My Mumbai team for the semi final
Don speaks the truth
vs bondas). Of course, a Mumbai vs UP final will be equally exciting
in these changed times (ghatees vs bhayyas).
This is my Mumbai team fo the SF match against Delhi:
1. Jaffer (has to open)
2. Kukreja
3. Marathe
4. Rahane (stabilize the middle order)
5. Khanvilkar
6. Ajit Agarkar (averaging 61 with the bat this season)
7. Samant
8. Powar
9. Abdulla
10. Salvi
11. Kulkarni
I want Salvi in the attack...he is much better than Usman Malvi. Maybe
Agarkar and Salvi can open the attack
as i personally think Salvi is more effective than Kulkarni.
On to the match between the 2 most vibrant cities of India.....
Don
Cricketwallah
wrote:
> I am rooting for Mumbai and want a Mumbai vs Karnataka final (vada pav
> vs bondas). Of course, a Mumbai vs UP final will be equally exciting
> in these changed times (ghatees vs bhayyas).
>
> This is my Mumbai team fo the SF match against Delhi:
>
> 1. Jaffer (has to open)
> 2. Kukreja
> 3. Marathe
> 4. Rahane (stabilize the middle order)
Why does Jaffer have to open? If Bombay is going to play only 5
batsmen (as they have been doing all year long), then the biggest
need of the hour is to make sure you have at least one reliable
and experienced batsmen in the middle order - the middle-order
strengthening (in case of a new ball wicket or two) is the biggest
need, if youre going to play 5 batsmen only. This is why Jaffer
has moved to #4 for Bombay, and he has done very well there
(averaging 75 for the year, actually higher in "important"
situations),
and thats where he will stay IMHO.
Also, while Rahane was an opener by trade growing up (opener
for Bombay U16, India U17, Bombay U19 and India U19), he has
batted at #3 for Bombay almost all of last year, and all of this
year. This year he has over 700 Ranji runs at an average of 100+
at #3 - no reason to move him from that spot at all.
Kukreja will stay at opener. I think most likely Sushant Marathe
will be the 2nd opener (unless they decide to go with Praful
Waghela instead - unlikely, but Waghela was 80* or so in a
Times Shield match yesterday, which may have some impact).
> 5. Khanvilkar
Iam not sure about Khanvilkar, I think I might prefer to have
Prashant Naik in at this spot instead. But there is now actually
a chance that Abhishek Nayar will be included in this spot -
he has done awfully all year long, but he has done so well for
Bombay the last 2 years that he got picked for India... and he
is now fit again after injury, and has been included in the 15
for this game.
> 6. Ajit Agarkar (averaging 61 with the bat this season)
> 7. Samant
> 8. Powar
Powar will come in to bat ahead of Samant probably.. heck. Iam
not sure Abdullah shouldnt come in ahead of Samant, even (seems
to make more runs). But Samant is steadier, so will probably stay
at #8 at least.
> 9. Abdulla
> 10. Salvi
> 11. Kulkarni
>
> I want Salvi in the attack...he is much better than Usman Malvi. Maybe
> Agarkar and Salvi can open the attack
> as i personally think Salvi is more effective than Kulkarni.
>
Malvi has actually done quite well this season.. but I think they
probably want Salvi over Malvi as well. Salvi played 2 games ago
and did ok - got a 3-fer on the last day. But he picked up a slight
strain which is the reason he was left out of the last game. If he
is back to 100% health, I think he will likely be picked as 3rd
seamer for this game. (As for better than Kulkarni - Kulkarni in
the last 2 games has given early breaks with the new ball again,
which he was doing all the time last year. In the quarters, for
example, Kulkarni got 2 wickets to start the innings, reducing
Haryana to 15/2 or something. It is actually Agarkar who has
not given a new-ball break for a while now.. we need him to
start picking up more wickets if we are to have any chance
in this game against Delhi).
> On to the match between the 2 most vibrant cities of India.....
>
Can you be a vibrant city in India if you know how to
host politicians and babus, but not a cricket match?
Sadiq [ I suppose Karnail Singh Stadium isnt too bad ] Yusuf
> Don
Don speaks the truth
> On Dec 29, 3:45 pm, Don speaks the truth <don200...@rediffmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > I am rooting for Mumbai and want a Mumbai vs Karnataka final (vada pav
> > vs bondas). Of course, a Mumbai vs UP final will be equally exciting
> > in these changed times (ghatees vs bhayyas).
>
> > This is my Mumbai team fo the SF match against Delhi:
>
> > 1. Jaffer (has to open)
> > 2. Kukreja
> > 3. Marathe
> > 4. Rahane (stabilize the middle order)
>
> Why does Jaffer have to open? If Bombay is going to play only 5
> batsmen (as they have been doing all year long), then the biggest
> need of the hour is to make sure you have at least one reliable
> and experienced batsmen in the middle order - the middle-order
> strengthening (in case of a new ball wicket or two) is the biggest
> need, if youre going to play 5 batsmen only. This is why Jaffer
> has moved to #4 for Bombay, and he has done very well there
> (averaging 75 for the year, actually higher in "important"
> situations),
> and thats where he will stay IMHO.
