West Zone Wins Duleep Trophy In A Record Chase

West Zone wins the Duleep trophy in a record chase at Hyderabad.Chasing 536 to win in the fourth innings,Yusuf pathan lead from the front making an unbeaten 210.He continued his form from the first innings in which he made 108.South zone in their first innings made 400 thanks to a high quality innings from the skipper Dinesh karthik who made 183.Irfan pathan took 5 for 100 and troubled most south zone batsman on a pitch that hasn't got much for the fast bowlers.In reply west zone managed only 251 runs of which 108 came from the bat of Yusuf Pathan.

With a lead of 149 runs from the first innings,south zone scored 386 runs in the second innings.It was the skipper show once again for the south zone.Dinesh karthik made a delightful 150.South zone declared at 386/9 meaning an almost improbable target of 536 runs for the west zone.

With 2 days in the test match,west zone batsman went through with their shots.C.pathak scored a brilliant hundred.He made 130 which really setup the game for west zone.Good contributions came from Jaffer who made 66 and Irfan pathan who made 42.But the man who stole the show was the elder pathan who made 210 not out.It was a great display of shot making from the senior pathan.Yusuf finished the match in style when he smashed S.Aravind over long-on to seal the record chase.

South zone dropped Yusuf 5 times,But at the end of the day the only thing that matters is the scoreboard.This is the biggest chase in first-class history surpassing the previous highest first-class chase of 513 for 9 between Central Province and Southern Province in the 2003-04 SriLankan domestic season.

Mumbai Clinch Ranji Trophy

In a thrilling Ranji trophy final,Mumbai showed their supremacy once again in Indian domestic cricket.In one of the most nail biting contests ever in the history of the Ranji trophy,Mumbai held its nerve to clinch its 39th Ranji trophy title.It was a match which either side could have won,but the second new ball in the fourth innings proved too much for the Karnataka batsman.When the new ball was taken in the 81st over Karnataka had four wickets and still needed only 47 runs to win the match.But some high spirited performances from Ajit Agarkar and Dhawal Kulkarni did the task for Mumbai.Mumbai beat the host Karnataka by a meager margin of 6 runs.
Mumbai in their first innings could manage only 233 on a pitch that was conducive to fast bowling.In reply Karnataka failed to take the advantage and Crumbled for 130.A mix of poor stroke play and a fiery spell of fast bowling from the veteran Avishkar Salvi did the trick for Mumbai.In the second innings Mumbai could manage only 234,Thanks to a well made 87 from Dhaval kulkarni.a first innings lead of 133 meant that Karnataka had to make 338 to win on a pitch that had enough for the Seamers.
Karnataka looked on course when Manish Pandey and G Satish were batting.Pandey played one of the best innings you ever get to see on a cricket field.His 144 was a display of elegant stroke play and temperament.But when they both got out,the Mumbai Pacers took the new ball.Needing 47 runs to win with 4 wickets in hand Karnataka could manage only 41 runs.Ajit Agarkar took 5 wickets and most importantly the last wicket when 7 runs were needed.
The real hero of the match was the Gangothri Glades Cricket Ground at Mysore.If BCCI Can produce grounds such as this,then test cricket can blossom.

A moment of pride

December 6th 2009 will go down as an auspicious day in Indian cricket.By beating Srilanka comprehensively by an innings and 24 runs,team India for the first time in its cricket history becomes the number one test team.It is a journey that started 18 months ago when Gary Kirsten took over as the coach of team India.The main reason for the success is the intimidating batting order the team has.Starting with Shehwag and Gambhir,followed by Dravid,Tendulkar and Laxman in the middle,with yuvraj and dhoni to follow,it is quite a herculean task for any bowler to curtail them.zaheer has been by far the best bowler in international cricket for some time now.Harbhajan leads the spin department like no one else in the world.

coming to the test at cci(cricket club of India),Veeru played one of the best innings you will ever get to see in test match cricket.Replying to srilankas 1st innings of 393,shehwag scored runs at will,with a very high pace.He might have missed the triple ton,but it is an innings of greatest batsman-ship.It is his innings that set the tone for India's most memorable win.Zaheer's 5 wicket haul completed the formalities.

There is one word that describes the team now-"Ruthless".

A Memorable Day In Indian Cricket

November 27 2009 will mark the new beginning in Indian cricket.The win against Srilanka in Kanpur is the 100th test win for India.To make the day more special India sees itself on the top of the ICC test rankings.

A beautiful display of skills with both bat and ball gave India an innings victory against the tourists.With the Indian top order firing on the first two days,Srilanka never looked comfortable in the middle.The Delhi duo of Gambhir and Shehwag belted the Srilankan bowlers to all parts of the ground.Dravid and rest of the middle order continued the good work.

