Super effort that!!!

4/232
5/237
6/255
7/255
8/259
9/265
10/268 in 48 overs.

after being 232/4 in 34.4 overs!!!

It's advantage Karnataka

reads the title of this column in the Hindu.

Karnataka hold the edge in potential classic - says the CricInfo website.

I looked at the score cards, read the match reports, and still cannot understand how exactly did these worthies come to this particular conclusion.

1. In the case the game ends in a draw, Bengal move to the finals on account of their first innings lead.
2. Karnataka lasted 168.5 overs in their second innings after collapsing for 89 all out in thier first essay.
3. Bengal lasted 100.1 overs in thier first essay.
4. By the account in the Hindu, the pitch, the most crucial factor in the run chase, was benign, offering not much assistance to the pacers or the spinners.
5. Bengal have at least 3 more seasoned batsmen in Deep Dasgupta, Rohan Gavaskar and Laxmi Ratan Shukla, cooling their heels in the pavilion.
6. Bengal need another 236 runs in 90 overs ( RR 2.62) with 8 wickets in hand to win the game.
   

So, I ask you... How exactly is Karnataka in the drivers seat ?

PS: - Did CricInfo officially sign on as cheerleaders for Karnataka? You would think so, given the extraordinary coverage given to Venky Prasad's boys vis a vis 26 other teams playing the Ranji Trophy.

Just what are the Selectors trying to prove?

The Indian Selectors are doing their utmost to justify the confidence reposed in them by Mohinder Amarnath ("the selectors are a bunch of jokers").

How else can one explain this -

Yuvraj returns for last two ODIs

Yuvraj Singh, who has been declared fully fit, and Anil Kumble are back in the Indian one-day squad for the remaining two one-day internationals against West Indies at Chennai and Vadodara respectively. They have replaced RP Singh and Joginder Sharma , while Irfan Pathan will join the squad for the final match at Vadodara.

Also joining the squad in Vadodara will be Munaf Patel, though it will be restricted to nets practice. Munaf has been out of action since returning from South Africa with an ankle injury and Vengsarkar said this stint would give the selectors a chance to assess his fitness.

Asked whether Virender Sehwag , who has scored one century since his return to the domestic circuit, was considered, Vengsarkar said, "He will just have to wait for his chance." The dropping of RP Singh, Vengsarkar admitted, was a tough decision and his omission was rather unfortunate.

Yuvraj Singh has no match fitness to speak of, having just recovered from an ACL injury and a prolonged 2 month layoff.

Irfan Pathan gets picked because apparently the Mumbai coach thinks he bowled well and that is good enough for Colonel.

Joginder Sharma gets dumped after only one game. Then why the farce of picking him in the first place? Placating the North Zone?

R.P. Singh gets dumped without playing a single game for reasons best left to the 5 wise men.

Virender Sehwag cannot still find favor with the Selectors. This, when they have rooted for a batter with 0 match fitness and a bowler with indifferent form.
If Irfan can come back into the team with just 2 Ranji games, why not Sehwag? After all he scored a 100 in the only Ranji game he played.

And here is the fun part - Who gets dropped from the batting lineup to accommodate Yuvraj in the 3rd ODI?

I am betting it is Karthick -- what say you?

What a ride!!!

A chronology of Mumbai's march to the Ranji Trophy Finals

January 24, 2006 - Not too khadoos

June 2, 2006 - Ghavri says bye

July 26, 2006 - Mumbai not aware of Sairaj's U-turn to Maha

August 21, 2006 - Mumbai to decide on cricket coach today

August 22, 2006 - Praveen Amre promises to revive club

November 06, 2006 - Mumbai announce probables

Kambli missing from Ranji probables

November 18, 2006 - Muzumdar to lead Mumbai

November 18, 2006 - Youth power for Mumbai

November 20, 2006 - Searching for the highest honour

November 21, 2006 - Vinit Indulkar dropped from the Mumbai Team

December 4, 2006 - Bengal 578 for 7 dec (Tiwary 210*) drew with Mumbai 372 (Thakkar 157, Bose 5-69) and 23 without loss

December 12, 2006 - Punjab 353 and 113 for 3 drew with Mumbai 348 (Muzumdar 119, Mota 74, Amanpreet 4-72, Malhatra 4-91)

December 15, 2006 - Mumbai will fight back: Selectors

December 17, 2006 - Mumbai down in dumps

December 18, 2006 - Mumbai’s woes continue

December 20, 2006 - Hyderabad 354 and 33 for 1 beat Mumbai 115 and 268 (Sharma 95, Absolem 4-67, Ojha 4-78) by 9 wickets

December 20, 2006 - Mumbai crash to nine-wicket defeat

December 21, 2006 - We’re living in a fool’s paradise: Rege

December 21, 2006 - Bombay Blues

December 22, 2006 - Christmas gift
Mumbai have got into the spirit of the season. First they gifted Bengal a first-innings lead and follow-on; this time Hyderabad were the happy recipients as they recorded their first-ever win over Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy.