I disagree....Kukreja has not been doing too well at least in the
first
innings for quiet a few games....its not good to have a situation of
being 15 for 2 which will add the pressure on Jaffer and Rahane.
Its better to have a sound bat like Jaffer as opener(i am assuming
with his form he can survive the initial blows due to moisture in
the pitch..at least at domestic level i have the faith in him) and
the point is with Jaffer is there at the other end, Mumbai should
mostly have a better start than opening with almost-out-of-form
Kukreja and some other newbie...its the middle order which after
exit of Rohit Sharma is exposed because as you say its only 5 proper
batsman(notwithstanding the crucial inning or two played by Agarkar
like a proper batsman in critical situations in this season) which
really needs some stability and Rahane can provide that with Marathe/
Agarkar
even if Jaffer is lost early. My strategy is to distribute the two
good bats
in form Jaffer and Rahane through the batting order so that thereis
better
chance of doing well at both positions ie. form good partnerships at
both
positions which is needed for a big 400 plus score in the first
inning.
Since its a 4 day match a 400 plus score alone can ensure better
chance
of gaining a first inning lead which seems to be the natural way of
winning
the games as i have observed this season.
>
> Also, while Rahane was an opener by trade growing up (opener
> for Bombay U16, India U17, Bombay U19 and India U19), he has
> batted at #3 for Bombay almost all of last year, and all of this
> year. This year he has over 700 Ranji runs at an average of 100+
> at #3 - no reason to move him from that spot at all.
>
> Kukreja will stay at opener. I think most likely Sushant Marathe
> will be the 2nd opener (unless they decide to go with Praful
> Waghela instead - unlikely, but Waghela was 80* or so in a
> Times Shield match yesterday, which may have some impact).
>
> > 5. Khanvilkar
>
> Iam not sure about Khanvilkar, I think I might prefer to have
> Prashant Naik in at this spot instead. But there is now actually
> a chance that Abhishek Nayar will be included in this spot -
> he has done awfully all year long, but he has done so well for
> Bombay the last 2 years that he got picked for India... and he
> is now fit again after injury, and has been included in the 15
> for this game.
It won't be a prudent strategy to get back a match starved Nayar
back in the team for a semi final match...
>
> > 6. Ajit Agarkar (averaging 61 with the bat this season)
> > 7. Samant
> > 8. Powar
>
> Powar will come in to bat ahead of Samant probably.. heck. Iam
> not sure Abdullah shouldnt come in ahead of Samant,
Samant has played some crucial knocks for Mumbai esp. in the game
against Gujarat i think i don't remember properly. Abdulla has been
good with the bat but mostly did well when a better recognized bat
was doing well at the other end...ie. piggy-backed on his partner's
success as was seen in his partnership with Agarkar against HP.
Though Powar picked up his batting in the last game, he has not been
that impressive this season with the bat compared to the lower order
batting standards he set for Mumbai in the previous seasons where
he almost always used to make crucial runs for Mumbai.
> even (seems
> to make more runs). But Samant is steadier, so will probably stay
> at #8 at least.
>
> > 9. Abdulla
> > 10. Salvi
> > 11. Kulkarni
>
> > I want Salvi in the attack...he is much better than Usman Malvi. Maybe
> > Agarkar and Salvi can open the attack
> > as i personally think Salvi is more effective than Kulkarni.
>
> Malvi has actually done quite well this season.. but I think they
> probably want Salvi over Malvi as well. Salvi played 2 games ago
> and did ok - got a 3-fer on the last day. But he picked up a slight
> strain which is the reason he was left out of the last game. If he
> is back to 100% health, I think he will likely be picked as 3rd
> seamer for this game. (As for better than Kulkarni - Kulkarni in
> the last 2 games has given early breaks with the new ball again,
> which he was doing all the time last year. In the quarters, for
> example, Kulkarni got 2 wickets to start the innings, reducing
> Haryana to 15/2 or something. It is actually Agarkar who has
> not given a new-ball break for a while now..
Huh? What about the game against Hyderabad where he wrecked
the top order? Unluckily he got injured after that and has not been
match fit in bowling ever since in the other 2 matches he played.
But Agarkar with his experience can always strike well when given
a good pitch with some moisture in it...not sure if Brabourne suits
his kind of bowling coz he depends on the deck a lot to swing the
ball....
not really a bowler like Zaheer who can get bounce off the deck which
is required for a pitch like Brabourne as seen in the match against
Lanka...
so maybe in this match he may be bowled as first change by Jaffer
esp. if Mumbai don't bowl first in the match and the wicket loses its
sheen by the 2nd day...
