What to make of this?

So, India will have to pay taxes for revenues earned in Australia. Fair enough. There are laws and these are in place for a specific purpose.

What boggles the mind are the numbers - Australian $ 1.5 million for 4 tests and a maximum of 11 ODIs.

Is this the reason why Australian cricketers are signing on to the IPL like it is going out of fashion?

After all, who wants to die poor after "services rendered for the country" :)

PS: Indian Express has put the number as USD 1.5 million.. Even more reason for the Aussies to line up for the IPL :)

Who knew

That this Ranji Trophy season would be the most open and probably the most exciting of the Ranji Trophy's thus far?

Think about it - after 5 rounds of competition, except for Baroda, there is no clear front runner in the fray. And even that could change depending on how the games versus Andhra and Orissa go.

UP beat Bengal by an innings. Who would have expected the finalists from the last two Ranji Trophies to languish at the bottom of a pile that contains teams like Hyderabad, Andhra, Orissa and Punjab?

And what of Pool A? 6 rounds into the tournament and no one knows for sure who will qualify for the semi finals.

Delhi, a surprise Pool leader at this stage, is playing Karnataka at Bangalore, a game impacted by the weather. And there is more of the same in store for them when the take on Tamil Nadu at Chennai during Christmas week.

Saurashtra is poised to beat Maharashtra at Nagothane, requiring only 28 more runs to win ( with 10 wickets in hand). While Mumbai has enforced the follow on against Himachal Pradesh, who currently lead by 33 runs with 5 wickets in hand.

And then, Saurashtra play Mumbai at Mumbai in a virtual shootout for a semi final spot. While Maharashtra play Karnataka at Ratnagiri.

So, if Delhi draw both their games and Mumbai beats Saurashtra and Maharashtra wins against Karnataka, it will still not be enough to determine the two semi finalists because that will be dependent on the points spread.

Mumbai conceded the first innings lead to Delhi and Maharashtra, Delhi beat Maharashtra, Saurashtra beat Maharashtra, Delhi gained the first innings lead against Saurashtra and, if both the Delhi games ( versus Karnataka and Tamil Nadu) are washed out, Delhi may not even be in the contention!

And in case of a tie, the head to head will come into play.

This, after 7 rounds of play in a domestic competition that all and sundry consider to be a waste - of effort, resources and no real arbiter of talent.

Between Mumbai's phenomenal turnaround last year and the topsy turvy season this year, there is no better advertisement for the Ranji Trophy.. Now, if only some one could cash in!!

400/5, We cant lose!

blogs here.

Win or go home

Group A

Team Mat Won Lost Tied Draw Aban Pts
Delhi 5 2 0 0 3 0 17
Maharashtra 5 2 1 0 2 0 15
Mumbai 5 2 0 0 3 0 15
Saurashtra 5 2 0 0 3 0 15
Tamil Nadu 5 1 1 0 3 0 12
Karnataka 5 1 1 0 3 0 9
HP 5 0 3 0 2 0 4
Rajasthan 5 0 4 0 1 0 3

Mumbai has two games left, against HP and Saurashtra. Maharashtra plays Saurashtra and Karnataka while Delhi plays Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Mumbai has to win both its games and then hope Tamil Nadu and Karnataka step up to the plate.

There is everything to play for = will the Champions step up?

JU JU BI

Chennai Superstars 155 for 8 (Harvey 36, Law 34) beat Chandigarh Lions 143 for 8 (TP Singh 35, Hall 30*, Shabbir 4-23) by 12 runs