December 22, 2006 - Mumbai still game for a fight

December 22, 2006 - Kings turn paupers

Nishit Shetty announces retirement

December 25, 2006 -Vegas or bust

December 27, 2006 - Kulkarni and Powar annihilate Gujarat

Mumbai 503 for 7 beat Gujarat 147 (Kulkarni 6-31) and 193 (Bilakhia 88, Powar 5-72, Kulkarni 4-80) by an innings and 163 runs

December 28, 2006 - Nilesh Kulkarni returns to form

December 28, 2006 - One down

December 31, 2006 - On a wing and a prayer

December 31, 2006 - Rising from the dead

January 5, 2007 - Mumbai 483 beat Rajasthan 155 and 297 (Jadeja 70) by an innings and 31 runs

From zero to a perfect 10

Mumbai’s campaign back on track

January 6, 2007 - Mumbai need another big win

January 12, 2007 - Keeping faith pays off for Mumbai

January 12, 2007 - Matter of time

January 13, 2007 - Mumbai storm into the semis

January 14, 2007 - Mumbai's comeback complete

Mumbai 515 for 8 beat Maharashtra 190 and 171 (Kulkarni 6-43) by an innings and 154 runs

January 14, 2007 - Gone in 34 mins

January 22, 2007 - Out of the frying pan into the fire

January 24, 2007 - Baroda leave Mumbai in a heap of naughts in Ranji semi-final

January 24, 2007 - Pathan and Patel lead Baroda fightback

January 24, 2007 - Zero to hero

January 25, 2007 - Mumbai secure finals berth with 63-run win

Mumbai 233 (Muzumdar 97) and 145 (Samant 66, Pathan 4-47, Patel 4-34) beat Baroda 142 (Yusuf Pathan 70) and 173 by 63 runs

January 25, 2007 - Mumbai battle their way into final

January 25, 2007 - Mumbai complete amazing comeback

January 26, 2007 - Mumbai Rocks

Darn!!!

Just when I am basking in the afterglow of an hard fought Indian victory, in comes Mr Premachandran and poops the party.

Why this win matters

India beat the West Indies in a low scoring thriller at the Barabathi Stadium at Cuttuck by 20 runs.
Batting first India managed to get to 189, thanks largely to the efforts of KKD Karthick ( just how good a player is he!! ) and Ajit Agarkar.
In response, the Indians bowled out the West Indies for 169 runs.
Granted that the West Indies were missing Brian Lara, but even so, this Indian win is laudable. For once, despite being 90/7 at one stage, and having all the "big guns" back in the pavilion, the Indians chose to guts it out and, in the process, reached a decent total.
And with the ball, the Indians did just about everything right. Agarkar bowled a brilliant first spell, Zaheer held his end up, Harbhajan was his usual frugal self ( aided no doubt by the early wicket he got) and Sachin was Sachin with his mix of all sorts.
But the real revelation for me was Ramesh Powar. Tonked for 2 huge sixes, once by Bravo and then by Smith, he did not lose his nerve, and came back splendidly to finish with 3/42.
Powars performance mirrored India's on the field. For once, the fielding was sharp, Rahul's field placing impeccable, and the team collectively did not lose their nerve when Bravo and Chanderpaul and then Smith and Chanderpaul were stitching their little partnerships.
All too often, in the recent past, we have seen this Indian team not have the gumption for a fight. Far too often , a position of 90/7 would easily translate to 110 all out. And far too often, the Indian bowlers would try too hard on the field defending a smallish target, and the Indian shoulders would droop at the slightest signs of pressure.
Not in this game they didn't. And for me, that for me, is the biggest gain from this game.
If India can keep their wits about them when things aren't going swimmingly, then India can be a serious contender in the World Cup.
PS: Spare a thought for Joginder Sharma. A misfield off Sachins bowling gave the Windies 2 instead of 1. For a fringe player with not much to do in the game till that point, it could have been a deal breaker. For the same guy to pick himself up, and make the extra effort to prevent a boundary about a couple of overs later, speaks volumes about the guys gumption and, in a small way, sums up what India was about on this day.