> we need him to
> start picking up more wickets if we are to have any chance
> in this game against Delhi).
Delhi is not having such a great batting order this time what with
Sehwag/Gambhir/Kohli gone but i am more worried about Ishant
Sharma who may just strike form at the right time and trouble the
likes of Marathe/Kukreja/Naik etc. Thats like half the batting order
gone if Ishant has a good pacy spell in the morning.
>
> > On to the match between the 2 most vibrant cities of India.....
>
> Can you be a vibrant city in India if you know how to
> host politicians and babus, but not a cricket match?
I compared it to Bangalore and Chennai....Delhi is definitely more
vibrant than the two...politicians and crime just add more color to
the
city...definitely notwithstanding B'lore's IT status and traffic
"excitement"
Delhi remains a more infrastructurally advanced city with lot of
action
in the city on a regular basis. Besides, Mumbai and Delhi are
traditional
rivals in the Ranji level and even historically in the talent that
they produce
to play for India...
> Sadiq [ I suppose Karnail Singh Stadium isnt too bad ] Yusuf
Thought they were playing the match at Brabourne!
Don
>
>
>
> > Don- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
Uday Rajan
> > 5. Khanvilkar
>
> Iam not sure about Khanvilkar, I think I might prefer to have
> Prashant Naik in at this spot instead. But there is now actually
> a chance that Abhishek Nayar will be included in this spot -
> he has done awfully all year long, but he has done so well for
> Bombay the last 2 years that he got picked for India... and he
> is now fit again after injury, and has been included in the 15
> for this game.
>
> > 6. Ajit Agarkar (averaging 61 with the bat this season)
Nayar at 5 and Agarkar at 6? Nayar is a handy player to have coming in
at 7, or perhaps at 6 in a pinch. So essentially Mumbai is down to two
batsmen (Rahane and Jaffer). Add to that, the bowling has been weak
all season long. I suppose the brilliant coaching plan for the semi-
final is to hope that Delhi somehow get themselves out for 400 or so,
and that one of Rahane or Jaffer gets a big ton.
> Can you be a vibrant city in India if you know how to
> host politicians and babus, but not a cricket match?
>
> Sadiq [ I suppose Karnail Singh Stadium isnt too bad ] Yusuf
I thought Karnail was a dirt track, with spinners on in the first hour
of day 1. Has that changed?
Besides, what do you have against the Palam A ground, anyway? (For the
uninitiated, that's where Services play; it's close to the domestic
terminal at the airport in Delhi. Quite nice really, one ground near
the airport, Karnail Singh Stadium near the railway station, and
Ferozshah Kotla a few kilometres from the bus terminus. Here is a nice
piece by Sidharth Monga, in which he writes about watching f.c cricket
at all three grounds on the same day:
http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/381036.html )
Cricketwallah
> On Dec 30, 5:55 pm, Cricketwallah <cricketwal...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > > 5. Khanvilkar
>
> > Iam not sure about Khanvilkar, I think I might prefer to have
> > Prashant Naik in at this spot instead. But there is now actually
> > a chance that Abhishek Nayar will be included in this spot -
> > he has done awfully all year long, but he has done so well for
> > Bombay the last 2 years that he got picked for India... and he
> > is now fit again after injury, and has been included in the 15
> > for this game.
>
> > > 6. Ajit Agarkar (averaging 61 with the bat this season)
>
> Nayar at 5 and Agarkar at 6? Nayar is a handy player to have coming in
> at 7, or perhaps at 6 in a pinch. So essentially Mumbai is down to two
> batsmen (Rahane and Jaffer).
Well, in general the news coming thru is pretty bad - CI claims
that Dhawal Kulkarni is almost certainly out of the game due to a
side-strain picked up in the QFs (he had just started bowling
better again, picking up 2 early wickets - just like last year - in
the QFs to reduce the opposition to 15/2). And theyre saying
that Agarkar has fever, and may likely be out as well!
Theyre also saying that Jaffer is going to move up to open..
and claiming that Khanvilkar will be slotted in at #4, Nayar
at #5, Samant at #6 (!!!) and either Agarkar or Marathe at
#7!!
Even apart from the terrible news about injuries, I think this
is the wrong thing to do - if its a green-top (as some claim),
then Ishant is likely to get a couple early wickets no matter
what.. and Id much rather that be Marathe than Jaffer -
without Jaffer and Rahane getting runs, as you say, there
is no chance any score can be put up, especially with
Nayar at #5 and Agarkar (and his 60-batting-average)
missing. Heck, Id even consider opening with Samant
and slotting Marathe in at #3 or something, with Rahane
and Jaffer at 4 and 5 for this one game, if even Agarkar
isnt going to be around to be #6! If Jaffer gets out early,
Marathe isnt likely to hang about a get a hundred in
the middle order - if Marathe gets out early, there is at
least a chance that Jaffer can.
