The first round of Ranji trophy got over a day before and in 13 matches that were played only 3 resulted in a result. Tamil Nadu defeated Assam in the super league while Rajasthan and Jharkhand playing in the Plate league won their games against Hyderabad and Tripura respectively. Only one team in the Super league registered a victory and that is TN against a weak opponent, Assam. Mumbai, Bengal and Gujarat settled for first innings lead points in the super league. Not a great start to the premier domestic competition, though the first session of the competition promised much with about 47 wickets falling across 13 matches. Deepak Chahar packed Hyderabad for the lowest total in Ranji in that session. Incidentally Hyderabad also holds the record for the highest Ranji score (900 odd). Nice pair to have ;).
What does this season promise? More draws? I think so, if the first round is any indication. I am disappointed with Mumbai's refusal to try for a outright win when they could have enforced follow-on against Saurashtra with 204 runs lead and 60+ overs more to bowl. Jaffer may not have seen any on the pitch but then nothing wrong in trying on a last day (4th day) pitch. Instead he chose for some batting practice and notched up his second hundred of the match. It represents the mindset of many Ranji captains or rather team management. But not Gujarat though. They pressed for a victory and asked Railways to follow-on with a lead of 158 runs (150 is the lead required for enforcing the follow-on). Teams seem happy with first innings lead points rather than pressing for a win unless it is crucial for survival. May be pitches should improve and become more result oriented. Given the fact that these are 4 day matches, may be heavy roller should be abandoned for Ranji matches. But whatever aid they may be for results, approach of teams have to change. They should go all out for a win.
On the individual performances front, Jaffer has begun the season on a good note (hundreds in each innings of the first match). Surely few double and even a triple are waiting down the line. He is such a phenomenal scorer in Ranji that it is a shame that he failed to command a place in the Indian test side. Another interest is the return of ICL rebels. Sriram (who played for TN prior to joining ICL) scored a century for Assam against TN in a losing cause, while Rayudu scored a double hundred that helped his team avoid defeat against Orissa and win a point. Hemang Badani scored a useful 65 for Haryana against Himachal Pradesh. In total there were 16 centuries from 15 batsmen in the first round in both leagues.
On the bowling front, Deepak Chahar hogged the limelight with his 8 for 10 in ten overs that bundled out Hyderabad for 21. He followed it up with a 4 fer in the second innings. Though it is in plate league, Hyderabad is a decent opposition that got relegated to Plate league last year. It's the team that VVS plays for in Ranji. I would have loved see Chahar against Laxman. In the super league B.Mohanty (Orissa), Budhwer (Haryana) and Praveen Kumar (UP) took a 5 fers. They all along with L.Balaji lead the table with 6 wickets each.
Karnataka, last season's runner up, will be opening their campaign only in the second round of matches starting on Nov 10. Last season Dravid played, led and scored in most of the matches for them. It will be interesting to see how they fare without him. Uthappa, Mithun and Vinay will be tracked by cricket followers. Won't mind if there is another Chahar out there somewhere.
Chahar's performance is something to look at. This lad has enormous swing (both ways) and a decent pace. His stock has already gone up with reports of IPL teams lining up for him with cheques in hand. Nothing could be disastrous than that for the young talent. I just hope and wish he keeps his focus firmly on longer versions of the game and plays it hard for one or two seasons. If he does that everything, not the least money and fame, will come to him. More than money, the pressure of T20 that too in IPL could spoil his bowling. Many may not agree but T20 did a huge damage to Ishant's bowling.
Not sure how this post has come out. This is a hastily written up post. I will work out a framework for covering Ranji matches from next round onwards. Hoping for lot of fireworks and more results in the next round. By the way, just in case you want to about teams I support , it is Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Delhi, in that order. The team that I like to see lose is Mumbai. Nothing personal just that they are the Australia (not the current one ;)) of Indian domestic competition. They have been too good for decades now and hence have upset the underdog supporter in me. They may win yet another Ranji this season, but then I am hoping against it.
Super League Points table http://www.cricinfo.com/ranjisuperleague2010/engine/current/series/465376.html?view=pointstable
Super league Most Runs list http://stats.cricinfo.com/ranjisuperleague2010/engine/records/batting/most_runs_career.html?id=5961;type=tournament
Super League Most Wickets list http://stats.cricinfo.com/ranjisuperleague2010/engine/records/bowling/most_wickets_career.html?id=5961;type=tournament
Plate League Points table http://www.cricinfo.com/ranjiplateleague2010/engine/current/series/465378.html?view=pointstable
Plate league Most Runs list http://stats.cricinfo.com/ranjiplateleague2010/engine/records/batting/most_runs_career.html?id=5962;type=tournament
Plate league Most wickets list http://stats.cricinfo.com/ranjiplateleague2010/engine/records/bowling/most_wickets_career.html?id=5962;type=tournament
Saturday, November 6, 2010
First round of Ranji Trophy matches - A summary
Posted by Balajhi
Monday, November 1, 2010
Deepak Chahar
Posted by Soulberry
The clips one saw of Deepak Lokendersingh Chahar were at a diffrent frames per second than the regular 30fps, so it looked like an old Films Division documentary - jerky. Hence it was difficult to make out at what pace he was bowling.
Going by comparison with Pankaj Singh's clips, it appears Chahar was at the same pace or sometimes lesser.
For a moment let us forget issues of Hyderabad's talent and ability - they certainly have enough of it worth more than 21 runs collectively - and let us ignore the possibility of the violent Telangana separatist movement triggered off in Andhra by motivated politicians being reflected in team morale (when you are playing for a team, you bloody well play for it), and focus only n the great display of swing bowling by Chahar.
The 18 year old is tall and broad shouldered - like Pankaj Singh is. Has a comfortable run up and an easy action. Chahar's pace, as pointed out earlier, was difficult to judge, but was matching Singh's. Also, like Singh, he too uprooted the stumps and sent them on a stroll couple of occasions.
What was striking was his ability to move the ball both ways...in the air...and not just off the pitch. The ball was wobbling today at Jaipur and dancing to Chahar's tune. Contrastingly, Pankaj Singh's deliveries did not have as much swing in the air.
The lad's wrist position was perfect and behind the ball's seam - straight.
Conclusion - If we have a bowler, who can swing the ball in the air both ways in early Indian winter...that too in Jaipur (Jaipur is cold in the first session till the sun's up at this time of the year)...as if he were bowling in overcast England at the start of their season, then pick him up for close monitoring, nurturing and development. This lad now needs to show us hunger for the long haul.
He has been prolific in age group cricket and has only now just begun FC and List A.
Rest of the proceedings and scorecard from Cricinfo
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Shreevats Goswami bats the season in stylishly
Posted by Soulberry
Ranji Trophy 2010-11: Match 01: Elite Group A: Bengal vs Delhi at Ferozeshah Kotla, Delhi
The first session of this season's Ranji Trophy season is about to draw to a close. It is a good time then, for us to blog about it.
On a cool, heavy morning with a hint of fog above the ground, one would have expected Delhi's three seamers - Pradeep Sangwan, Sumit Narwal and Parvinder Awana to poe serious problem to their counterparts from warmer climes, Bengal. Barring an Arindam Das edge that fell short of Virat Kohli at second slip off Awana, there was nothing from the Delhi bowlers to challenge Das nd Goswami.
When Goswami was timing those cover drives today morning, front foot pointing to the direction and elbow high andin line with te follow-through, he was a piture of satisfying elegance on the cricket field. But he began today with a superbly played cut - uppercut as it is called these days - over th square boundary fr a four. And when the bowlers erred, he whipped them off his toes as if flicking a lazy straggler back into the herd. All about wristwork.
A contemporary cricket fan and poet, Arthur Salway, wrote in a poem entitled A turn of the wrist
Soccer is won with cultured feet
And rugger with grit and grist;
But when cricket is played the difference is made
By a delicate turn of the wrist.
When the bowlers tried to bounce him, Shreevats was found in perfect position, poised for executing the arrogance with a clean hook, or pull of his bat. Mithun Minhas brought in Chetanya Nanda, his leggie, to effect some control, but to no avail. Goswami drove him through the covers off the front and back foot with strokes of sheer elegance, timing and knowledge of having read the ball right and with time to spare. He is batting now at 54* and his team, an ominous 106-0 in the first session of the first day! As if to show his range Goswami has aken h front foot forward to the overpitched ball and driven on either side of the bowler's wicket, in a manner that would gladden Sunil Gavaskar and other ollowers of the game
Goswami made it worthwhile for us to watch th game today.
Arindam Das, initially played the foil but soon opened up with some cultured strokes of his own. And there were also a couple of well-played pulls off the backfoot, just to let the bowlers know where they stood.
