4th October 2007
Manoj Tiwary and Suresh Raina set to make their return from injury
Munaf Patel, Ranadeb Bose, Ishant Sharma and Yomahesh make up RoI’s pace attack
---5th October 2007
Mumbai seek to rule Rest of India
Strong Rest of India start favourites
Wait and watch, says Raina
Mumbai’s boy band
---
6th October 2007
Kukreja and Nayar lead Mumbai
The situation needed such an innings - Nayar
Tall and insipid
---
7th October 2007
Parthiv hundred leads ROI fightback
A mature Parthiv finds his groove
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8th October 2007
Inspired Munaf leaves Mumbai wilting
Munaf leaves Mumbai reeling
Mumbai go into freefall
Tiwary hits century, Rest in command
---
9th October 2007
Munaf and Parthiv star in Rest of India's win
Kudos are in order for the Rest of India for their thumping win. To Munaf, for a vindication of his abilities. To Manoj Tiwary , a welcome return to form. To Parthiv, for his grit and determination. And to Md. Kaif, the best captain in the land.
For Mumbai, introspection and then back to the grind. The Ranji Trophy is round the corner. And it matters!
21 comments:
Mumbai have runs on the board. Let us see if the ROI batsmen live up the promise or not. Chopra and Kaif have already been dismissed cheaply!
So let us see how the trio of Raina, Tiwari and Badrinath perform!
Abhishek was good. Mumbai played a a fast game but lost wickets doing it. Despite that, they are in a strong position thanks to the RR they maintained. The ROI bowlers didn't impress...not one of them, despite plenty of incentive to do well.
Ishant Sharma and Pragyan Ojha mainly among the newcomers and future prospects and Munaf, who is said to be on the comeback trail. They looked pretty ordinary.
It's a good batting wicket, looks sporting, Parthiv Patel and Tiwary excelled for ROI.
Patel was also scoring at almost a run a ball like Nayar but went on. He is still there with 160. The Mumbai bowling too was just about OK..(India needs bowlers) and the earlier sloppy fielding is costing them hours out in the sun. Patel is in an unforgiving mood.
Nayar did well to further his cause...Tiwary and Patel too (difficult to see Patel displacing Dhoni but who knows? He certainly is bringing DK into the picture). Badri and Kaif disappointed and Chopra didn't do much to get back into the main team.
Its been a good game so far despite the fielding not coming to the party.. And it is good to see the ROI pushing Mumbai a bit - otherwise it would have been too easy for us :).
Abhishek and Iqbal I am chuffed about.. but there is still a game to be won!
Would Parthiv get a lookin in place of Dinesh Karthik in Tests ? 5 hundred in 5 games isnt a mean feat. at least he doesnt appear to be a fake fielder or doesnt goof up the chances now.
Nayar has been good in the game too, time for him to get a lookin the ODIs ?
And Munaf Patel ? wot happened to him ?
MP 20 overs 96 runs 0 wkts and 10 no balls. not done. Intensity ? Whats that ?
Agarkar 1/68 in 14 overs. not done.
Powar 0/68 in 12 overs against domestic team, proves he isnt international Test class.
time to snub off M Patel for good and ask him to go back to farming in Ikhar rather than talking sissy in the media about him being novice in the game or about the in your face attitude.
tubby
you are classic example of foot in the mouth!
have you looked at figures of MP in IInd innings...its always better to show some patience on what one says or dont...
cheers!!
Missed out all cricket today...work interferes with cricket so!...I don't think there must have been a telecast of the Irani today due to the clash with the ODI.
Soulberry,
You did not miss much - ROI showed glimpses of being able to play the game and Mumbai finds itself in a tiny spot of bother, nothing that a couple of partnerships cant rectify :)
I'm pretty confident Rest of India will take care of this Evil Empire.
Samir,
A Yankees fan?
Cheers
Fan of all New York teams really, but I've been paying more attention to the Yanks in recent years.
But on cricket, I'm bummed by the fact that Chopra stuffed up this opportunity. I don't think he's going to make it back to the Indian team (its another matter that he shouldn't have been dropped in the first place!). But Tiwary has helped himself for sure.
Straight point,
Lets see if this lasts for long time -- the "intensity" and "eagerness" of MP to bowl fast. Then may be i would take back my words. untill then i stand by what i said.
True Samir. And it will be interesting to see how Parthiv gets slotted in, given his run of form with both bat and gloves..
Plenty for the selectors to ponder about!!
Cheers
This result is the only one that the nation of India could stand for. How can one state be so strong (or in this case, one city)? No, the Rest of the Nation [tm] must come together to crush any potential uprisings.
Plenty of thinking for the selectors for sure. Not sure how Patel is going to be fitted in what with Karthik having locked up the second-keeper slot. But Patel's batting has never been the issue - the kid can bat for sure. I'd take Tiwary to Australia. And if only Kaif had made a few more runs. Perhaps they can bring him back to the one-day side? God knows we need more fielders like him.
Samir,
All I can say is Munaf wore the Mumbai colors once :). And that it took an ex Mumbaikar to make the Rest of the Nation [tm] competitive :).
Cheers :)
Homer, the best news out of the Irani Cup was to see Munaf steaming in. he was almost unplayable at times. I have not seen him sprint in with that much enthusiasm as he did in the second innings.
Just hope, it isn't a one-off statement.
If he has found a new energy and fitness, and with the presence of Sree, RP, Pathan and Zak, may we dare to hope India could have it's own pace quintet? Men breathing fire and brimstone on the field...with the ball of course!
Parthiv's batting was OK always, but even now, his glovework was still just about there. But he's back in the reckoning as a pure batsman now. Keeping skills are for standby purposes.
Soulberry,
If he can sustain his form and not lose focus, especially on the big stage, we have something good going for us over the long term. And that applies to both Munaf and Parthiv :)
Cheers
Somehow Indian players seem to respond better to the stick approach as compared to the carrot one. I guess that's true of a large section of India.
Tiwary played a polished innings. I'd like to see Nayar and Tiwary involved in greater responsibilities. I'd say Tiwary is shadowing Dravid's spot as and when it falls vacant. He can play the same role for India as Rahul does in test matches.
homer,
i dont get this idea somehow that why patel is putting DK on mark...DK is playing superbly and consistently in test matches with atleast one fifty in every test he has played so far...are we waiting upon his one failure...
where in the book of cricket is written that three WK can be selected...if they are good to be played purely as batsmen then i dont have any problem with even six batters being WK in thier secondary skill with one WK with primary skill...
why cant we just see him as another opening and ready made choice for inconsistent jaffer???
Soulberry,
Tiwary is ready for international cricket. Nayar, I am not sure. Kid can bat but his bowling is not there yet. And if he is going to play only as a batter, it will be a waste of a slot. One more season in domestic cricket and probably an extended stint at the MRF Academy and some county cricket and then we will be in a better position to assess whether he can form the ideal foil for Irfan in the middle overs.
Cheers
straight point,
While playing Parthiv purely as a batsman is not such a bad thing, I still believe that it is too early to make a call on Wasim Jaffer
Cheers
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