Ranji Trophy 2008-09 Tracker - Plz Post Notable Daily Performances & Updates

WINTER OF HOPE

The 2008-09 Ranji Season Begins Tomorrow And It’s A Season That Promises Plenty As Usual. Nitin Naik Looks At What Those Promises Could Be And Options It Might Throw For The Future


No-no-no-no-no-no-no-no No Entry! What comes to mind when one sings this Anu Malik chartbuster from the 2005 laugh riot No Entry? Of course, the irresistible Bipasha Basu gyrating sensuously to the song.

But the number could also have been a signature tune of the fabulous four who have made batting positions, from No. 3 to 6 in the Indian cricket team, virtually their postal address. For any young hopeful, trying to break into the middle-order by scoring big on the dust bowls, resembling pitches in the Ranji Trophy, there was a perennial sense of inevitability and haplessness.

Mithun Manhas, S Badrinath, S Sharath, Amol Muzumdar, Vinod Kambli, Rohan Gavaskar, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Mongia, Hemang Badani, Venugopal Rao, Kiran Powar... These are just a few names who have tried to send a signal to the selectors by topping the run-charts season after season. No one paid attention. Some in anger chucked it all away and chose to be ‘rebels’ and joined the Indian Cricket League (ICL). A few waited for their turn. The others just accepted their fate and faded away.

But who can blame the selectors? The Indian middle-order, after all, was thought to be impregnable.

But as the 2008-09 Ranji season begins tomorrow, there seems to be a spring in the stride of most players. Their eyes reflect hope. And with good reason. Players, at least batsmen eyeing a slot in the Indian team, know that for once they are not just pretenders, but genuine contenders. After all, the ‘R’ word is being mentioned unabashedly when people talk of the Fab Four. Instead of VVS, people are talking of VRS.

While it would be foolish to assume that all four would retire together and four middle-order slots would be suddenly available, there is at least hope that if a talented cricketer scores consistently for his state team, his knocks on the door will be heard, if not this season then at least the next.

So, the Rohit Sharmas, Cheteshwar Pujaras, Suresh Rainas, Robin Uthappas, Tanmay Srivastavas, Ravindra Jadejas, Virat Kohlis, Niraj Patels and Shikhar Dhawans, the time to cash in is NOW. Score big, get noticed, display energy in the field and you never know, those four addresses in the Indian middle-order could well have new inhabitants.

There is hope also for the tried, tested and dusted cricketers like Yuvraj Singh, Mohd Kaif, Parthiv Patel and Wasim Jaffer. They have all done well in Tests in the past and if the selectors too is crying for attention and needs urgent replenishment. The great Anil Kumble, it’s clearly visible, won’t be operating forever. So the fingers and wrists of the Ramesh Powars, Pragyan Ojhas, Piyush Chawlas and Chetanya Nandas will be justified in feeling twitchy.

Quality spinners seem to be on the wane all over the world. That’s the reason why international batsmen appear to be struggling when up against even a half decent one on a slow turner.

The tweakers mentioned above will do well to approach the season seriously. Delhi leg-spinner Nanda started the proceedings well, picking up wickets in the Mohd Nissar Trophy and the Irani Cup. He is tall and, like Kumble, bowls fastish leg-spin.

Powar has the guile and flight and if he can get his attitude and fitness right, he could be a serious contender to bowl choose not to trust youth, at least in the longer format for the time being, they could fall back on these names. After all, there is no substitute to experience.

And it’s not just about ‘vacancies’ in the middle-order. The spin department in tandem with Harbhajan Singh in Tests. Chawla too is on the radar. He has been impressive in the limited opportunities that he has got.

The 2008-09 season will also see the reinvention of the quarterfinal after a gap of seven years. It means a greater margin of error for teams to qualify for the knockouts. Instead of two teams from each group qualifying for the semis, we will now have three teams qualifying for the last eight.

The remaining two slots will go to the plate group finalists.