The pitch is brown and early life appears to e evaporating. I wonder which of the two captains is aledy smiling - I suspct it is Bengal's new skipper, Manoj Tiwary, for he is witnessing a grand start to the season for his team.
By he way, both Manhas and Tiwary belong to India's youthful bench strength.
Just getting to the point of Lunch
Bengal: 112-0 (3.75 rpo)
Shreevats Goswami: 60*
Arindam Das: 42*
India Domestic Cricket 2010-11 : Fixtures
Posted by Soulberry
Cricket Nirvana has the schedules up for the 2010-11 season.
Rather lengthy and must have been tedious too. We congratulate them and omit repetition by linking to their Fixture page.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Makarand Waingankar Scores A Bullseye
Posted by Soulberry
In today's The Hindu, Makarand Waingankar pleads the case for serious Ranji Trophy action. We have also done so on TCWJ often with mixed results. One of the reasons we began this blog was to record Ranji and other domestic games. Unfortunately we couldn't quite grab all the matches or keep up. But our promise is to recommence this blog and keep it going.
Waingankar places startling facts before us
In 22 years of first class cricket Sachin Tendulkar has played only 33 Ranji Trophy matches. In 10 years Rahul Dravid has played 100 Tests, but he has played only 10 Ranji Trophy matches. From the year 2000 to 2004 he didn't play a single Ranji Trophy match and in 2005 he played only one Ranji Trophy match. But he is not known to avoid any Ranji Trophy matches.
There's more; in 18 years of his first class career Anil Kumble has never bowled to Tendulkar in a Ranji Trophy match and Javagal Srinath in 16 years bowled to Tendulkar only in the India nets.
In 12 long years of first class career Harbhajan Singh didn't play Ranji Trophy for seven years!
So India's best bowlers — Kumble, Srinath and Harbhajan — hasn't bowled to the top batsman Sachin Tendulkar in the national championship.
and then asks
How do we then expect the standard of Indian cricket to improve?
Cynics may point to India's position at the top of the table to decry the need for Ranji and any domestic cricket at all for the cream players. They might also drop in various excuses such as crowded schedules and IPL and the like,, to argue against Ranji participation.
One of the reasons I have consistently spoken for a concise IPL as against expansion of it is precisely this. The reality is that IPL must be incorporated into the scenario. But intelligently and wisely. Otherwise, all cricket suffers.
The reason many of our young 'Stars' stutter so often is because they lack strong foundations in different aspects of the game - from skills to concentration to courage deriving from having done difficult deeds before.
It is in this regard that I rate Cheteshwar Pujara highly. He is the most completely developed young player in a very long time to emerge out of India and he hasn't played for India seniors yet! Maybe good for him after all but hopefully he isn't allowed to decay.
Coming back to Makarand Waingankar, he advocates the
Australian system
We should analyse the Australian system. In 2004, when Glenn McGrath declared himself fit and available for the national team, he was politely told by the selectors to play club and State cricket to prove match fitness.
It's perfectly understandable for a top player to give Ranji Trophy a miss during the season but some players have very conveniently avoided playing domestic tournaments citing fitness or personal problems very frequently.
The Australian System per se has been debated - suggestions that the chance existence of high quality allowed the philosophies to develop and take credit instead have been put forth - but there is nothing deniable about the importance of the best players mingling with the learners. Not only does that improve the standard of cricket from the learners, it also teaches the senior players about overcoming things they may be struggling with international cricket. Yuvraj is a case in point.
Waingankar elaborates,
In the season of 1979-80 India played 13 Tests — six against Australia followed by six against Pakistan — in India during the winter and one Golden Jubilee Test against England but the Indian players also played Ranji Trophy matches in between Test matches.
Some international players avoid playing for their companies. One of the fast bowlers of the Indian team hasn't turned up to play for his employers since the time he joined them. And hardly anyone plays club cricket.
Sunil Gavaskar, after a gruelling England tour of 1979, was in the maidan tent an hour before the start of the play in the monsoon tournament (Kanga League) in Mumbai. The former Mumbai opener Sudhakar Adhikari tied the nuptial knot at nine in the morning, and rushed to play the Ranji Trophy. He scored a century and returned to the wedding hall in the evening for his reception.
When international players take part in domestic cricket, youngsters get to learn.
Teenager Dilip Vengsarkar learned more about batting watching Gavaskar from the other end for Dadar Union than listening to a dozen coaches. Former India opener Madhav Apte, who toured the West Indies in 1953, played ‘A' division tournaments for 55 years until the age of 71, facing Mumbai Ranji Trophy bowlers without a helmet.
The solution is simple. Like Australian cricket, make playing domestic cricket mandatory irrespective of the stature of a player. Sadly the stalwarts seem to have forgotten that when they were teenagers they benefited immensely by playing with cricketing icons.
The juniors in the Indian team are struggling because they haven't played with the seniors in club or State cricket.
I agree with plenty of that. I myself have opined along those lines. There is the argument of IPL crowding out domestic cricket, but if it is, then steps must be taken that IPL doesn't push out all domestic cricket. IPL must not be the Koel which pushes the pigeons eggs out of the nest, but can be a beautiful songbird in a chorus of others varieties.
I agree with plenty of that. I myself have opined along those lines. There is the argument of IPL crowding out domestic cricket, but if it is, then steps must be taken that IPL doesn't push out all domestic cricket. IPL must not be the Koel which pushes the pigeons eggs out of the nest, but can be a beautiful songbird in a chorus of others varieties.
Having seen the better days of Ranji and participated in its viewing as one of a crowd, I understand the nurturing role Ranji Trophy played to foster essential cricket in India.
Let us make Ranji THE selectorial point for Tests. It doesn't have to be how many T20s you have played or how many ODIs you have played. Rare exceptions may find their way via these routes, but that should not be the norm. It is in the overall benefit of the player and the game of cricket in India to have a sound, well-rounded game honed in a testing, competitive Ranji environment. Also, grounds and pitches must be such that they foster good cricket and allow expression and polishing of all skills - batting, bowling and fielding -while employing them in a fiercely contested match.
Domestic cricket would help develop the temperament required for all situations in international cricket. Of course, when basic material of quality is present, international cricket further hones it. But 95% of the temparement is already seeded-in in the distance between cradle at home and the outer lip of domestic cricket.
Imagine the sad irony if Rohit Sharma plays ahead of Cheteshwar Pujara in Tests!
Rohit may eventually play and play well, but anybody can see he is learning basic stuff on the job and struggling to do so. Something which a dedicated couple of seasons could have helped develop more usefully and less damagingly. But paisa and limelight are strident mistresses...
In a previous posts here, for example in Karsan Ghavri, we have also sought to recall and bring forward the excitement of Ranji matchplay and the benefit accrued by all from them. One recognizes times have changed - one has always been an advocate of allowing necessary hanges to happen which accommodate the needs of time - and therefore structures must change too. I agree, as long as they are beautifully balanced and encourage complete,overall development and also provide maximum opportunities for a satisfactory career in cricket.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Sachin thrills, Jaffer responds
Posted by Soulberry
Day Two, Ranji Trophy 2008-09 Semifinals, Mumbai vs Surashtra and Tamil Nadu v Uttar Pradesh
Mumbai vs Saurashtra - First Semifinal
Scoreboard
Sachin Tendulkar is having a match-simulation net. But the beauty of the man is such that he can make even a knock in the nets look like art. That's not a willow he wields, it is a brush and he is painting a three-dimensional masterpiece for us all.
Look at the youngsters like Ravindra Jadeja and Cheteshwar Pujara rolling their arms over...true they are trying but do they look like guys who want to end the master's creative surge? Not to me...they are lining up to bowl to Sachin so that they can understand better the angles and possibilities from the best position in the ground. They'd be keen to incorporate this knowledge into their own game. You can see it in their eyes!
As Sachin began playing 360 degrees along all three axis, Jaffer felt prompted and emboldened. He began to emulate some leg-side strokes of the master and his score began to chug along a little. He got to his 250, almost was taken caught and bowled...difficult, but expected chance towards the right of the bowler and now has his sights fixed on 501 and has suitably hauled in his enthusiasm, preferrring to let the master fire his team's scoring rate up.
Wasim Jaffer does indeed get these beautiful urges once in a while...you have to pinch yourself to remind that this is only Ranji, a flat deck, very mediocre bowling...mainly spin, his team is some 500 plus for two wickets and there is the master on the other side disallowing any clustering of pressure - it is then, having pinched onself to the reality, that one realizes what a sophisticated and elegant Ranji dada Jaffer is. This is his environment, he straddles it like a dinosaur once straddled land masses, the complete and real emperor of this world. We will leave the asteroid theory of international cricket aside for the moment and simply enjoy the magnificience of such over overwhelming domination.