Have the Indian batsmen forgotten how to build an innings?

Read this progression and weep -

1/4 2/35 3/35 4/46 5/66 6/69 7/90

1/0 2/0 3/0 4/0 5/0 6/17

1/9 2/28 3/44 4/45 5/56 6/63 7/67

Scheduling nightmares..

Or, business as usual with the BCCI.

The World Cup begins on March 13, 2007 and comes to an end on the April 28, 2007

India is committed to play 2 Tests and 3 ODIs versus Bangladesh in May 2007.

India is to play domestic Twenty 20 for the first time towards the end of March, beginning of April 2007.

June 2007 sees India playing the Afro Asia Cup followed by a 3 Test 7 ODI trip to England.

This is to be followed up by the Twenty20 World Cup, a 7 ODI set versus Australia, an away series to Pakistan and then a 4 Test series versus Australia in Australia.

The Indian domestic season begins in the October-November time frame with the Challengers followed by the Irani,Duleep and Ranji Trophies.

In the middle of all this, comes this news story.

The Indian and Australian boards are planning a one-day series to be played in North America. New York or Toronto are the likely venues.

Two possible stumbling blocks in the negotiations could be Australia's tour programme and wrangling over the percentage of revenues to be shared between the rival boards, with Australia reportedly demanding an equal share and the Indians demurring.

Where scheduling is concerned, between the World Cup in the Caribbean and the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa late in the year, Australia plan to visit Zimbabwe. "And there is also the issue of player leave," Brown said. "So there are a few things to consider. India wanted to hold a tournament similar to the one we had in Kuala Lumpur."

A few points here

• If Australia's scheduling is a concern, how about India's?
• How exactly are the BCCI going to get the players and the time to fit in this set of 7 absolutely meaningless ODIs in the midst of a hectic year?
• The World Cup in itself is tediously long. Wont the Indian audiences be overdosing on the hit and giggle version of the game?
• Playing the same team 15 times in an year, doesnht that reek of overkill?
• Where exactly are the BCCI priorities- towards Indian cricket or towards themselves?
• Will the Board stop at nothing to make that extra buck?

If the BCCI is making that extra buck, how is it getting translated for the betterment of Indian cricket?

India vs West Indies First ODI - India bowling

High Point - India winning

Low Point - Catching, ground fielding and

Bowling	O	M	R	W	Econ
	Z Khan	10	2	48	2	4.80	(1nb)
	S Sreesanth	10	0	79	1	7.90	(4nb, 2w)
	AB Agarkar	10	1	75	1	7.50
	Harbhajan Singh	10	0	59	2	5.90	(1w)
	SR Tendulkar	10	0	54	1	5.40	(2w)

Economy rates of 7.5 and 8 over a 10 over span does not augur well for a team that is trying to rediscover its winning ways.

India vs West Indies First ODI - India batting

High Point - Partnerships

1-144 (Gambhir, 24.4 ov), 2-214 (Tendulkar, 36.5 ov), 3-219 (Ganguly, 38.1 ov), 338/3 in 50 overs tells its own story for a team that found playing out 50 overs difficult not too long ago.India did well to get a solid opening partnership and did even better to rotate responsibility between the set and new batsmen every step of the way.

Low point - Running between the wickets

MS Dhoni should have been out by a country mile before he could get set. Saurav Ganguly got himself runout. There was a lull in the middle overs where the batsmen were not doing enough to work the ball off the square and run the quick runs. India needs to work on this aspect of its game, especially in the West Indies where run making will be difficult in the middle and latter stages of the game.

They came, They met, They...

Jan 19 2007

"We will discuss the rules and regulations involved in staging the
Twenty20 tournament for the first time in India," said BCCI secretary
Niranjan Shah about the domestic tournament scheduled in the first week
of April.

Jan 20 2007

"We've decided to play the domestic Twenty20 either in the last week of
March or the first week of April," said BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah.
"The venues will be decided by the Fixtures Committee, and the rules
and regulations of the ICC will be implemented."

The tournament, said Shah, will be formatted along the lines of the
Ranji Trophy one-day tournament. State Associations will first play
within their zone to identify the top two sides. These sides —
distributed into two groups of five — will then play a league format.
Each group's top side will contest the final.