And Id still rather see Prashant Naik in over Omkar Khanvilkar
as a pure batsman (the only way I was ever ok with
Khanvilkar being in was as a batting-allrounder, he used to
bowl pretty good offspin... but apparently the management
doesnt see it that way, theyve basically bowled him like
2 overs all season long! If thats the case he's just a
batsman.. and in that case I think they oughta just pick
Naik and be done with it).
> Add to that, the bowling has been weak
> all season long. I suppose the brilliant coaching plan for the semi-
> final is to hope that Delhi somehow get themselves out for 400 or so,
> and that one of Rahane or Jaffer gets a big ton.
>
Well, the bowling will be in quite awful shape if both
Kulkarni and Agarkar are missing. If it comes down to
having Salvi and Usman Malvi opening the bowling...
thats a pretty scary prospect for a semifinal. (Heck,
even giving Netravalkar a debut might be better - except
Netravalkar is off taking 5-fers for India U19, and bowling
SL U19 out for 52!) And the track being semi-green is
a double-whammy in that instance - Delhi's pace attack
is anyway probably better than ours this year, our spin
attack would ordinarily have been considered better..
maybe a crumbler could have given us a better chance
(though, to be fair, Powar was bowling complete crap
until last week).
> > Can you be a vibrant city in India if you know how to
> > host politicians and babus, but not a cricket match?
>
> > Sadiq [ I suppose Karnail Singh Stadium isnt too bad ] Yusuf
>
> I thought Karnail was a dirt track, with spinners on in the first hour
> of day 1. Has that changed?
>
No, it hasnt. But it isnt likely to be banned as an international
venue anytime soon either, which makes it superior to the Kotla,
no? :-)
> Besides, what do you have against the Palam A ground, anyway? (For the
> uninitiated, that's where Services play; it's close to the domestic
> terminal at the airport in Delhi. Quite nice really, one ground near
> the airport, Karnail Singh Stadium near the railway station, and
> Ferozshah Kotla a few kilometres from the bus terminus. Here is a nice
> piece by Sidharth Monga, in which he writes about watching f.c cricket
> at all three grounds on the same day:http://www.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/381036.html)
I remember this, was a nice article. Palam had slipped my mind,
probably because Services are off in Div2 (and even there, they
didnt actually play Ranjjis this year, being booted out of the
tournament
for refusing to play the first scheduled game in Srinagar).
Sadiq [ they oughta send a last-minute SOS to Sachin ] Yusuf
Uday Rajan
> Even apart from the terrible news about injuries, I think this
> is the wrong thing to do - if its a green-top (as some claim),
> then Ishant is likely to get a couple early wickets no matter
> what.. and Id much rather that be Marathe than Jaffer -
> without Jaffer and Rahane getting runs, as you say, there
> is no chance any score can be put up, especially with
> Nayar at #5 and Agarkar (and his 60-batting-average)
> missing.
After all those years of woofing, you finally have to get this
right....darn. Sharma smoked out Jaffer and Rahane, Jaffer early, and
Rahane near lunch. Nayar and Agarkar have put on 100 runs for the 5th
wicket, so that Mumbai end the day at 329/4. That total isn't as
healthy as it looks, with no batting to come. The second new ball may
clean out the rest of the side, and we're still looking at a total
only in the region of 400.
In the other SF, Karnataka have been on a crawl...255/4 at the close
of play. Dravid still there, though, at 37*.
Cricketwallah
Uday Rajan wrote:
> On Jan 2, 2:04 pm, Cricketwallah <cricketwal...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> Rahane near lunch. Nayar and Agarkar have put on 100 runs for the 5th
> wicket, so that Mumbai end the day at 329/4. That total isn't as
> healthy as it looks, with no batting to come. The second new ball may
> clean out the rest of the side, and we're still looking at a total
> only in the region of 400.
>
Probably true, especially when Ishant comes in refreshed
tomorrow morning - if they want to put up any kind of total
they'll have to somehow avoid losing wickets for the first
90 minutes or so, else Powar/Abdullah etc arent likely to
contribute anything against a new ball. Given this it was
especially disappointing that with Delhi's slow overrate
they didnt bowl the full quota of overs - their bowlers were
tired, and Nayar and Agarkar were going at nearly 5/over
against the old ball by the end of the day in their partnership
... and Delhi ended up bowling only 83 overs in the day
instead of 90! Should have been 350+ today, really.