There is beauty in the way he lifts that front foot and places it emphatically forward and brings his mobile instruments of head and arms in one line over the ball. The alertness to defend in all the euphoria leaves one awestruck at the man's focus. At times even Sachin pales for correctness...he almost looks like a teen rebel at the other side.
At last call, Jaffer is 291 not out and Sachin 122 playing. Mumbai are just a hundred or so off the minimum 700 1st innings plan...558 for 2.
Just as I say that, Sachin retires hurt (reportedly having fever) to give Amol Mazumdar a hit. Didn't this chap retire?
Let's sit back and enjoy.
- - -
Makes you also wonder and helps put things in perspective - a champion team like Mumbai, endowed with brilliant riches, steeped in cricketing culture, 37 times winner, where certain cricket-playing qualities are engraved into your chromosomes by high preists, to be passed on from one generation to another in burgeoning flux of natural selection...such a team, Mumbai, shuddres to declare with 564 on the board already and bowlers like Zak (India's no. 1 and ICC Top Ten bowler), Kulkarni, Powar in their ranks! It is said that the standard and competitiveness of play will rise if stars play....they will infuse the positive culture they learn from international cricket...yougsters will learn to win a match from any sitaution...Amazing! It truly is an amazing statement by the Mumbai intenationals and perhaps points to two dangers - 1) Cheteshwar Pujara...1 = 11 and 2) highlights the trepidation Mumbai bowlers are feeling at the thought of bowling on this wicket. No confidence....
- - -
Mazumdar scratched around and perished to a set up by B Jadeja bowling at a max speed of 109 kph. Start with bowling out of his reach...let him feel tempted to lean out and then start narrowing the width...Bingo! here was the nick and taken. Gone for 2.
Rohit Sharma gave the customary chance which wasn't taken by the keeper this time.
And then Wasim Jaffer achieves one step of his milestone quest - 300 up! Well played young man!
Saurashtra must question their philosophy - they came not believeing they could pressure the Mumbai batsmen...they played that way from about over number 8 or 9 of the innings. They did not even attempt to create an aura of pressure. Not Mumbai's fault the way te game is evolving at a snail's pace towards the eventual first innings lead business.
Jaffer is out! Caught fff the splice of a lazily elegant turn of the wrists off a half-cock forward foot by the bowler Dhruv, on is follow through. He's played that shor a zillion times this innings and profited. But not that time. So that's the end of a marathon innings. Like I said before, well played young man!
Abhishek Nayar is next in.
Meanwhile...
Tamil Nadu v Uttar Pradesh: Second Semifinal at Nagpur
Scorecard
Uttar Pradesh with a better attack and more purpose came back to hit hard on the second day. They have halted a Mumbai-like march by Tamil Nadu and have them at 435 for 9 at the moment of typing. ALL UP bowlers, except Piyush Chawla, have taken wickets...yes, including Suresh Raina in his bowling avatar.
Vidyut comes a cropper again when his team needs him to play and the middle order evaporates till some resistance lower down. The same patters as their quarter final match against Bengal.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Ranji Trophy 2008-09: Semi-finals
Posted by Soulberry
Tomorrow, the semi finals commence. The matches are 1) Tamil Nadu vs Uttar Pradesh and 2) Mumbai vs Saurashtra.
There is something for everybody in these matches and many players you would be keeping an eye on.
TN has Badri, Vijay, Mukund and Balaji. UP has Chawla, Raina, RP Singh and Praveen Kumar without forgetting Kaif. Mumbai will see sachin and Zak playing but the focus this year has been on Ajinkya Rahane. This is a man with a FC average of 64.90! Cricinfo
Saurashtra, besides Ravindra Jadeja and Jonbanputra, has the brightest young spark of Indian cricket - Cheteshwar Pujara. Now can the underdogs pull off a big scalping?
Pujara has 867 runs at 86.70 this season and Jadeja has 729 at 72.90. Jadeja also has 30 wickets at 18.61. Saurashtra
Rahane has 976 at 75.07 this season, Jaffer has 873 at 72.75. Dhaval Kulkarni has been the main wicket taker with 34 at 17.61.Mumbai
Tamil Nadu has Mukund with 756 runs at 84.00, Badri with 361 at 90.25 and Balaji with 31 wickets at 16.64.Tamil Nadu
Uttar Pradesh has Tanmay Srivastava with 653 at 59.36. Nothing much else and appear the weakest sheet out of all four.Uttar Pradesh
Tomorrow the matches commence and Neo Sports tells us that Mumbai v Saurashtra will be on live air.
We'll join in with what's on air.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Competition Thrives in Ranji Trophy
Posted by Soulberry
Ranji Trophy Super League 2008-09 - 4th quarter final, Tamil Nadu v Bengal
Scorecard
With the media emphasis gradually shifting in India to international fixtures, it was natural for domestic cricket to gradually slip out of consciousness of Indians. Unlike the County Cricket system, there isn't any provision for lay public to become members of their home team or subscribe to their state team, in return for tickets at concessional rates or preference, on an annual basis. Thus, involvement and loyalties are casualties. Also, it is often human tendency to imagine that what doesn't figure in one's consciousness cannot be of good quality.
Ranji Trophy matches have acquired the image of mediocrity and lack of competitiveness for perhaps this reason. However, it isn't all that way. Ever since the Super League and Plate system has come in, more matches have been keenly contested than ever before. Gone are the days when first innings leads satisfied players and supporters - now, it is difficult to digest anything less than a win unless it is a hard-fought draw. It is possible that the willingness of the BCCI to expose a larger pool of players to international cricket may also be an incentive besides the spin offs of IPL and improved pay/reward structure for good performances.
This quarter-final match showed how teams are willing to compete till the final ball.
At the end of day one, as we noted earlier,Return to.. bengal were working their way out of strife on the back of Manoj Tiwary's innings. They weren't out of the woods yet, neither were they as deep in it.
Day Two
The fall of Tiwary in the seventh over of the morning, to a clever piece of bowling by Balaji, undid Bengal's ambition of batting Tamil Nadu out of the match. After that it was a collapse and Bengal had just about enough on the board to give it an honest shot. Bengal hinges on Tiwary and to an extent, Saha.
Boy, and did they give a shot! M Vijay plays from a tall stance and likes to take the ball on the rise. If the feet move well, it looks great, otherwise it can be perilious. Without wasting much time, the canny Ranadeb Bose decided to check out the new India bat's footwork. It was found wanting and as is usual in such situations, the end result looks very lame.
Vijay has an Utthappa-ish game. However, he appeared more compact and selective than Robin in the test match innings he played. But these are all batsmen who belong to the new emerging cult of Sehwaggian openers without the body dynamics, spatial distribution and relative interactivity of their joint positions, and the weight transfer protocols of their prototype engine.
One spends some time on Vijay because he is considered a prospect for the country. These rough edges will have to be addressed by him. As matters turned out it is the same fallacy which prevented him from actualizing a century in the winning sprint later. More of that in a timely manner.
Within no time, Tamil Nadu were in trouble. Badri didn't look in it at all. Mukund was shaping up well but gave it away in a silly run-out.
Even experienced campaigners like KD playes flashily when a little bit of caution would have paid dividends. Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan did nothing to dispell the air of casualness about him. Towards the end of the day, KD went for his shots and spooned one behind him off the back of the bat trying to sweep and was done in by a beautiful catch. Somehow one felt that sweep could have waitied and KD appeared interested to get to his 50 before close.
When TN finished at 188/5, they had perhaps given away their advantage.
Third Day
Bengal stole off with the sessions. Only Suresh Kumar, an all rounder, remained between Bengal and the crucial lead. When Kumar fell to a Tiwary googly at 75, an inside edge taken, it looked like that lead could be decisively big in favour of Bengal. The tigers were right on top.
Balaji has given us some moments to smile about in the past. This day, he decided to bring the bat with which he clouted Shoaib Akhtar. But didn't he break that one? The body of it yes, the spirit being intact.
It was he with typical late-order batting falvour foisted Tamil Nadu back into the game with just an outside chance dependent on their future efforts. A small lead and time on hand.
The Match Turns
Bengal batting has been shaky and completely dependent upon Tiwary and Saha to an extent. The Jimmy Amarnath coached team of Tamil Nadu came out with the fighting spirit they have displayed this season. The first wicket was in the bag in no time at all, Ganapathy pocketing Chowdhury for nought.
Manoj Tiwary came in...a completely changed batting order (could this have upset the rhythm of Bengal?) which saw all the big guns come at the top (Saha opening)...Bengal appeared to have wrested back the momentum in their favour. Then Balaji got into his act. He picked his first of the innings in removing the threatening Saha.
