Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Ranji Trophy 13-14: Jharkhand vs Delhi

Match Summary: Abandoned without a ball bowled due to rains.
Points: Jharkhand 1, Delhi 1

There is nothing to write about as the game was washed away due to rains on all 4 days. Both teams had to be satisfied with a single point each. Jharkhand lost a chance to make the most of their home game. However the biggest losers were the likes of Gambhir & Sehwag who missed out on a opportunity to stake their claim for the home West Indies series. As did the comeback lad Varun Aaron who would have been in contention for the South Africa series but needs a few games under his belt to show his match fitness and form.

However the focus of the first round of Ranji games was in Lahli where Sachin Tendulkar was playing his last Ranji game. The man's sheer presence livened up what would have been a dull (read normal) game. Never before has a Ranji league match been followed like this. Lahli was the centre of attention for 4 days and Sachin livened it up further by guiding Mumbai to victory. Goodbye Sir - You would be MISSED.

Fun Fact - The day Sachin made his first class debut was the day his last partner in Ranji Trophy Dhawal Kulkarni was born. The complete circle of life as one may say.

Now back to Jharkhand. Coming Up Next - Karnataka away 

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Jharkhand Domestic Schedule: 2013-14 Season

The domestic season in Indian cricket is underway with the NKP Salve Trophy & Duleep Trophy already having been contested for. However, now begins the real contest, the Ranji Trophy. Like last season I will try to cover the entire Jharkhand campaign in this blog. 

Ranji Trophy - The previous Ranji campaign was quite a successful one as Jharkhand reached the Ranji knock-outs from Group C. With the knock-out appearance, the team has been rewarded with a promotion to Group A from which 3 teams will go into the knock-outs. Here is the calendar for the 2013-14 Ranji Season.

  1. Oct 27-30, 2013: vs Delhi (H)
  2. Nov 7-10, 2013: vs Karnataka (A)
  3. Nov 14-17, 2013: vs Haryana (A)
  4. Nov 21-24, 2013: vs Odisha (A)
  5. Nov 28-Dec 1, 2013: vs Gujarat (H)
  6. Dec 6-9, 2013: vs Mumbai (A)
  7. Dec 22-25, 2013: vs Vidarbha (H)
  8. Dec 30, 2103- Jan 2, 2014: vs Punjab (H)
Vijay Hazare Trophy - The domestic 50 over tournament. Here is the schedule for the inter-zonal league stage. (All matches in Agartala, Tripura)
  1. Mar 1, 2014: vs Tripura
  2. Mar 3, 2014: vs Bengal
  3. Mar 5, 2014: vs Assam
  4. Mar 7, 2014: vs Odisha
Syed Mustaq Ali Trophy -The national T20 Champioships. Following is the schedule for the inter-zonal league stage. (All matches in Kolkata)

  1. Apr 2, 2014: vs Tripura
  2. Apr 3, 2014: vs Bengal
  3. Apr 4, 2014: vs Odisha
  4. Apr 5, 2014: vs Assam
Given the performance of the last year, the expectations will certainly be higher although the group stage is tougher this year. With Dhoni  most likely to be unavailable for the entire campaign the likes of Shahbaz Nadeem, Saurabh Tiwary, Ishank Jaggi & Sunny Gupta are again expected to be the key players. After an excepional Champions League T20, lots is now expected from Rahul Shukla also. Varun Aaron is also reportedly fit and should grab his chances of getting back into the national team.

The team for the inital matches have been aanounced. Like last year Shahbaz Nadeem will continue to lead the team. There have been a couple of transfer joinees as well. Here is the full team list.
Rameez Nemat, Manish Vardhan, Aakash Verma, Ishank Jaggi (Vice Capt), Saurabh Tiwary, Bhawin Thakker, Bhavik Thaker, S. P. Gautam, Shahbaz Nadeem (Capt), Sunny Gupta, Samar Quadri, Varun Aaron, Rahul Shukla, Ajay Yadav, S. S. Rao

Wishing the best for my team for the season ahead.

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Arbit Stats - 25

Centuries  - A frequent occurrence in Test cricket.
5-wicket hauls - Slightly less frequent but quite common in Test cricket.
Hat-tricks - Quite a rare event in Test cricket.

Now in the ongoing Bangladesh-New Zealand Test at Chittagong, Sohag Gazi has become the furst ever player to achieve all three landmarks in the same match. 2 wickets in the 1st innings followed by an unbeaten century coming in at No. 8. And then follows up with a 6 wicket haul with a hat-trick thrown in, in the 2nd innings. 

Way to go - Sohag Gazi and Bangladesh, who managed to take a lead in the 1st innings.

P.S. Complete list of players scoring a century and taking a 5-wicket haul in the same match is here.

P.P.S The Kiwis declare setting bangladesh 256 in 45 overs. Well done Brendon McCulllum for trying to get a result.

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Arbit Stats - 24

Alauddin Babu of Bangladesh is now the unfortunate owner of the record for the most runs conceded in a single over in List A cricket. Playing for Abahani Limited against Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Limited in the Dhaka Premier League, he conceded 39 runs in a single over, thus shattering Daan Van Bunge's record of 36 runs (which still is the record for ODIs).

Sequence of events, as follows
  • Ball 1 - No Ball, Boundary [Total - 5 runs, 0 Balls]
  • Ball 2 - Wide [Total - 6 runs, 0 Balls]
  • Ball 3 - Six [Total - 12 runs, 1 Ball]
  • Ball 4 - Boundary [Total - 16 runs, 2 Balls]
  • Ball 5 - Six [Total - 22 runs, 3 Balls]
  • Ball 6 - Boundary [Total - 26 runs, 4 Balls]
  • Ball 7 - Six [Total - 32 runs, 5 Balls]
  • Ball 8 - Wide [Total - 33 runs, 5 Balls]
  • Ball 9 - Six [Total - 39 runs, Over Complete]
And the batsman who was at the receiving end of these pleasantries - Elton Chigumbura, the former Zimbabwean captain.

Enough information for any trivia contest.