But either way, win or lose from here on out, its been a very
gratifying fightback by the side. With the worst-case
scenario coming true (with both Jaffer and Rahane gone
pre-lunch - exactly why I dont think both should be in the
top-three in this current XI), we could have seen a complete
crumble. Instead Khanvilkar ignored all the bad things
Ive said and thought about him lately :-), and contributed in
the most critical partnership of his life - 143 run stand
for the 4th wicket. And Nayar once more stepped up
on the big occasion, this time despite coming off the
worst (injury affected) batting form of his career - his
century was huge yesterday. (And while its true, as CI
pointed out, that this was Nayar's first ton since
year before last, his last critical big-game performance
was actually in the Ranji finals last year - when he
came in with Bombay 55/4 on the first morning, and
scored a fantastic 99 before falling, which was worth
more than most "normal" hundreds to the team).
And it was all done with quite aggressive cricket
too - the old Bombay-style of batting has gone away
even at the domestic level, most guys seem to believe
in judicious counter-attack now. In the old days 86/3 on
the first morning of a semifinal (where first-innings
lead might be paramount) would have seen head-down
and bat-for-two-days attitude - this time they defended
to lunch (100/3), and then came out and hit 30 off the
first 4 overs post-lunch, apparently! Eventually scored
120 between lunch and tea (in about 25 overs), did
Khanvilkar and Nayar. And the Agarkar/Nayar stand
late in the day progressed at near 5/over as well.
Still a long way to go tomorrow - Delhi, after all, just
chased down 465 in the quarters against TN to get
here! But at least the fightback from unexpected
sources yesterday has given Bombay 300+ to bowl
at - which is not sufficient yet, but from 86/3 is a bit
more than I had expected! The loss of Dhawal
Kulkarni is going to hurt the already-weak bowling
though.
> In the other SF, Karnataka have been on a crawl...255/4 at the close
> of play. Dravid still there, though, at 37*.
>
Yes, they slowed down quite a bit after the opening
stand - while Bombay got 329 off 83 overs yesterday,
Karnataka actually got 255 off 95 overs! UP actually
bowled 5 *extra* overs yesterday, they were bowling
so quickly at Chinnaswamy (while Delhi dawdled at
the Brabourne). But even yesterday the reports
indicated that the KSCA pitch was likely to be quite
slow, which is probably reason for the slow scoring
(Karnataka has probably taken the correct
decision here - not worth facing RP, Praveen etc on
a greentop, instead play on a slowish surface, grind
out a score with Dravid etc, and then get UP out -
UP's batting has mostly 30-average guys, with
Karnataka's bowling theyd back themselves to
restrict UP Id guess).
Sadiq [ Netravalkar didnt even get to play in RSA today! ] Yusuf
Uday Rajan
> Sadiq [ Netravalkar didnt even get to play in RSA today! ] Yusuf
Now you've lost me. Who is this Net-traveller, and was he expected to
play for England or RSA?
Sanjiv Karmarkar
> > Sadiq [ Netravalkar didnt even get to play in RSA today! ] Yusuf
>
> Now you've lost me. Who is this Net-traveller, and was he expected to
> play for England or RSA?
Are you being daft? There are two things you need to make yourself
aware of:
1: An 18 year old fast bowler from Mumbai with tantalizing promise
2: A certain age-group tournament going on in SA where that certain
young promising bowler has been doing really really well...
Sanjiv Karmarkar
Sanjiv Karmarkar
==-- SNIP --==
I gotta say, I am truly impressed by Nayar. Based on the current
form, I thought you guys will pick Naik over Nair and I was surprised
to see Nayar picked; thought it was a mistake. Clutch knock under
very difficult circumstances.
> Sadiq [ Netravalkar didnt even get to play in RSA today! ] Yusuf
Have you seen him live BTW? I have heard from many that he is the
real McCoy; quite possibly the best under 19 pace-man in the world
today. I'm visiting Pune-Mumbai in Feb and hope to catch him then.
Sanjiv [Jets going for the playoff spot in about 10 mins...] Karmarkar
Uday Rajan
> On Jan 3, 1:54 pm, Uday Rajan wrote:
>
> > > Sadiq [ Netravalkar didnt even get to play in RSA today! ] Yusuf
>
> > Now you've lost me. Who is this Net-traveller, and was he expected to
> > play for England or RSA?
>
> Are you being daft?
I assume that's rhetorical. Bit tame as rsc insults go.
> There are two things you need to make yourself
> aware of:
>
> 1: An 18 year old fast bowler from Mumbai with tantalizing promise
> 2: A certain age-group tournament going on in SA where that certain
> young promising bowler has been doing really really well...
Sorry, I've seen a few too many posts by Sadiq over the years touting
the next great 15-year old (or sometimes 12-year old) from Bombay to
worry too much about the most recent lad. I'll wait until he's
actually done something at the f.c. level before I figure that one
out.
And that age-group tournament in RSA doesn't appear to be on CI's main
page, so it's also off my radar.
Sanjiv Karmarkar
> I assume that's rhetorical. Bit tame as rsc insults go.