R Ashwin chipped in with the most decisive wicket of all. He tempted Tiwary to sweep ( a shot which felled a few luminaries in this match) and the spliced loop was no trouble at all for Suresh Kumar. Gone for 42 and I felt then that Bengal had thrown it away.
Laxmi Shukla has lasted out the years but he isn't the kind you would readily bank upon for a match saving innings. he didn't look it but he gutsed it out to somehow keep Bengal in the game only four wickets down at close.
All the best players were expended at the top and Bengal were only a couple of wickets away from disaster. The day closed on the hunter, who now spent the night worrying as the hunted despite the lead.
Balaji Day
My good friend and fellow Ranji Chronicler, N Balajhi advised caution to my enthusiasm on seeing L Balaji swing it both ways. He was correct of course...the speed was off and all that stuff which makes you less effective on the international stage...but he was lethal today. It was as if he had a magic wand to the ball as he sliced through the Bengal order to end up with six dangerous wickets. dangerous because they tempt you to call him up for national attention. I am tempted to ignore my friend's good advice and call for more of Balaji!
Anyway, the gist of the story is the ball moved out, the ball moved in, the batsmen didn't have a clue. Not since Irfan Pathan lost it have we seen consistent swing like Balaji showed us.
Tamil Nadu won the match (and qualified for the semis in dramatic fashion) which at many times belonged to one or the other.
At the start of the season, when TN began brightly, we felt this could be a good year for them.
I am not so sure that they can dent Bombay with moments of looseness slipping into their game as it did in this match. Bombay is playing some good solid cricket.
One question, what about YoMa? Where's he?
- - -
Competition thrives in the Ranji circuit for sure. We saw it in the above match and we haven't yet touched upn Cheteshwar Pujara and Saurashtra doing a David to the Karnataka Goliath. That's because it wasn't telecast during the day. There will obviously be a separate article on that match and Pujara Power.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Domestic Cricket Returns to the Screen
Posted by Soulberry
Bengal vs Tamil Nadu
Scorecard
Yesterday, I had a bit of time since noon and I took a chance with Neo Television. Running the risk of being straddled with the umpteenth replay of some past match for the effort, one was pleasantly surprised to see the "Live" tag in the right top corner of the screen. "Hold on there" one thought, "India can't be playing unless one has missed something!"
Sure enough, one was rewarded within the minute for the patience and risk; the band appeared at the bottom of the screen proclaiming the title of the match - Bengal v Tamil Nadu - and Manoj Tiwary (I haven't given up on him like the selectors) at the crease with Wriddhiman Saha. Live Ranji action was back on television! Thanks Neo...one had given up hope and something's surely better than nothing.
Keeping Riches
India is not limited to Mahendra Singh Dhoni for a wicketkeeper batsman. It has every possible combination available for the wicketkeeper-batsman's slot. If Dhoni is now a combination of passable 'keeper, improving test batsman and divine skipper, then there is KD Karthik who is a much better test batsman and a determined keeper. Then there is the evergreen Parthiv Patel, perhaps as good a batsman as KD Karthik, comparable with Dhoni in the shorter game, unfortunately perhaps a stagnated gloveman.
Shreevats Goswami is a combination of youth and promise. An attacking age-group opener and an agile keeper, this lad will be on the radar in the times ahead.
But the man who has really forced himself into public consciousness with his self-belief is Wriddhiman Saha of Bengal. Here is a batsman who is probably the best of the lot. Well, KD Karthik could be a nose ahead in the longer game stakes, but is probably the best gloveman in the country at the moment.
He comes one-down for Bengal which not only is good for the lad and must continue, but also reveals the esteem in which his team holds his batsmanship. And Bengal is no mean team in the Ranji circuit.
I settled back to watch him and one of my favorite young players, Manoj Tiwary, play.
Saha disappointed me with just a fifty even though it was in the manner I have come to expect of him. A short treat yesterday and hopefully it shall be a full course meal tomorrow to push the boys around a bit. Maybe more if he can plough through the unfortunate times for Indian 'keepers who must wait fo Dhoni to hang up his gloves.
The Forgotten Debutant
Manoj Tiwary played a gem. In fact he is still playing it. He hasn't had a great time of it since his shoulder injury did him in on the brink of a test debut in the India nets back in 2007.
Following his surgery, it has been a gradual process of recovery.
Ever since I saw him play two seasons ago (before Pujara) I felt this man must play for India in future. Perhaps as a replacement for Dravid when that time comes. He had his opportunity much sooner; in fact, soon after India's disastrous World Cup 2007. His enthusiasm during the fielding drills resulted in a fall which upset his shoulder and the rest, as they say, is history. Manoj Tiwary became history as well.
The current domestic season hasn't been too kind to him either; the requisite volume of runs were simply not there even if the averages were reasonably good. And he had just two hundreds with a top score of 109 in a season where multiple triple centuries aren't enough to get you a national call-up ( Cheteshwar Pujara). So it is in this background that the forgotten miss-debutant played this innings against the raging fashion of this season's Ranji - Tamil Nadu.
Anyone who saw him play yesterday would have been delighted - by the way he stepped forward and leaned over the ball and clipped it neatly off his toes to the mid-wicket boundary. Or with the languid precision with which he leaned back just enough, on his toes, to square cut the rising ball which perforated the space between two fielders and ended up at the point boundary. And did you see that forward defence? So correct that you could take a photograph of it if you could and post it as an example for learners and regulars alike. You mind told you he should be playing with the big boys, your head shook side-to-side suggesting that'll probably not happen anytime soon, and your heart screamed out for the lad, raging against the bad luck which dogged him at the threshold.
Yesterday's innings bore the hallmark of Manoj Tiwary - it was unmistakably his - watch out for more today as the man wants to make it a really big one this time. He had that look in his eyes and his body spoke such a language.
134 not out is where he will begin today. Pleasing as his game was yesterday, I urge connosuiers to watch him play today if they missed yesterday. Let's not forget this young man - he and Pujara are the two who must be the first replacements/inductees in the senior team.
Balaji
He still swings the ball both ways. India could use that. The pace is a bit off though and he has no wickets to show yet. Tamil Nadu would be hoping he can address that situation today.
There is plenty to look forward to in this match. The in-form TN batsmen are yet to play. And can one forget D Chakrabarty's innings yesterday? makes you wonder if the batsmen are really getting better at the domestic level or are the bowlers becoming poorer?
Bengal are still in strife - someone will have to stay long enough with Manoj Tiwary to set up a challenge to the Tamil Nadu cavaliers.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Ranji Trophy Super league second round matches
Posted by Balajhi
TN vs Karnataka - Group B
The battle of the south zone begin today at Chinnaswamy stadium Bangalore. Both teams failed to make any impression at the national level in the past 2 seasons. While Karnataka's strength was dented by retirements and players on national duty, TN suffered due to ICL. TN almost pushed Maharashtra to defeat while Karnataka managed to draw despite a second innings collapse (scorecard). They also conceded first innings lead to Railways. But unlike Group A, where Mumbai and Delhi registered good wins, none of the Group B contenders registered a win in the first round of super league round robin matches.
Coming to today's match, TN put up yet another good show on day 1 after winning the toss. The triple centurion at Nashik, Abinav Munkund, fell cheaply to Vinay kumar scoring just 8 runs. TN was tottering at 51 for three after losing Mukund, Badrinath for 7 and DK for 7. But the other opener Arun Karthik, who made is debut to replace Murali Vijay, scored 149 and shared a 246 runs stand with Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan who remains unbeaten at 115. At the end day's play TN is in a good position having scored 325 for the loss 4 wickets. They however can't relax and a lot depends on Vidyut and SS Kumar. They must carry on and eye a totall 500 to be gain in dominancy in the match.
Arun Karthik is 22 and looks like an aggressive batsmen. His century came in jsut 115 balls and his 149 took only 189 deliveries. Remember he is making a debut. Vidyut is doing a good job for TN. He is more consistent nowadays. IPL outing must have helped him. Surely IPL has some benefits and the notable one is Amit Mishra.
It seems DK has forgotten how to bat. His poor form continues. Badrinath's return must bolster TN batting, though he failed today. Long journey from Nagpur and getting dropped from the ODI side, that too replaced by his under study, must have impacted him.
L.Balaji has to come good for TN to win matches, not only here but in this season.
Sunil Joshi's distinction
The veteran Sunil Joshi has joined the 8 member elite club of 400+ wicket takers in Ranji trophy. Congratulations to him for the 400th and the long service. DK is his 400th wicket while current CoS, Kris Srikkanth, was his first wicket.
