***Official*** Indian Domestic Season 2007-08

[Manee]

Wickets are falling in a heap in the Elite semis. Delhi bowled out Baroda for 199 and they are at 265/9 now. Uttar Pradesh couldn't cross 200 even once (Kaif getting 80) but Saurashtra are feeling the crunch, at 46/4, chasing 162.

The Plate final, however, doesn't look as volatile, as Gujarat are clearly the better team. Newcomer Harshad Rawale, who couldn't get a match for Mumbai, scored for Railways. I'll fetch the paper and relay what I've read in Jimmy Amarnath's column shortly.

Hi Arjun, have you seen Sudeep Tyagi bowl? He seems to really be in the wickets in his debut season with 38 wickets at 19.92.

 

[Arjun]

Hi Arjun, have you seen Sudeep Tyagi bowl? He seems to really be in the wickets in his debut season with 38 wickets at 19.92.

I cannot get NEO Sports on my set-top-box or main cable. There are some online sites I don't wish to name, which show the footage free, but I avoid them for safety concerns. All of what I will supply from some time will be from the papers.

As for Sudeep Tyagi, he's just made his debut. We'll have to wait and watch the next few seasons. After all, there have been some who have impressed in their debut season and in the next few seasons in succession, as well. Ranji Trophy victory for UP, however, may get him noticed.

 

[Manee]

I cannot get NEO Sports on my set-top-box or main cable. There are some online sites I don't wish to name, which show the footage free, but I avoid them for safety concerns. All of what I will supply from some time will be from the papers.

As for Sudeep Tyagi, he's just made his debut. We'll have to wait and watch the next few seasons. After all, there have been some who have impressed in their debut season and in the next few seasons in succession, as well. Ranji Trophy victory for UP, however, may get him noticed.

I admit that I have not seen them play, but I think UP will win the title. Kaif, Raina, Tyagi, Chawla and Kumar seem to be a winning combination.

 

[Arjun]

From Mohinder Amarnath's article-

• Delhi seamers Bhandari and Narwal were superb.
• The first session was bound to be difficult to bat as the conditions assist seamers at this time of the year.
• They played a little too early, so Delhi bowlers got more wickets.
• Regular ball changes may have helped the Delhi seamers.
• Baroda batsmen were guilty of playing away from their body.
• Moti Bagh stadium, Baroda, where the UP/Sau match is being played, has traditionally assisted seam bowling.

 

[Arjun]

From today's post on the Times Of India website:

INDORE, January 5: Bowlers dominated at the Maharani Usharaje Stadium on Saturday, but largely because the batsmen let them. First, Delhi’s contrasting new ball pair of Amit Bhandari and Sumit Narwal dismissed Baroda cheaply, only to see their star batsmen fritter away the advantage in the blink of an eye, losing the top three wickets with only five on the board.

At close of play on Day One of this crucial Ranji Trophy semifinal, Delhi were 49/3, still 150 behind Baroda’s first innings tally and left largely dependent on Mithun Manhas and Aditya Jain’s ongoing rescue act to pull them out of the mire.

But veteran Bhandari and journeyman Narwal were the stand-out performers with four wickets each. Each had a point to prove in their own different ways, and both were ready to take advantage of Baroda’s inability to apply themselves with the bat and put on fighting partnerships.

Bhandari was itching to make a mark because he can’t take his place in the side for granted anymore. Here, he put up a shrewdly disciplined performance, persisting with the right lengths and making the new ball talk in a dramatic early morning session. In an initial eight-over burst, he bagged three important wickets: Satyajit Parab started the slide, failing to keep a drive down after being offered width; Connor Williams’ attempts at resistance were nipped in the bud by switching to a round-the-wicket line, the angle also taking out Rakesh Solanki. Later in the day, Bhandari was unlucky to miss out on a five-for, sending Sankalp Vohra’s stumps cartwheeling only to see the umpire signal a no-ball.

Baroda could never completely recover from this initial damage, and Narwal bent his back to gobble those Bhandari didn’t. The 25-year-old Narwal has been brought in from the cold in an interesting selection, having played his last First Class game for Haryana three seasons back and largely reduced to plying his trade on the Delhi club scene since. The move paid off nicely here, as he lured ****runjay Gaekwad to end a crucial 48-run stand with Baroda wicketkeeper Pinal Shah, and then induced a miscue from the dangerous Yusuf Pathan.

Baroda’s new ball bowlers, Sumit Singh and debutant Salim Veragi, relied more on movement as Delhi’s heavyweights repeatedly played and missed. Gambhir’s failure was enough for the few interested spectators to make a move, and Chopra and Dhawan would like to forget this outing. The pitch, though, isn’t as devious as the scorecard suggests, and is expected to settle down further.

 

[Arjun]

We have a result- UP wins by a few runs, skittling out Saurashtra for a little over 100.

 

[Arjun]

Delhi look on course for a win against Baroda, having already pinched a first-innings lead. Yusuf Pathan's dream run may be over, but a century at well over a run a ball pushed the Baroda innings up to 342. He hasn't bowled much in the second innings, even as openers Dhawan and especially Gambhir are smashing the bowling around. Two more good innings by Gambhir, and a Ranji victory for Delhi (we don't see that very often, do we?), will get him back into the national team sooner than later. Opener of last year's champion side Mumbai (who failed to make the semis), Wasim Jaffer, has simply not scored runs in Australia. Gambhir, being a prospect for ODI's, adds a lot more value to the team than Jaffer, so here' s yet another chance for the repeatedly-discarded-but-highly-productive Delhi opener.