Sorry bro, did not mean to offend. I thought Daft simply means
'silly'?
> Sorry, I've seen a few too many posts by Sadiq over the years touting
> the next great 15-year old (or sometimes 12-year old) from Bombay to
> worry too much about the most recent lad. I'll wait until he's
> actually done something at the f.c. level before I figure that one
> out.
I have not seen him live; my friends tell me he is genuine fast;
although needs to learn control (which will of course slow him down).
Sadiq apparently thinks that he might play at the first class level
next season; right now, I cannot see him breaking through, your city
has way too many young promising fast bowlers. We would be happy to
have just a couple of those. Just from the top of my head, here is
the list:
Dhawal Kulkarni: Established #2 to Agarkar
Usman Malvi: Pretty quick and a fairly good low-order bat. Probably
#3 right now.
Kshemal Waingankar: Genuine speed with an impressive performance
against MCC
Aavishkar Salvi. Good seam/swing bowler.
Rahil Shaikh: The next great thing? Very fast, very wayward
Murtaza: Who did well last season in the limited opportunities he got
Balvinder Sandhu: U 22 star
Rohan Raje: the IPL dude
Hazare: ?
Velthaty: ??
Varma: ???
So, I do not see where Netravalkar fits in. Sadiq seems to be big on
him though. Don't forget, your city does have a history of promising
fast bowlers who simply fade away. Saxena and Kannan come to mind.
> And that age-group tournament in RSA doesn't appear to be on CI's main
> page, so it's also off my radar.
Finals tomorrow against SA with India going in as slight favorites.
Sanjiv Karmarkar
Cricketwallah
> On Jan 3, 10:13 pm, Uday Rajan wrote:
>
> > Sorry, I've seen a few too many posts by Sadiq over the years touting
> > the next great 15-year old (or sometimes 12-year old) from Bombay to
> > worry too much about the most recent lad. I'll wait until he's
> > actually done something at the f.c. level before I figure that one
> > out.
>
Still a lot of good 12-year-olds around... almost all of them seem to
be playing for Rizvi, however. A couple days ago the Rizvi coach
(Raju Pathak) had to do a padyatra of Bombay because no less
than 4 Rizvi teams were playing simultaneously (U14 Giles Shield
game, U14 Ghosh Trophy game, Junior College game, Senior
College Final)... on that day..
--------------
Rizvi Springfield, playing the Elite division of the Giles Shield at
Karnataka grounds, Cross Maidan, battered IES Secondary in all
aspects of the third round game. They first sent IES packing for a
meagre 56 runs, with Danish Mansoori (4-22 ), Salman Khan (2-9 )
and Prithvi Shaw (3-4 ) adding to the wicket tally. In reply, Rizvi
skipper Prithvi Shaw (190*; 4x24) and Sarfaraz Khan (295; 4x44, 1x6)
put together a scintillating 431 run partnership to take Rizvis total
to 527-2 at the end of days play.
Over at the Police Gymkhana ground, the ever-reliable Arman
Jaffer (207*; 4x27) brought up a double century of his own to take
Rizvi Sports Club to a commanding total of 347-3 against Elf
Vengsarkar Academy in the final of the two day Ghosh trophy.
Clearly, Pathaks junior boys didnt disappoint .
-----------------
Sarfaraz Khan is the kid (12 or 13 IIRC) who broke the record a
few weeks ago by scoring a 400-odd, Armaan is 12 I think (or
maybe still 11), and has put up a couple of double centuries
this year already (though he isnt strong enough to hit sixes
yet, or even fours as easily as the apparently stronger
Sarfaraz does). Sarfaraz got a lot of publicity after the 400+,
and both the kids actually got invited to a "tea" or some
such with Shahrukh Khan (who, no doubt, is trying to sign
them for the IPL in a few years). Theyve already killed
bowlers in tandem even in the Harris Shield last month
(the U16s, which Rizvi won handily in the end).
> I have not seen him live; my friends tell me he is genuine fast;
> although needs to learn control (which will of course slow him down).
> Sadiq apparently thinks that he might play at the first class level
> next season; right now, I cannot see him breaking through, your city
> has way too many young promising fast bowlers. We would be happy to
> have just a couple of those.
BTW, I had for some reason thought that Unadkat was one of
yours - I see now that he's actually from Gujarat, not Maharashtra.
>Just from the top of my head, here is
> the list:
>
> Dhawal Kulkarni: Established #2 to Agarkar
> Usman Malvi: Pretty quick and a fairly good low-order bat. Probably
> #3 right now.
> Kshemal Waingankar: Genuine speed with an impressive performance
> against MCC
> Aavishkar Salvi. Good seam/swing bowler.