Top 10 wicket takers in Ranji Trophy
1. Rajinder Goel 637
2. S Venkataraghavan 530
3. Narendra Hirwani 441
4. Bhagwat Chandrasekhar 437
5. VV Kumar 418
6. Bishan Bedi 402
7. Utpal Chatterjee 401
8. Sunil Joshi 400
9. Erapalli Prasanna 370
10. Venkatapathy Raju 367
Day 1 - Scorecard
Update - Day 2
TN ended the first innings at 531 and Karnataka were 82 for 1 at close of stumps. TN's left arm spinner Suresh picked up the lone wicket that of Chipli, who left the armer strike him plumb. Karnatak now faces a tough task of matching 531, with their skipper down with the viral fever and on drips. Balaji and Yomahesh must cash in early morning dew at Chinnaswamy stadium.
Day 2 - Scorecard
Update - Day 3
TN gained the upper hand by restricting Karnataka to 267 and gaining a big first innings lead of 264. Karnataka, following on, are 48 for no loss at the end of day 3. L.Balajhi picked up 3 wickets, Suresh 4 and Ashwin picked up 3 for TN in Karnataka's first innings. Only Raghu with a 76 managed a fifty for Karnataka. Robin Uthappa was out to a first ball duck, lbw B. Ashwin.
Karnataka has to bat the whole day tomorrow. TN has to make the morning dew work for them. Hope Balaji shines in the second innings too. There was a time when teams batted a whole day comfortably to draw match. But the advent bang, bang cricket resulted in more attacking play, more mistakes and less tenacity among batsmen today. It will be interesting to see how Karnataka fares tomorrow.
Final update
The match has ended in a draw with Karnataka scoring 269 runs for the loss 4 wickets. R.Ashwin picked up 3 wickets for TN. Karnataka was bit shaky at 181 for 4 with 30+ overs to go but Raghu and Pandey batted valiantly to earn a draw and a point. TN's batting looks good for the season but the bowling is short on delivery.
Scorecard
Elsewhere in the Ranji
Group A
Mumbai piled 486 with Wasim Jaffer scoring 192. Gujarat tottering at 77 for six at the close of play on day 2. D Kulkarni picked up 4 for Mumbai. Parmer picked up 6 for Gujarat. Gujarat thrashed Saurashtra in the first match and now suffering at hands of the big boy.
Final Update
Mumbai cleans up Gujarat for 44 in the second innings. All Mumbai bowlers share the spoils. Seems like a professional performance by them.
Scorecard
Saurashtra's top order failed yet again to provide a good start and lost 3 wickets for 27 and almost repeated their performance against Gujarat last week. But not this time said the resolute Pujara. They were 100 for 4 when R Jadeja joined Pujara. These two together put up a grand show against Orissa and remained unbeaten after adding 520 runs together. Saurashtra declared at 620 for 4 with Pujara scoring his 3 triple of the season and first in this Ranji season. R Jadeja scored a double. Orissa have made a quite beginning. They are 42 for 0 at close of play.
Update
Sourashtra has made Orissa follow on. Orissa is 4 for 0 at stumps with a whole day and 314 runs to match. Looks like Sourashtra will register a big win. They sufferred a huge loss in the hands of Gujarat in the first match. Today it was Gujarat's turn at the hands of Mumbai while Sourashtra looking to decimate Orissa.
Final update
Sourashtra wrapped up the match against Orissa. A confidence boosting win after the first match loss to Gujarat. Saurashtra trailing by 318 runs were bowled out for 234 with Jadeja, the first innings double centurion, picking up 5 wickets.
Scorecard
Delhi has some worries against Hyderabad. Hyd were all out for 334 with SA Pai scoring 130. Sangwan led the wickets tally for Delhi with 4 wickets. In reply Delhi are 124 for 3 with both openers Chopra and Dhawan back in the pavilion. Ashwin Yadav picked up 2 wickets. No idea about who he is though his name suggests that he could be the another son of the famous Shivlal Yadav playing for Hyderabad. Arjun Yadav continuing to lead Hyderabad with a first class average of around 28 with bat.
Update
Delhi surrendered the first innings lead to Hyderbad. They were all out for 284 with Ashwin Yadav picking up 6 for 52. Who is he? Offie form Shivlal's stable?
At close of play Hyderabad were 31 for no loss and has a lead of 81. But for some sterling performance by Delhi bowlers, this match is heading into a draw. It's going to be second draw for Delhi this season. With Mumbai, Punjab winning and Sourashtra looking to wrap it up tomorrow, Delhi has to lift itself in the coming matchs
Final Update
As expected the match ended in a draw. Hyd scored 230 for the loss of 3 wickets. Mithun Manhas picked up all three for Delhi while Ravi Teja scored 113 and remained not out for Hyderabad.
Scorecard
Punjab are in a strong position after taking a 129 run lead against Rajasthan in the first innings. Rajasthan likely to perform worse than their first innings (133 ao) and are in shamble at 57 for 6 at the of day 2. Gony and Gagandeep stared with ball taking 4 wickets each in the first innings. In the second innings Kakkar picked up 3 so far for Punjab. Now Greg is really having some problem with his presence, irrespective of the team is working for.
Final update
Punjab has wrapped up the match against Rajasthan pretty comfortably. They needed just 41 to win the match and scored them for the loss of one wicket. It was a team performance.
Scorecard
Group B
UP vs Baroda is almost even stevens with UP having just its nose ahead. Praveen Kumar for UP and Irfan for Baroda picked up fivers.
Update
UP took a 51 run lead against Baroda. Irfan finished with 6 wickets. In their second essay Baroda has responded well and are 239 for 4. They now have a lead of 188. What will they do? Declare with a lead of 220+ and declare? I think they should. For a draw they will only get 1 as UP took the first innings lead but if they set a sporting target, they may as well pressurise UP and win the match and pocket 6 points. What would Connor Williams do? Go for 6 man. I am looking forward to this result. Interesting 4th day's play on the cards
Final update
The match ended in a draw. Asked to chase 264 UP ended with 151 for 6. They were once 97 for 6 in 30 overs. After that Kaif and Wicket Keeper Amir Khan saved UP valiantly. Kaif scored 45 while Amir scored 7 of some 90 odd balls. Both remained not out. Irfan could manage only 1 wicket in the second innings.
Scorecard
Maharashtra is in a strong position against Andhra Pradesh after surviving the scare given by TN in their first match. AP were all out for 348 while MH are 205 for 1 at stumps on day 2. MH's seamer Fallah took 6 wickets while their opening batsman Khadiwale scored 103 and was the batsman to be dismissed. For AP Whatekar scored 142.
Update
This game is heading for a draw. With an overnight score of 205 for 1, Maharashtra were bundled out for 393. That's pathetic. They not only failed to score big but also consumed lot of overs to ensure a first innings lead. In the end they gained 45 runs lead and AP are 2 with out loss at stumps.
Final Update
The match ended in a draw. Andhra declared at 210 for 5 leaving 10 odd overs for Maharashtra to chase 166.
Scorecard
Monday, November 3, 2008
TN starts in style
Posted by Balajhi
Tamil Nadu opened its campaign at Nashik against Maharashtra. Their openers remain unbeaten at the end first day's play and have together added 377. M.Vijay, on whom I am keeping an eye, has scored his second double century in first class and the other opener Abinav Mukund, a new comer to the TN Ranji side, is on a century now. I hope they build the partnership further and score biggg individually.
TN has been struggling off late to make it past the league round. In fact two years back it had to fight hard to avoid relegation to the plate group. Badrinath was the lone man doing the batting for TN during this period after Badani, Sriram and few others left for ICL riches. Since the arrival of Vijay TN's batting look bit solid. Vijay had a good start to his career in 2006-07 and had an average one in 2007-08. He has had a good start to this season and is in good form. He had a good India A outing against NZ A and came second in the challenger trophy batting charts.
TN's prospects for this seasons rests largely on the shoulders of Vijay with Badrinath carrying the drinks for India seniors. TN's bowling department is emboldened by the return of L.Balaji. It has a very good offie, who missed out most of last season due to injury, in Ashwin.
Other point of interest in TN for Indian cricket fans is DK, the man who rose to the top from the bottom and fell down from there with a big thud, all in one season. Wishing him and his team good luck.
Day 2 - Update
TN declares at 648 for 3. Abinav Mukund makes it biggg (300*) and remains unbeaten while Vijay scored 243. Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan scored 59. DK failed again scoring just 5. A strange coincidence that both DK and his captain on England tour are struggling to find their touch. Balaji picks up the opener Khadiwale as Maharshtra ended the day at 154 for 1 in 44 overs. The pitch seems to be a good one to bat. Though still lot of cricket left in this game, I think this could end in a tame draw unless the pitch cracks and Ashwin has his way.