What it also means is that a team like Bengal, which has been relegated to the Plate group this season, has a chance to qualify for the Elite group too. Who knows, if luck plays its part, they could well be champions in both divisions.

What a finish that would be for a season that promises so much!

THE ELITE & PLATE OF RANJI TROPHY


Fifteen Teams Vie For The Top Spot Among The Elite And Eleven Will Battle Among The Plate To Find Out Which Two Teams Get Promoted. The Ranji, Like Always, Promises Lots Of Action

MUMBAI

MUMBAI’S new captain Wasim Jaffer commands a lot of respect from his teammates. That alone should get Rohit Sharma, Sahil Kukreja and Abhishek Nair to come up with their best. Last year was unusually different for the 37-time champions who failed to make it to the semifinals. This time, Jaffer will be looking to correct whatever went wrong.
WATCH OUT FOR
Ajinkya Rahane, a talented opener who could possibly play at the No 3 position, now that Jaffer is around.

MAHARASHTRA

Maharashtra have never reached the semifinals of Ranji Trophy since the Elite and Plate divisions were introduced six years ago. If they sort out their batting woes and develop ability to chase big totals, they could spring a surprise or two this season. New skipper and left-hand batsman Nikhil Paradkar and middle-order batsman Kedar Jadhav are key players.
WATCH OUT FOR
Samad Fallah, the young left-arm pacer who can be a huge asset when the conditions are slightly helping.

SAURASHTRA

Enjoyed an outstanding season last year when they reached the semifinals before bowing out against Uttar Pradesh. Number three batsman Cheteshwar Pujara, among the country’s best talent at the moment, is in tremendous form, having already struck two triple-centuries within a week last month.
WATCH OUT FOR
Ravindra Jadeja, a useful off-spinner and left-hand batsman who has shown the abilities of maturing into a quality all-rounder.

TAMIL NADU

The way M Vijay, easily Tamil Nadu’s best opener after Sadagopan Ramesh, batted in the Challengers this year, he and S Badrinath give the team a lot to bank on. Skipper Dinesh Karthik may have lost out on the India job but along with medium-pacer Laxmipathy Balaji, the two players will eye the Ranji as a possible comeback opportunity.
WATCH OUT FOR
R Ashwin, a lanky off-spinner who can make subtle variations in the air and has the strength to run through batting line-ups.

DELHI

As defending champions, Delhi start favourites and why not. With openers like Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Akash Chopra in their ranks, Virat Kohli, Mithun Manhas and Rajat Bhatia in the middle-order and Ishant Sharma and Ashish Nehra in the attack, there’s little Delhi should ask for if these players manage to play even a couple of matches each this season.
WATCH OUT FOR
Pradeep Sangwan, the 18-year-old left-arm-medium pacer who impressed a lot last season bowling alongside Ishant Sharma.

ANDHRA

Despite the fact that Venugopal Rao shifted to Maharashtra last season and Syed Sahabuddin defected to ICL, they still managed to finish sixth. This time, Andhra boast of a good opening pair in Hemal Watekar and Prasad Reddy and a decent attack comprising D Kalyankrishna and P Vijay. Venugopal’s younger brother Gnaneshwara now leads the side.
WATCH OUT FOR
B Sumanth, the under-19 player who’s among the brightest stars to emerge from here.

ORISSA

They happen to be Ranji Elite’s only company from the East of India. Having bounced back from the Plate last season, Orissa will be keen to showcase their talent at a comparatively higher level this year. The team doesn’t have star players so to say, but surely a couple of India discards to add to that particular quotient. To name a few, Orissa have Shiv Sunder Das and Debasis Mohanty, easily the side’s best batsman and bowler.
WATCH OUT FOR
Niranjan Behera, a hard-hitting middle-order batsman and a handy off-break bowler.