> Rahil Shaikh: The next great thing? Very fast, very wayward
> Murtaza: Who did well last season in the limited opportunities he got
> Balvinder Sandhu: U 22 star
> Rohan Raje: the IPL dude
> Hazare: ?
> Velthaty: ??
> Varma: ???
>
I think a lot of these guys arent really "in line" that strongly
anymore - some of them have slipped off the radar. Kshemal
Waingankar for one played Ranji Trophy for Goa this year anyway!
I think Salvi is #3 right now (ahead of Malvi - Avishkar has looked
good this year when healthy). Rahil.. no idea where he is in the
list, he was quick but wild, and Bombay demands discpline from
its bowlers, so the bowlers can bowl as a pack - he was left out
quickly when he showed lack of discipline. Murtaza Hussain is
pretty decent, but he slipped down a bit - and this year was
apparently called to NCL for "action rectification" anyway, which
means he is is limbo now (everyone who has been called for
an action correction in India - and there are several all across
the country - have not played a game or been picked since).
Hazare, Verma etc dont seem to be in favour (though theyre
playing club and office cricket)... and Valtathy is pretty much
an attacking opening bat who is seen as a T20 option, I think.
> So, I do not see where Netravalkar fits in. Sadiq seems to be big on
> him though. Don't forget, your city does have a history of promising
> fast bowlers who simply fade away. Saxena and Kannan come to mind.
>
Kannan, yes - Saxena wasnt a U19er, he developed much later
(and wasnt hyped much anyway, I just think he was quick, myself,
but he didnt seem to ever get much of a push). Saxena moved off
to Railways a while ago, and has always done well for them when
given the chance - he just doesnt get many chances for them,
is all, since they play on a slow wicket and usually are happy
with Bangar bowling pace for them (and opening the batting as
well, its the extra-batting thats most important at the Karnail
Singh Stadium). This year, for instance, Saxena got a Ranji
game late in the season... and had 11-4-19-3 and 27-11-54-3
in the 2 innings of his comeback game (ie 6/73 in 38 overs
for the match). But he got only one more game after that
(18-4-55-1), Railways' balance doesnt leave much room for
a pure pacer who doesnt bat, really.
But anyway, the world is a bit different now - U19 is much
more high-profile now than it used to be in the past. It shows
up on TV (when India u19 plays the WC), and the Indian
selectors seem to pick people directly from the U19
tournament all the time (I think this is stupid, but thats just
me - they still do it). Thus any U19er who does well at the
U19 WC starting next week onwards has IMHO a very good
chance of advancement - to at least their Ranji side, and
maybe even beyond.
Besides all this - at the start of this season (ie 3 months
ago), Bombay played the Irani Trophy against Rest of India.
Saurabh Netravalkar was picked by the Bombay selectors
for that 15-man squad (even though he didnt make the final
11).. and at that point Netravalkar had not yet turned 18
years of age (he has now). Given that Netravalkar is doing
reasonably at the U19s since, my suspicion is that he is
still strongly on the Bombay selectors radar... by the start of
the Ranji season next year (ie the 20010/11 season), I
think Netravalkar will hopefully be playing for Bombay.
(His OD debut might come even earlier, since Bombay
may well play a large part of our OD season after
Netravalkar returns from the U19 World Cup - we just wont
have another fc game till October/November).
The Bombay selectors have already shown a bit of a
willingness to blood the U19 guys this year, with the
(successful) debut of Harmeet Singh (the left-arm spinner,
who was Netravalkar's teammate in the India U19 lineup
in RSA; another Bombay LAS, Gaurav Jathar, is also
part of the U19 squad; the 4th Bombayite in the squad
is wicketkeeper Sufiyan Shaikh. Playing without those
4, the Bombay U19 side made the knockouts anyway,
and won their national U19 Cooch Behar Trophy quarterfinal
last week, a quite creditable achievement; the semis
start in a couple of days IIRC).
> > And that age-group tournament in RSA doesn't appear to be on CI's main
> > page, so it's also off my radar.
>
> Finals tomorrow against SA with India going in as slight favorites.
>
Didnt get played, due to rain. But India U19 were declared
the winners anyway, apparently.
Sadiq [ looking forward to India U19 vs USA U19 ] Yusuf
> Sanjiv Karmarkar
Cricketwallah
> On Jan 3, 9:53 am, Cricketwallah wrote:
>
> ==-- SNIP --==
>
> I gotta say, I am truly impressed by Nayar. Based on the current
> form, I thought you guys will pick Naik over Nair and I was surprised
> to see Nayar picked; thought it was a mistake. Clutch knock under
> very difficult circumstances.
>
Apparently strong push by both Jaffer and Amre for Nayar - with
him getting better health-wise (the wrist issue), they made
Nayar play the Times Shield game right before the semis
(it ended only like 2 days before the semis). And despite Nayar
not making runs there, they felt he demonstrated he was
healthy - and pushed very hard for his inclusion. Both felt
that he was a terrific player who had demonstrated it in
the past - and he really came through for them big-time.