This will also be a match to remember for Sreesanth.The Kerala Pacer bowled high quality Swing Bowling,hitting the right areas almost with every delivery.In conditions as demanding as in Kanpur,this has to be one of his best performances ever.To be back in the team and to bowl the way he did is quite amazing.It was all in all a team effort that gave India a 1-0 lead going into the third test at Mumbai.Only Samaraweera showed some resilience.Harbhajan along with Ojha bowled beautifully throughout.It is a great site to see Harbhajan and Sreesanth enjoying each others success.They Looked like they forgot everything that transpired between them during the first IPL.This is what a great match can do.It Brings the team together.

20 Years of Tendulkar

It has been quite sometime,since i have written something on the blog.But what better occasion can you get,It is 2 decades ago that Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar set his foot on the cricket field.Cricketing world then knew that a genius has arrived and will rewrite almost every record in the book.It has been quite a journey that even tendulkar might not have scripted better.

Playing alongside three generations of cricketers,he mastered the art of batting to mere perfection.He is an architect at work when he is on song.Adjectives and superlatives aren't enough to describe the caliber of a man who has been carrying Indian cricket on his shoulders for the past 20 years.

Playing in the era of Ponting and Lara,Sachin is still regarded as the best of the lot.From a school boy who along with his friend vinod kambli set a world record partnership,to a man who is regarded as the "god of cricket",sachin has always been down to earth.This is one quality that sets him apart from many.

Many feel he is the one that stands close to the Aussie great sir Donald Bradman,but tendulkar played cricket which is much more demanding than in the sixties.

There might be fools still debating his class,but fools are meant to be so.On the eve of his 20 years in cricket,i wish Tendulkar's resume becomes complete with the world cup win in 2011.
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Dhoni calls it wrong

It is the Indian batting that came under heavy criticism after the loss at Guwahati.But the match was lost even before a ball was bowled.Dhoni won the toss,and to everybody's surprise opted to bat first.It doesn't require rocket science to know that 9am start would support the fast bowlers,and especially in the subcontinent it is an advantage worth grabbing.Guwahati traditionally has not been a batting paradise of late.It is a type of wicket where the ball tends to stops after hitting the deck.So the flashy Indian batsmen should have given more value to the wicket instead of hitting through the line of the ball.So batting first is not a great decision at all at Guwahati.

Dhoni may have his own way of looking at things.He might have thought that the pitch would slow up further in the second innings,and would help his spinners.But it is not such a great idea when you are 3-2 down.Indians lost half the side in the first half an hour of play.170 is not a score that can intimidate the Aussies.It is always a cake walk for the world champions.India might not be doing well while chasing in the recent past,but it is not worth a gamble to bat first on this occasion.

But credit has to be given to Australia for the way they played in this match.Despite the injuries to key players,Aussies played their best cricket so far in this series at Guwahati.Douglas Bollinger and Mitchell Johnson bowled beautiful lines to rattle the Indian top order.

They used the early morning advantage and swung the ball either ways.Indian captain might regret his decision to bat first,but when you loose the series 4-2,there is nothing much one can do,other than regretting his flaws.

I hope the next time he wins the toss,he chooses the best cricketing option rather than his own mind or past history.

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Lara versus Sachin

One thing that is a point of discussion in the cricketing world at present is "who is the best batsman,Lara or Tendulkar"?.After the scintillating innings at Hyderabad Sachin made it clear that he is next to nobody.But the debate still continues because cricket pundits still have their own way of looking at things.

Glenn Mcgrath Thinks Lara is the best batsman he has ever bowled to because he thinks Lara in form is more difficult to get out.On the other hand Ricky pointing who is the next best after the duo,thinks that tendulkar is the best because of his consistency over a period of 20 years.
Ian chapel once said "if you put a gun on my head and ask to choose one of them,i would choose Lara because there is no player who plays spin as gracefully as him".But he also said "one thing that amazes me about Tendulkar is that being such a short man he generates tremendous power of the back foot".He says Sachin is a better player of fast bowling, but only slightly.
Wasim akram believes that sachin is by far the best he has bowled to.But contrastingly his bowling partner Waqar younis feels that Lara is the most toughest to bowl to.
Renowned cricket commentator Tony greig rates Tendulkar way above Lara."The way Sachin has handled himself is quite amazing and he is a role model for budding cricketers world over"
Even Lara once said "Sachin is a genius. I'm a mere mortal."
But one thing is for sure we are privileged to watch two of the greatest batsman of all time.Brain Charles Lara and Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar will be two names that will always be synonymous with the word called "greatest".