroda in a commanding position at 164/1 against Mumbai, with Shaz Thakur getting the only wicket to fall.
 

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