BARODA

They’ve got history defending them as one of Ranji’s toughest customers. They’ve won the title on five occasions and been runners-up thrice. This year, their pace attack boasts of foreign recruit Dilhara Fernando and India cap Munaf Patel with Irfan Pathan adding to the pair’s strengths. Yusuf Pathan’s strokeplay has the ability to change the complexion of a game.
WATCH OUT FOR
23-year-old Rakesh Solanki, their batting mainstay last season, with 645 runs coming from seven matches.

GUJARAT

Gujarat’s strength stems from the way their captain and wicketkeeperbatsman Parthiv Patel led them last season. He was Plate’s highest rungetter with 615 runs which played a large role in Gujarat qualifying for the Elite. He’s got Neeraj Patel to support the batting order, highest scorer of the 2005-06 season and Siddarth Trivedi and Ashraf Makda on the bowling front.
WATCH OUT FOR
Mohnish Parmar, right-arm off-spinner who picked 37 wickets last year.

RAJASTHAN

Rajasthan alone, without Royals, might not really generate the kind of excitement the desert state did in the IPL’s inaugural year. But what definitely could spurn their chances is having Greg Chappell and his assistant Ian Frazer at the helm of coaching affairs. Rajasthan’s biggest worry, nevertheless, would be playing five out of their seven matches away from home.
WATCH OUT FOR
Greg Chappell and Ian Frazer, head coaches at Rajasthan’s Future Academy who’ve been preparing for a year now

UTTAR PRADESH

Once upon a time considered listless in domestic circuit, Uttar Pradesh are certainly among the top teams today. They have five India players in their ranks, one of the best new-ball attacks led by RP Singh, Praveen Kumar and Sudeep Tyagi; Mohammad Kaif and Suresh Raina rule the batting order while Piyush Chawla adds to the spin quotient.
WATCH OUT FOR
Tanmay Srivastava, India’s best batsman in the Under-19 World Cup, who also got a century in the Ranji final against Delhi last season.

HYDERABAD

They finished 12th last season and just about managed to avoid relegation. Their batting should revolve around VVS Laxman given that they’ll be aspiring big this year and until the veteran finds himself free of international commitments, it’ll be up to the young Ravi Teja to get things going. However, Hyderabad’s a team with lot many greenhorns, courtesy - ICL defections.
WATCH OUT FOR
Akshath Reddy, an aggressive 17-year-old opener who was identified by Greg Chappell in Jaipur this year.

KARNATAKA

Robin Uthappa is their new captain and he’ll be desperate to improve his chances for a India recall. But that aside, Karnataka, once a powerhouse, will be missing a lot in terms of experience until Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble return from their international commitments. Last season, they just about managed to hold on to their Elite spot.
WATCH OUT FOR
Ganesh Satish, a prolific Under-22 batsman touted by quite a few, including Dravid, as the talent to look out for.

PUNJAB

A side that at most times would wield a variety of options over the years, suddenly seems to be short of manpower. They’ve hardly recovered from the loss of 12 players who defected to the ICL and just about avoided relegation last season. Under new coach Arun Kumar, a former Punjab wicketkeeper, there’s a lot they have to work on and Yuvraj Singh __ who has been named in the squad for the first two matches __ should also make the much-needed difference.
WATCH OUT FOR
Siddarth Kaul who can whip up a decent pace the way he did in the Under-19 World Cup final early this year.

RAILWAYS

Twice, in 2001-02 and 2004-05, Railways managed to come back from nowhere and win the Ranji Trophy. Now given the way they’ve returned to the Elite this season, opponents need to be all the more wary. They’ve got experience in Sanjay Bangar, Amit Pagnis, Raja Ali and Harvinder Singh. Murali Kartik will be missed initially but the side needs to be at its best to avoid another relegation.
WATCH OUT FOR
Mahesh Rawat, the wicketkeeper-batsman who shifted from Haryana to Railways and was also a part of Shane Warne’s Rajasthan Royals.

Source: cricketvoice.com