Jan 19 2007

The committee, headed by Sunil Gavaskar, will review the Ranji Trophy's format and points system, said Mr. Shah.

Jan 20 2007

The committee reviewed the Ranji Trophy's format and points structure,
but decided to discuss it further with the captains and coaches at the
seminar before making changes.

Jan 19 2007

Also on the agenda, said Mr. Shah, is assessing the feasibility of
playing the Ranji Trophy Super League matches, the semifinals and the
final on neutral venues instead of the home-and-away rotation system
currently in place.The recommendation, by BCCI joint secretary M.P. Pandove, is aimed at
playing at least key domestic games on the best tracks in the country.

Jan 20 2007

The Technical Committee, chaired by Sunil Gavaskar, also decided to
take steps to prevent doctoring of wickets in the Ranji Trophy. From
the next season, members of the Pitches Committee would monitor the
preparation of wickets for four days preceding the tie, said Shah.

[Pitches Committe Members - Daljit Singh (North),Dhiraj Parsana
(West), P R Vishwanathan (South), Taposh Chatterjee (Central), Prabir
Mukherjee (East) and Niranjan Shah (convener and BCCI secretary).

Ranji Trophy Super League Itinerary 2006/07
Ranji Trophy Plate League Itinerary 2006/07

As can be seen from the schedules, as many as 11 matches ( Super League
and Plate) take place in the same time frame during the initial rounds. The Pitches
Committee has 6 members. You do the math).]

The recommendation to play the Ranji Trophy Super League semifinals and
final on neutral venues was "discussed, but some felt the home side
shouldn't be denied advantage," said Shah. Consequently, the matter
will be discussed with the coaches and captains of India's first class
teams at a seminar in March.

--
There you have it folks.. The only thing that was conclusively discussed and agreed upon was 20/20 cricket. Or, in BCCI parlance, another revenue stream to be milked for all it is worth.

Mind games?

A ‘brain-trainer’ is the need of hour for Sehwag

Team psychologist Webster in hospital

When contacted, coach Greg Chappell, who always maintained that the modern sport is all about mind, told DNA that the team management is not contemplating to have a psychologist at the moment. Asked if he would be in favour of having someone like Australian Sandy Gordon — who had played a key role in India’s campaign during the last World Cup — Chappell said: “We have not made any plans to do so.”

Scheduling.. what scheduling?

Ranji Trophy semi-finals

Jan 23-27	04:00 GMT	Karnataka v Bengal at Kolkata Ranji Trophy Super League
Jan 23-27	04:00 GMT	Mumbai v Baroda at Mumbai Ranji Trophy Super League

India vs West Indies schedule

1st ODI - Nagpur
21 Jan

2nd ODI - Cuttack
24 Jan

3rd ODI - Chennai
27 Jan

4th ODI - Vadodara
31 Jan

As the India-West Indies ODI series overlaps the Ranji Trophy semifinals, here are a few questions for the worthies up at the BCCI -

1. Are Anil Kumble and Irfan Pathan going to show up for Karnataka and Baroda respectively?
   
2. If they are, they wont be available to play the Third ODI. If they are not, then why the talk of "International stars should play the domestic season" and "Ranji is the premier domestic tourney in India"?
   
3. Robin Uthappa,Ajit Agarkar and Ramesh Powar have been included in the team for the first two ODIs. Are they guaranteed to play at least one of these two games? Because if they are not, wouldn't it have been better for these blokes to be playing the Ranji Trophy? ( I havent included Rahul Dravid (capt), Sachin Tendulkar (vice-capt), Sourav Ganguly and Zaheer Khan in this list because it is highly unlikely that they will sit out one or both games).
4. On the agenda for the camp are lots of meetings, a look at the requirements for the months ahead, training and simulation games......The camp will also be about consolidating the gains of the last 20 months. The Indian team will need to decide what worked and what didn’t.. - If this is the stated agenda of the camp at Nagpur, why is the camp limited to only 17 members and not the full squad of 30 probables for the WC?

Options

Vengsarkar was in his element, explaining things candidly and lucidly. When one reporter asked him why there were no legspinners in the list of 30 World Cup probables (other than Kumble) he replied by asking, "Can you name one?"

The above statement, taken in conjunction with Vengsarkar's earlier statement about a paucity of talent in the country, would lead one to believe that India is talent starved and especially so in the leg spin department.