Gujarat definitely look the better side here. Parthiv Patel got a 50, but all of their batsmen scored at a painstakingly slow pace, which is out of time. Against a team that was just recently relegated to Plate, with India prospect (as batsman) Parthiv Patel in the ranks, Sanjay Bangar took five wickets for very little. He's been in good bowling form in this season, opening the bowling in the absence of JP Yadav. He's done his chances of a national recall no harm at all, and in the scheme of things now, he's due a recall, but he's got competition from Delhi's Rajat Bhatia, Baroda's Yusuf Pathan and a few youngsters from Uttar Pradesh.

 

[Arjun]

The state: 33 overs left. 120 runs to get. Nine wickets in hand. Delhi headed for the finals? Looks likely.

ADD-ON: Three figures for Gautam Gambhir striking over 70.

 

[Arjun]

Delhi wins by seven wickets, and reach the final. The final will definitely be worth a watch now.

Bengal is gone, while Gujarat and Railways step up.

 

[Arjun]

Gujarat...WIN...by...ONE wicket!!! That was close!

Tailenders take them home (Ishant, RP, Bhajji, are you listening? Anyway, you don't have to do what the specialists have to do but don't) even as Railways were unusually close to a win. Sanjay Bangar took six wickets in the second innings, taking his match tally to eleven. His batting form hasn't been spectacular, but has been taking a bucketful of wickets, which makes his season remarkable. Definitely one to think about, since so much talk is revolving around one Parthiv Patel, who's got runs in more or less the same conditions.

 

[Arjun]

Gujarat won the Plate final by...a...whisker!!!

We now see the Delhi and UP teams head for Brabourne for the finals. Who will it be?

 

[Manee]

Gujarat won the Plate final by...a...whisker!!!

We now see the Delhi and UP teams head for Brabourne for the finals. Who will it be?

It's got to be Utter Pradesh. Kaif and Raina have both had great seasons with the bat and Praveen Kumar and Sudeep Tyagi seem to be a potent combination with the ball.

 

[adharcric]

It's got to be Utter Pradesh. Kaif and Raina have both had great seasons with the bat and Praveen Kumar and Sudeep Tyagi seem to be a potent combination with the ball.

UP go into the final as slight favorites because of their bowling attack, with Kumar, Tyagi, Chawla and Gupta looking a far stronger unit than Sangwan, Nanda, the veteran Bhandari and the part-timer Bhatia. Delhi have a very strong batting lineup though - getting past Gambhir and Chopra will be the main hurdle for this UP side.

 

[Captain Cricket]

When's the IPL starting? Anyone got a date?

 

[honestbharani]

When's the IPL starting? Anyone got a date?

supposed to be sometime in April, I believe...

 

[Arjun]

An interesting article on Delhi openers Gambhir and Chopra here. Some very valid points come up there.

 

[Arjun]

Now I wonder...is it time to ignore this Elite/Plate classification? We find a lot more competition in the Plate league, where teams play to win, not just matches, but also tournaments. In comparison, most Elite teams play for huge batting totals to pinch first-innings leads. The next Ranji season will have Plate league toppers competing with teams from the Elite league in the so-called Knock-Out phase. We've seen how promoted teams Saurashtra and Orissa have made waves in the last two seasons. Your comments?

 

[Manee]

Now I wonder...is it time to ignore this Elite/Plate classification? We find a lot more competition in the Plate league, where teams play to win, not just matches, but also tournaments. In comparison, most Elite teams play for huge batting totals to pinch first-innings leads. The next Ranji season will have Plate league toppers competing with teams from the Elite league in the so-called Knock-Out phase. We've seen how promoted teams Saurashtra and Orissa have made waves in the last two seasons. Your comments?

The Ranji One Day Trophy, as far as I know has, regardless of level, teams playing against each other and there are five zonal leagues. This allows for quick competition and easy selection of zonal teams - it is a good system and should be used in the Ranji Trophy, in my opinion - albeit with some the changes. I agree with this system as it builds nicely to the Deordar Trophy, which I think should be the main competition (more on that later...). However, in each zone, one team seems to lag behind (e.g. Services in the North Zone). I feel that these teams should make up one Plate League, to play in neutral venues of close vacinity to allow for minimal time travelling and to prevent the biased pitches which I assume would come as the weaker teams try to scrap an advantage, by hook or crook. I would agree with a season based, promotion and relegation of the bottom team into the Plate League and top team out of it.

I personally see that the main problem with the current system is the low level of teams. If Sanjay Bangar is opening the bowling in a final, there is clearly not a high enough level.

I know I say this a lot, but the key lies in making the zonal competitions into the premier competitions. The Duleep Trophy, for example, should consist of five (ten?) matches for each team rather than just two so talented players get more chance to play at a higher level - the benefits lie in several dimensions. For example, if Ranadeb Bose took 30 wickets in 5 Duleep Trophy games, then it would be clear that a high level is not too much of a barrier for him and so he may be selected. If he does not get wickets, he will know that his game still has more to be desired. I think that the Duleep Trophy should lie mainly parallel to the Ranji Trophy in terms of schedule with the Duleep Trophy perhaps starting a tad later to allow the zonal players to play themselves in, in state games.

PS: Just looking through the statistics of last year's Ranji One Day Trophy, Gagandeep Singh took 13 wickets with an economy rate of 2.60! Unreal!

 

[whitedazzler]

for someone that doesn't really have a clue about indian domestic cricket, could someone please tell me what is the main competition, the one where the guys like tendulkar, dravid etc actually play in

 

[adharcric]

for someone that doesn't really have a clue about indian domestic cricket, could someone please tell me what is the main competition, the one where the guys like tendulkar, dravid etc actually play in

By the "main" competition, if you mean the one that spans most of the season, it's the Ranji Trophy. If you mean the one that exhibits the highest quality of cricket, it's the Duleep Trophy. Finally, if you mean the one that includes all the big names, it's the Challenger Trophy.