Day 3 - Update
This match is heading for a tame draw. Maharashtra are 401 for 7 at the end of day 3. TN likely to pick up extra first innings points. AJ Shrikhande, who is just playing his second first class match, saved the day for Maharastra with his big ton (195). Ashwin, the tall offie, has impressive figures of 3 for 68 from 40 overs. TN has to shore up its bowling, otherwise they will have another year of average performance.
Day 4 - Update
Despite TN's efforts on the fourth day KM Jadhav and NS Paradkar saved the day for Maharashtra. After dismissing MH for 457 in the first innings, TN enforced the follow on. TN spinners picked up 3 quick wickets for 55 but J & P scored 90+ each to ensure a draw and point for Maharashtra. Maharashtra scored 250 for six at the close of play. It must be relief for Maharashtra and an opportunity gone for TN. C Suresh, left arm spinner, of TN picked 7 or 205 in the match with a fiver in the first innings.
TN has improve it's performance in coming matches. Badri's presence should help them but Vijay's absence will be felt. Balaji and Yomagesh must deliver for TN enter the knock out phase.
scorecard
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Ranji Trophy Winners - The Complete List
Posted by Soulberry
Within is the complete list of Ranji Trophy winners and runners-up according to chronological order. The initial source is from Cricinfo and subsequent updates will be as I follow the seasons.Year Winners Runners-up 1934-35 Mumbai Northern India 1935-36 Mumbai Madras 1936-37 Nawanagar Bengal 1937-38 Hyderabad Nawanagar 1938-39 Bengal Southern Punjab 1939-40 Maharashtra United Province 1940-41 Maharashtra Madras 1941-42 Mumbai Mysore 1942-43 Baroda Hyderabad 1944-45 Mumbai Holkar 1945-46 Holkar Baroda 1946-47 Baroda Holkar 1947-48 Holkar Mumbai 1948-49 Mumbai Baroda 1949-50 Baroda Holkar 1950-51 Holkar Gujarat 1951-52 Mumbai Holkar 1952-53 Holkar Bengal 1953-54 Mumbai Holkar 1954-55 Madras Holkar 1955-56 Mumbai Bengal 1956-57 Mumbai Services 1957-58 Baroda Services 1958-59 Mumbai Bengal 1959-60 Mumbai Mysore 1960-61 Mumbai Rajasthan 1961-62 Mumbai Rajasthan 1962-63 Mumbai Rajasthan 1963-64 Mumbai Rajasthan 1964-65 Mumbai Hydeabad 1965-66 Mumbai Rajasthan 1966-67 Mumbai Rajasthan 1967-68 Mumbai Madras 1968-69 Mumbai Bengal 1969-70 Mumbai Rajasthan 1970-71 Mumbai Maharashtra 1971-72 Mumbai Bengal 1972-73 Mumbai Tamil Nadu 1973-74 Karnataka Rajasthan 1974-75 Mumbai Karnataka 1975-76 Mumbai Bihar 1976-77 Mumbai Delhi 1977-78 Karnataka Uttar Pradesh 1978-79 Delhi Karnataka 1979-80 Delhi Mumbai 1980-81 Mumbai Delhi 1981-82 Delhi Karnataka 1982-83 Karnataka Mumbai 1983-84 Mumbai Delhi 1984-85 Mumbai Delhi 1985-86 Delhi Haryana 1986-87 Hyderabad Delhi 1987-88 Tamil Nadu Railways 1988-89 Delhi Bengal 1989-90 Bengal Delhi 1990-91 Haryana Mumbai 1991-92 Delhi Tamil Nadu 1992-93 Punjab Maharashtra 1993-94 Mumbai Bengal 1994-95 Mumbai Punjab 1995-96 Karnataka Baroda 1996-97 Mumbai Delhi 1997-98 Karnataka Uttar Pradesh 1998-99 Karnataka madhya Pradesh 1999-00 Mumbai Hyderabad 2000-01 Baroda Railways 2001-02 Railways Baroda 2002-03 Mumbai Tamil Nadu 2003-04 Mumbai Tamil Nadu 2004-05 Railways Punjab 2005-06 Uttar Pradesh Bengal 2006-07 Mumbai Bengal 2007-08 Delhi Uttar Pradesh
Sunday, August 24, 2008
The Origins of Ranji Trophy - Part IV
Posted by Soulberry
The Impostor
The post-lunch session saw us engrossed with a multi-layered deep game played on and off the field. The narrator calls us back into a huddle for the final session of the innings.
The proposal for a more inclusive domestic tournament on an All-India range was mooted in the Simla meet of 1934. HH Bhupinder Singh ji, Mahajadhiraj of Patiala, donated a sum of £ 500 towards the design of the trophy, the configuartion of which, he also proposed, besides naming it after Ranji, who had recently passed away. He had also offered to present miniature trophy to the winners for keeps. All his proposals were accepted and he was back on the track...just the home stretch remained.
Curiously, the public announcement was delayed, giving time for Vizzy to catch up with the new developments. A trophy must be matched with a trophy, which must appear more worthy to the powers that be.
An emergency meeting of the Board was summoned. Vizzy argued against naming the trophy after Ranji by placing the facts on the table that Ranji had done little for Indian cricket and had a highly limited involvement with the game in India. He suggested that it should be named after Lord Willingdon instead! Vizzy even offered to sponsor the trophy himself.
The meeting was attended by all the heavyweights of the board - Sir Sikander Hayat Khan, Nawabzada Liaqat Ali Khan, Patiala, RE Grant-Govan, Anthony S D'Mello and Vizzy.
The motion was passed without resistance or fuss. Patiala couldn't prevent the flip-flop over Ranji Trophy, for this one was named after the sitting Viceroy! None of the royal favour curries on the cricket board dared go against that!
Lady Willingdon, the Vicereine, herself selected the trophy, which was named The Willingdon Trophy and kept on public display.
Naturally, Patiala was quite miffed.
The rivalry between the two warring protagonists peaked in the finals of the Moin-ud-Dowlah Trophy between their respective teams at Hyderabad - Freebooters vs Retrievers.
Vizzy's Freebooters boasted of Learie Constantine in their ranks while Patiala's Retrievers were led by the young Yuvraj of Patiala.
It is said 15,000 spectators turned up at the Gymkhana Grounds of Secunderabad to witness this match. Surprisingly, Vizzy himself didn't take part in the match. It is said, he telegrammed Learie during the match promising an amount in pounds for every run scored and wicket taken. Unfortunately, it all came to naught, as we can see from the scorecard....The Retrievers won by three wickets.
In a sense, it was a metaphorical message for Vizzy.
There was public outcry in the press when the details were revealed. Ranji vs Willingdon assumed nationalistic colours in that charged atmosphere of the ongoing freedom struggle. Writers felt it was sacrilege to the memory of Ranji, who was, despite all, the greatest cricketer ever born in India. However cynicism reigned, despite the brave outrage, the general feeling was that the impostor would be awarded to the winning team of the first national championship 1935 - Bombay.
HJ Vajifdar deputizing for the indisposed Bombay captain, LP Jai, walked upto to receive the Willingdon Trophy one week after the match at a public exhibition of the trophy. Lord Willingdon himself was present on the podium to award it. There wasn't a single unsurprised soul in the gathering which witnessed Lord Willingdon switch trophies and award the Ranji Trophy instead!
Truly a case of one impostor setting the record right through another impostor!
And so, this was how Ranji Trophy, the tournament and trophy, came into being.
EPILOGUE
How did that happen? What prompted such drama from Lord Willingdon? It turns out the surprise was hatched in distant England as yet another move in the princely game of chess played between Patiala and Vizzy.
Patiala and Grant-Govan were in London to attend the ICC meeting at Lord's. Grant-Govan broached and Patiala promised that he'd fund Jack Ryder's Australians on their scheduled trip to India later in 1935. Hence, the Ranji Trophy was awarded.
The princely battles continued beyond, but India had a domestic championship of its own with a nice trophy named after the greatest cricketer born here, even if he didn't play for India. This is story that lay behind this little scrap one began with -
Soulberry adds:
Patronage, money and purchasing, encouraging rivalries between groups by patrons, strategies, subterfuge...all these are intrinsic to Indian cricket. Perhaps then it was a compulsion of slavery and subjugation, but such continue into the present day. The story of how the Ranji Trophy came into being is no different from the recent setting up of IPL...the protagonists may be different, the boundaries may be liberal, the amounts far greater, the stakes as high, and the games and countergames by rival parties the same. Like with the Ranji trophy then, it was with IPL now...India did manage to set up a structure to strengthen its cricket and matching the demands of the respective eras, and it managed to have a trophy of its own despite all!