So here is my question - What is the BCCI doing about it?

The short answer - Nada, zilch, nothing.

Contrast this with Cricket Australia and the steps they have taken to fill in the vacuum created by Shane Warne's retirement

• Dan Cullen, Nathan Hauritz and Cameron White to spend time at the Brisbane Center for Excellence during the southern winter
• The above mentioned spinners to tour the sub continent sometime this year to hone their skills.

CA is taking the talent it has at its disposal and trying the maximize it. The BCCI wont even recognize the talent it has at its disposal.

In conclusion, to answer your question Colonel, here are two names - Amit Mishra and Piyush Chawla.

The Indian Team Selection - Thoughts

• The West Indies ODIs ( the first 2 ODIs that is)
  

Enough already about Sehwag's non-inclusion in the XV. I have been saturated by the reams of paper and TV time devoted by our media on this topic. In all the brouhaha, everyone has forgotten one tiny fact.. The Team announced is for the first 2 ODIs. Not the entire WI series, nor the SL series and certainly not the WC.
The Board, for now, needed to to show who the boss is and it has.
Two ODIs down the road, all will be forgiven and Sehwag will be back in the fold. The Board will make the right noises about how Sehwag's experience will be handy during the World Cup and Sehwag will make the right noises about being contrite.
And all will be well with the world.

More surprising was the announcement that Sachin Tendulkar has been named vice-captain, albeit for the first two ODIs. The reason for this is apparently "that Dravid’s somewhat baffling captaincy in the second innings of the Cape Town Test (which ended in a big defeat) probably convinced the selectors that an experienced ‘guide’ was needed.

More important, that the ‘guide’ should hold a position."

hmm!!! a guide who holds a position... interesting.

so where does that leave VVS?

• The World Cup Probables
  

Safely discount the following players ( they are there to make up the numbers)

Rudra Pratap Singh,VRV SinghParthiv Patel,Rohit Sharma, S. Badrinath, Ishant Sharma, Rajesh Pawar, Joginder Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara.

That leaves us with

Rahul Dravid (capt), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel, Sreesanth, Ajit Agarkar, Suresh Raina, Ramesh Powar, Anil Kumble, Dinesh Mongia, Robin Uthappa, Dinesh Karthik, Sourav Ganguly, Zaheer Khan, VVS Laxman, Gautam Gambhir.

Thats 21 players for 15 slots. By the process of elimination, discount the following players
Munaf Patel ( crocked),Ramesh Powar ( three spinners a luxury),Dinesh Mongia (out of favor), Robin Uthappa ( unproven),Gautam Gambhir (borderline decision but inexperience goes against him).

That leaves us with

Rahul Dravid (capt), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, Sreesanth, Ajit Agarkar, Suresh Raina, Anil Kumble, Dinesh Karthik, Sourav Ganguly, Zaheer Khan, VVS Laxman.

So the toss up is between VVS Laxman and Md. Kaif. And the winner is ...( drum roll here) .... VVS Laxman ( ex vice-captain of the ODI team and current vice-captain of the Test team. May not get a game, except against the Aussies but hey, thats the way it goes!!!).

So Ladies and Gentlemen, your Team India XV for the World Cup are

Rahul Dravid (capt) - out of form
Virender Sehwag - woefully out of form
Sachin Tendulkar - currently injured, but the only man capable of delivering the goods
Yuvraj Singh - recovering from injury, zero match fitness ( the very same reasons why Munaf Patel finds himself out of favor)
Mahendra Singh Dhoni - big striker of the ball, not much between the ears
Harbhajan Singh - combative off spinner, not much by way of match fitness.
Irfan Pathan - On a wing and a prayer.
Sreesanth - The find of the South African tour, his niggling aggro amounts to a lot of free runs in ODIs.
Ajit Agarkar - Like him or loathe him, be assured of a 4 ball every over.
Suresh Raina - Teacher's pet, is that you?
Anil Kumble - The other great hope.
Dinesh Karthick - spare keeper, sparer bat.
Sourav Ganguly - no ODI form to speak of, but nothing that a 8 game hit cant rectify.
Zaheer Khan - pace spearhead, but if India reaches the finals, anyone but him should bowl the first over.
VVS Laxman - gets one game. Against the Aussies.

And me... I will be rooting for the Lankans :-) ( no seriously, I think Mahela's team has the right balance to win it all ).