Saturday, September 15, 2012

Jharkhand Domestic Schedule: 2012-13 Season

For all followers of Jharkhand team, here is the calendar for the domestic season 2012-13 (Source - cricinfo)

Ranji Trophy - In the domestic first class tournament, Jharkhand is in Group C which will send 2 qualifiers to the quarter-final stage . This being the weakest group does mean that chances of qualifying for the knock-out stage is pretty good. Lets see how the results pan out. Here is the schedule.
  1. Nov 2-5, 2012: vs J&K (A)
  2. Nov 9-12, 2012: vs Assam (H)
  3. Nov 17-20, 2012: vs Goa (H)
  4. Nov 24-27, 2012: vs Himachal Pradesh (H)
  5. Dec 8-11, 2012: vs Tripura (A)
  6. Dec 15-18, 2012: vs Andhra Pradesh (H)
  7. Dec 22-25, 2012: vs Kerala (A)
  8. Dec 29, 12 - Jan 1,13: vs Services (A)

Vijay Hazare Trophy -  Jharkhand's only silverware till date has come in the 2010-11 edition of the 50 over domestic tournament. The tournament which launched Varun Aaron to stardom. An added incentive is that the winning state goes on to play in the Challenger Trophy. Lets see what the schedule holds for this year.
  1. Feb 16, 2013: vs Tripura
  2. Feb 18, 213: vs Bengal (the defending champions)
  3. Feb 20, 2013: vs Assam
  4. Feb 22, 2013: vs Odisha (earlier Orissa)
Syed Mustaq Ali Trophy - May sound surprising to all, but this is the national domestic T20 tournament and not the IPL. Like the Vijay Hazare trophy this is also played on zonal basis. Here is the schedule for the  group stage matches.
  1. Mar 18, 2013: vs Tripura
  2. Mar 19, 2013: vs Bengal
  3. Mar 20, 2013: vs Odisha
  4. Mar 21, 2013: vs Assam

So this was the schedule. Lets see what Varun Aaaron, Saurabh Tiwary, Shahbaz Nadeem and company achieve this year. Not including Dhoni in the list as he is unlikely to make any domestic appearance given India's hectic schedule.

Wishing the best to my team.

Monday, September 3, 2012

India-New Zealand 2012 Tests Review

The 2012-13 home season began early for India, in fact the earliest till date. New Zealand were not  expected to be more than a warm-up for the tougher challenges coming up in the form of England & Australia. Here is the immediate post-series review.
  • If India had been on the receiving end of as many dubious decisions as the Kiwis had, am pretty sure enough hue and cry would have been raised and the umpires would have been removed from officiating in any India matches in the future. But hardly hear the Kiwis complaining.
  • For dodgy umpiring there is a very simple solution which for some reason ICC does not want to use. Give review powers to the 3rd umpire. Any "obvious" error can be overturned at the the 1st replay itself. Marginal calls stay with the field umpires.
  • The Kiwi bowling lineup of Martin, Bracewell, Boult & Southee can trouble many a batting lineup. But their batting lineup remains worrying.
  • India went into the series with 2 gaping holes left by VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid and many questions about the lineup. Unfortunately most questions have still not been answered and some new ones have been created.
  • The openers continue their dodgy form. Gambhir and Sehwag are not providing the solid starts that they used to. maybe its time to bring in Rahane and maybe put Sehwag down the order.
  • Virat Kohli continues to impress.
  • Cheteshwar Pujara's comeback beginnings are good. But he is not the new "Wall" as everyone has started projecting him. As yet.
  • Raina at no. 6 is not working out well. Either try out someone new (Badrinath, Manoj Tiwary ?) or bring down Sehwag and put in Rahane at the top.
  • Ashwin & Ojha have made a decent spinning pair. Their record, albeit after 5 tests at home against West Indies and Kiwis, is staggering to say the least.
  • The slip catching by Sehwag & Kohli was excellent. At least Dravid & Laxman were not missed in that department.
  • Sachin Tendulkar has given more ammunition to his critics. But he is needed in this lineup for now especially with Dravid & Laxman gone. Maybe he can let Kohli take over the No. 4 position and drop down the order.
In all, India won the series but questions remain unanswered.

P.S. Suggested lineup for the England tests - Gambhir, Rahane, Pujara, Kohli, Sachin, Sehwag, Dhoni, Ashwin, Zaheer, Yadav, Ojha.