Knowing the troubled birth of this trophy must remind Indians - players, adminstrators and spectators - to give Ranji Trophy the status it truly deserves in our cricket.
And there is more to Ranji, but that's for another post. This fourth part concludes the series of blogs dicussing the origin of our domestic championship and trophy.
References and Links:
- The Origins of Ranji Trophy - Part I
- The Origins of Ranji Trophy - Part II
- The Origins of Ranji Trophy - Part II
The Origins of Ranji Trophy - Part III
Posted by Soulberry
Oh, To be my nation's first captain! And proxy wars thereof
At lunch, we were left mulling the seriousness attached to a game by grown up men with varying degrees of power and wealth. A game we quickly set up with one log of wood, a ball, and three bricks, on the torn and worn asphalt pitches of narrow gullies binding our homes. The thought that men fought over it, spent inheritances on it, nations fought over a game can push one into a thoughtful repose...they all still do the same, don't they?
But our narrator is ready with yet another twist in the tale, yet another round of sparring, of landing punches and counter punchins, of feints, bluffs and counter-feints. The Trophy indeed was gestated without hurry. We must be therefore be attentive, lest we miss...
All that had happened earlier was a build up from the main rivals towards the much sought after captaincy of the first Indian cricket team. Nothing more, nothing less, for being the country's cricket captain was percieved to be the acme of power one could enjoy under the British colonial system. Royals, who some claim, are simply the wiliest and strongest rogues of all, anywhere in the world, were more prone to take these matters to heart than the ordinary man.
When Vizzy appeared to have done enough to completely displace Patiala, Bhupinder Singh ji threw in a late jab, hoping it would find its mark. he agreed to sponsor the trials and bear one month's expenses of the touring party. With a flailing stroke, he was almost back on even keel and in with a chance to captain India again.
But other players were also in...shooting for a chance.
To push his case along, the Nawab of Pataudi Sr issued a statement suggesting his willingness to concede his Worcestershire qualification if he were selected to play for India. Considering that his selection was beyond doubt, it was felt there was a suggestion in it towards captaincy.
Letters of support and counter-support for various candidates began to appear in the newspapers of that time. Some of them were authored under unknown pseudonyms. Today, we all correspond over the net under such pseudonyms - concealment of identity on the web is considered a form of security - in times gone by, such methods were frowned upon but used nevertheless strategically.
Pataudi Sr, Vizzy, Patiala, Duleepsinhji and KS Ghanshaymsinhji were some of the names in the fray. The nation waited with bated breath to learn of their captain as the meeting convened on 4th February 1932, at 3.30 pm in the afternoon.
Perhaps it was the consistent financial support and the offer to sponsor the trials which did it - HH Maharajaadhiraj Maharaja of Patiala Bhupinder Singh ji was nominated the first captain of the Indian cricket team. It was a nomination which evoked debate and partisan views in the press of that time.
While a section claimed it to be a tribute to his highness's efforts over a long time, others questioned his skills, form, tactical and leadership abilities. At best, such felt, Bhupinder Singh, could be a non-playing captain.
Vizzy left no one in doubt about what he thought about the decision of the board. He decided to withdraw from the tour, ostensibly on grouds of poor health, and work instead on Lord Willingdon. Such is what our narrator tells us.
He wrote to the board citing his excuses, expresing his anguish and at the same time thanking the board for selecting him for the tour.
Vizzy immediately donated a pavilion to the newly constructed Ferozeshah Kotla Stadium and named it after Lord Willingdon, in an attempt to strengthen his position with the powers that were.
The erstwhile Willingdon Pavilion at Feroze Shah Kotla, New Delhi, donated by Vizzy. Now it has been replaced after rennovations to the ground
In reponse, Bhupinder Singh ji pulled off a political masterstroke of his own to kill two birds with one stone - to conceal his own poor ability and form, and to retrieve the thunder Vizzy again appeared to have stolen.
Having made his point by being selected as first-choice captain, the powerful one among the gaming satraps of Indian cricket relinquished his appointment to the surprise of one and all. He too thanked the board and gushed about the privilige of leading the country like Vizzy, and offerred existing state situation as an excuse for his inability to get away to play cricket.
The Maharaja of Porbander thus became the Captain of India by two defaults.
He was the worst player on the team scoring a total of two runs in the first class games leading up to the Test match. However, he was sensible enough to give up his captaincy to CK Nayudu. Therefore, much as the royals craved and plotted, ultimately it was a commoner who led India in its first test match.
Meanwhile, as a result of Vizzy's donations and attentions to Lord Willingdon, The balance of power began to slip away from Patiala. The associations which earlier fed off him began to wean themselves away from him. Or so says Mihir Bose, in his History of Indian Cricket.
Patiala began to play his cards fast as well, refusing to give up easily.
He entertained the visiting MCC team lavishly during their Indian sojourn, with all the special eastern thrills which excited colonial Englishmen. So much so, that after sessions of hunting in the Himalayas, the stiff Douglas Jardine was also melted over.
Next, he withdrew himself from all contests for active playing positions and responsibilities and pushed forward the young Yuvraj of Patiala, Yadvindra Singh ji, who was a more capable cricket player.
CK Nayudu was played up by Vizzy depite being a poor captain and Vizzy used that discontent to make his way forward. He won a game against the visiting MCC team of Douglas Jardine, which added a halo to him. There was further sheen when Jardine praised his potential to be India captain.
Meanwhile, Ranji, who was in the employment of Patiala's cricketing XI, passed away.
Patiala responded to setbacks by yet again turning towards the less promiment.
With the Bombay Pentangulars suspended, the need for a proper, All-India domestic tournament was felt as an immediate necessity by the board. the Mayor of Bombay suggested so when the Indian team returned from England in 1932. However, it was much earlier, in 1928 when the Board for Control of Cricket in India was set up, that it was felt such a system would strengthen the cricketing abilities of the nation.
In 1934 Simla meet, Anthony S D'Mello emphasized the need for such a tournament. Patiala sensed and seized the moment yet again - he stood up and donated immediately, the sum of £ 500 for the trophy along with a description of what it was to look like - "Grecian urn two feet high, with a lid, the handle of which represented Father Time, similar to the one on the weather vane at Lord's."
He also expressed his desire that the trophy be named after Ranji, to honor Ranji's contribution to the game. here was also an offer to present a miniature to the winning team for keepsakes.
The Maharaja of Patiala's suggestions and offer were well recieved. It looked like Ranji Trophy would soon be born.
-- End of Part - III --
References and Links:
Saturday, August 23, 2008
The Origins of Ranji Trophy - Part II
Posted by Soulberry
The social ascension of HH The Maharajkumar Sir Pusapati Gajapatiraju Vijaya Ananda "Vizzy"
When we broke off for the first drink's break, the narrator had introduced us to the scene, climes, and some of the characters who unwittingly ended up creating the Ranji trophy. The narrator also introduced us to the two main protagonists responsible, documenting their rivalry, and the declining influence of the powerful Maharajah of Patiala, due to recorded scandalous misdemeanours, in the court of the Viceroy, Lord Willingdon, which was matched by the sudden concurrent rise in prestige of his bête noire - Maharajkumar of Vizianagaram. He had left us there, tantalizingly poised to see Vizzy rise in court from his remarkable challenge. Before we go on, let us briefly understand Vizzy.
Unlike the powerful and ruling Maharajadhiraj Bhupinder Singh ji of Patiala, Vizzy was the second son of Maharaja Sahib Pusapati Chittibabu Vijayarama IV Gajapathi. Thus he was not in direct line of power, and hence a Mahrajkumar. Then, he had a disagreement with his nephew, following which, he had to shift base from his southern Kingdom of Vizianagaram to Benares (Varanasi) where he married Maharajkumari Bhagirath Devi of Kashipur and settled down. However, it is said, he was an ambitious man, determined to cultivate his own power and influence through the plough of cricket.
Mihir Bose has famously written in his book, A History of Indian Cricket, "If Vizzy had been content with being such a cricket sponsor like Sir Horatio Mann in the eighteenth century, or Sir Julien Cahn in the twentieth, his name would be one of the most revered in Indian cricket. But he was consumed with the ambition to be a great cricketer".
It is a famous quote, often seen on the web, included on Vizzy's page at Wiki, and perhaps summarizes what, or sets the tone for how, most authors may feel about Vizzy. It is true perhaps that Vizzy dreamt of leading India as captain, in what was merely a sport otherwise, but had assumed far different dimensions then as it continues to wear now.
So here is a young man, born into monarchy, and with an inclination to rule, living in a period when power and patronage were still tantalizingly near, even though these essentials were slipping away swiftly and certainly from the grasp of traditional rulers, with great organizational skills, and some lesser ones in the most useful of places - on the cricket field of colonial India. He used them both to replace the firmly entrenched Patiala from close proximity to Lord Willingdon, Chief Patron of cricket in India and also the Viceroy of that time. At least for a while Vizzy was King.
Vizzy organized and led a team on a tour of Ceylon versus Dr. J Rockwood's Europeans in 1930-31, and cricket playing centres of India such as Delhi, Calcutta (now Kolkatta), Madras(now Chennai), Bangalore ( now Bengaluru ), Secunderbad and Benares ( Varanasi). ( More related stats - here and the controversies thereof re: Hobbs and Sutcliffe) The Indian part of the contingent included senior players such as CK Nayudu, Mushtaq Ali, and Prof. D.B Deodhar.
Getting Hobbs and Sutcliffe to play was no mean feat, we are told, for Hobbs had spurned five previous offers. Fans of Kevin Pietersen in India hoping to see him play in the IPL, therefore, still have four hopes to go! Vizzy spent his own money in setting up this team and organizing the tour, the success of which, not only drew apprecation from Sutcliffe (who went on to record it the Daily Express of that time), but also catapulted his stock in the cricket establishment of India to dizzy heights.
Our narrator tells us that Times of India reported then that Nawab Liaquat Ali Khan, the President of the Cricket Control Board, en route attending the second round table conference at Bombay, disclosed th convening of an emergency board meeting at Simla in which issues relating to office bearers, th proposed tour of England and the visit of Ceylon were discussed. He also diclosed that Vizzy had announced a purse of Rupees 50,000 towards the forthcoming tour of England. Anthony S D'Mello, RE Grant Govan, and CE Newham (who was acting president) were said to be sitting in the meeting.
The seed for captaincy of the Indian team was clearly being tended to vigorously.
At this point I may need to digress a little and discuss a point with our narrator for I am confuse about the Liaqat Ali Khan involved with both round tables and cricket besides being a Nawab in the bargain.
Extensive research on the net ( please refer to the difficulties I mentioned earlier in the absence of a BCCI website ) by me on Nawabzada Liaqat Ali Khan for his affiliation and association with cricket adminstration of that time revealed nothing.
The BCCI list of presidents also dos not reveal the name of the Nawab. However, our narrator has quoted Times of India and I do not have access to their archives of that period. There are however Sikandar Hayat Khan and Mohammed Hamidullah Khan on the list approximating that period. Well, that's one for our narrator to clarify. I welcome anyone who points me in the right direction.
We are told, Vizzy upon reaching Delhi after being invited for a meeting with the powers that be, issued a stirring statement of aims in which he claimed he had ndertaken the journey for the sake of cricket, endeavoring for the materialization of the proposed tour of England, and that he was willing to sacrifice wealth and much for the sake of the game and the tour.
News reports of that time, we are told, in the light of the successful organization of the Ceylon and India tour and generosity, concluded their articles with a declaration that Vizzy's appointment as captain to England was a certainity.
The viceregal doors opened and Vizzy was at discussions with Lord Willingdon over the proposal and details of the tour of England. Willingdon is said to have been deeply interested in favour of the project. Clearly Vizzy had closer to the seat of power while the colourful Patiala had slipped away from it.
Not so...things are not so clear-cut in princely thrusts and parry's.
Patiala decided to redeem his eroding status by offering to cover the expenses of the trials involved for the team's selection and a month's expenses on tour. The hitherto impoverished Board was truly overwhelmed by the windfalls of rivalry.
Also, with the rivalry no longer covert, it gave opportunity to others to shape things along. The Jama Saheb Nawab of Nawanagar, who invented a delicately cruel stroke to survive and thrive in competitive counties saw a chance to create an impresion in India as well. Similarly, there were those, who through correspondence with newspapers, anonymously or otherwise, threw in the crown of the Nawab of Pataudi - Iftikhar Ali Khan, and others' as well into the captaincy stakes.
-- End of Part II --
References:
The Origins of Ranji Trophy - Part I
Posted by Soulberry
Of princely intrigues, courting colonial masters, and decline of Patiala's influence
One of the peculiar aspects of researching the origins of the Trophy on the net is that there is only standard material available unless you have access to very old press archives, which I obviously do not have. There are also curiously very few images of the Trophy itself in the public or purchasable domain. However, there is plenty of material available in the print world. There are many books which tell us about how it all began. I had to provoke my local bookshop owner to explore beyond his stock of cricket books and he graciously obliged: the best of the lot for me was Boria Majumdar's Once Upon a Furore : Lost Pages of Indian Cricket, published originally by an independent venture called Yoda Press, which has since handed over its catalogue to Cambridge University Press, it appears. Even at the mentioned rate, it is a bargain for this is a book worth reading and possessing. I got it for a happy discount from my regular store owner. I mention all this for the books were not easy to procure as per my experience.
Majumdar's is a compulsive style which is engrossing and is well-supported by his meticulous research which reveals to us many unknown aspects of Indian cricket unmentioned even in other respected titles. I have digressed at the outset of this blogpost itself, but it was necessary to mention this wonderful book to those who want to know about the history of Indian cricket. Boria has since gone on to author another tremendous book which is about ten times the cost of this one and contains many many details. It was also necessary for I have chosen to accept most of the information he has conveyed to us as source, and will base this post on the framework of that information. Credit given where credit is due, we move on to chew some past among us...
The world knows the simple facts about the Ranji Trophy, but the story of how it came about is a script for a drama in itself!
Not many resources (detailed enough) are available to in the form of a record or chronicle of the birth of this most important domestic competition on the net. Boria digs up the princely rivalries, court intrigues, motivated rulers, and other peripheral characters with vested interests; the different personal and public ambitions; all of which together breathed life into the sustaining seed of Indian cricket - The Ranji Trophy.
We are told (see image above), behind that innocent magnanimity in the general meeting of the Board of Cricket Control at the colonial summer capital of Simla , in the setting of pre-independent India, where former rajahs and maharajas were reduced to being mere courtiers of colonial viceroys, with little or none, power and importance, that cricket became an important plough to cultivate the colonial rulers and develop some much-needed influence to retain some relevance. We are told, that gaming cricket with the lord and overseer, surrogated for wars these decorative satraps could not wage with each other anymore. We are told how the politics of cricket in India gave Ranji his royal seat and immortality, even though he played little for and in India.
The principals in this intriguing story of the Trophy's birth, the narrator tells us, were the HH Maharaja
of Patiala, Bhupendrasingh Rajindersingh ji and the Maharajkumar of Vizianagaram "Vizzy".
We rewind to India circa pre-independent 1930s, when the Board of Control for Cricket was a newly formed body. HH Bhupindersingh ji of Patiala was among the most powerful of princes in India at that time when most had lost the majority of their powers. He was a generous patron of the game of cricket, appointed officially the vice-patron, second only to Lord Willingdon, chief patron by virtue of being the Viceroy of that era, who controlled the Board activities and donated magnanimous sums of money as well as for the construction of the Cricket Club of India ( CCI ) building. { CCI is housed in Brabourne Stadium and Raj Singh Dungarpur was its chief till recently }
The Patiala maharaj also employed senior cricketers and Ranjitsinhji was one of them. In fact, it is said, Patiala stood by Ranji in overcoming his financial crisis.
However, Patiala was also an infamous connoiseur of wondrous beings of the other kind, according to the published work of one of his disgruntled subjects in the tome Indictment of Patiala. as a result, he was gradually sinking in grace with the powers that be. It was in this self-inflicted asthenic state that Patiala found challenge, in the ambitious form of Vizzy, HH Maharajkumar of Vizianagaram.
Due to the launch of the Civil Disobedience Movement against the British by Mahatma Gandhi around that time, the proposed MCC tour was cancelled.
Vizzy saw an opportunity and jumped in to plug the gap and capitalize with a team comprising, among others, the highly influential Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe, to tour Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and cricket-playing parts of India.
Indian giants such as Colonel CK Nayudu, Mushtaq Ali, and Prof. D.B Deodhar were also part of that tour.
The tour was an unqualified success and Sutcliffe lavished praise upon Vizzy in his columns for a newspaper. He went thus, according to our narrator -
The Maharajkumar is a candidate for the captaincy for the Indian team to tour England, and if he's fortunate enough to be appointed, he will no doubt give an excellent account of himself for he has had a through grounding in the finer points of the game, and is a most capable leader.
This "endorsement", the value of which in times such as those can be understood, fuelled Vizzy and his dreams. With greater assurance, he lobbied himself into a clearly rival position to Patiala.
-- End of Part One --