They had reason for their faith, of course - Nayar has done
this several times for Bombay in the past, coming up big
in truly crunch situations... I remember a big ton from
4-for-not-enough in the Irani Trophy a couple years ago,
and last year in the Ranji finals Bombay were 50/4 on the
first morning when Nayar played the innings of the match,
a flawless attacking 99 (Rohit got a century in his company,
but Rohit was dropped 3 times IIRC. Nayar played the better
knock there).
The really good thing about this knock was the mental strength
he showed IMHO - he was feeling better with his wrist, could
play more naturally, and he did (even at 50/4), being
aggressive and taking the game over. But then after his ton
apparently he was getting very painful wrist-cramps... and
he didnt throw it away just because he couldnt hit big shots
anymore, he buckled down and defended, and worked the
singles etc. After a run-a-ball ton in a tough spot on D1, on
the 2nd morning he didnt open his account for like 40
minutes IIRC! But it was vital that the team not throw it away
and put up a big total.. and he hung in and supported the other
bats for almost 3 hours on D2 as well. Very big knock.
He's still not very healthy though - apparently the wrist is an
issue again, and he is currently back at the NCL getting
treatment on it. Iam sure they'll play him in the finals
anyway - just hope he is closer to 100% though.
> > Sadiq [ Netravalkar didnt even get to play in RSA today! ] Yusuf
>
> Have you seen him live BTW? I have heard from many that he is the
> real McCoy; quite possibly the best under 19 pace-man in the world
> today. I'm visiting Pune-Mumbai in Feb and hope to catch him then.
>
The real McCoy unfortunately injured his shoulder on Texas' first
series last night - tragic for the poor kid, to be denied a chance at
playing in his dream-game.
As for Netravalkar.. he had an ok time in RSA, IMHO, one ordinary
game and one very good game (against SL U19, when he got 5/26).
The best U19 pacer in the world... I dunno, but I also dont know if it
matters so much, really. Irfan Pathan was surely the best U19
pacer in the world in his day - and look whats happened to him.
Ishant was the best U19 pacer in the world in his U19 batch
probably...
and he has dropped off a fair bit lately. Yo Mahesh was one of
the best U19 pacers in the world in his batch.. and he has dropped
off far enough that he doesnt consistently make the TN final XI in
the Ranjis (and TN's final XI has shown enough weaknesses in
bowling to have lost 2 knockouts by conceding successful 450+
chases in both years, so they could use a good wickettaking
paceman).
Most U19 players from India are very good compared to the
world level IMHO - they just dont always seem to develop as
well as they should after that. Hopefully Netravalkar will continue
to develop as a bowler and as a cricketer even past this U19
World Cup ,that'll be the most important thing.
> Sanjiv [Jets going for the playoff spot in about 10 mins...] Karmarkar
Good to see a Ryan leading the #1 defense in the league again.
Sadiq [ meanwhile we're stuck with the 3 stooges, Philips/Angelo/
Lovie, still ] Yusuf
Uday Rajan
wrote:
> Sorry bro, did not mean to offend. I thought Daft simply means
> 'silly'?
No sweat. "Daffy" is silly; "daft" is idiotic.
> Dhawal Kulkarni: Established #2 to Agarkar
> Usman Malvi: Pretty quick and a fairly good low-order bat. Probably
> #3 right now.
> Kshemal Waingankar: Genuine speed with an impressive performance
> against MCC
> Aavishkar Salvi. Good seam/swing bowler.
Don't know many of the names you mention, but Salvi's moment has
surely come and gone, and Malvi has been the 3rd seamer, as you say.
Is Sandhu the son of, well, the other Sandhu?
> So, I do not see where Netravalkar fits in. Sadiq seems to be big on
> him though. Don't forget, your city does have a history of promising
> fast bowlers who simply fade away. Saxena and Kannan come to mind.
Yes, names that have come and gone. Zaheer proved to be a keeper,
though.
Cricketwallah
>
> ==-- SNIP --==
>
>
>
> Have you seen him live BTW? I have heard from many that he is the
> real McCoy; quite possibly the best under 19 pace-man in the world
> today. I'm visiting Pune-Mumbai in Feb and hope to catch him then.
>
BTW, saw a bit of Netravalkar recently.
Good bowler. Tallish, left-arm swing, very intelligent guy and a lot
of
it shows up in the bowling (apparently he just got 95% in his
12th grade HSC exams, and is headed for engineering college).
I hope, however, that he doesnt go the way of Pradeep Sangwan -
who was one of the best U19 pacers in the world in the last World
Cup, but hasnt progressed enough since (meanwhile his U19
teammates Kohli and Ravindu Jadeja, neither as good as him
in the U19 WC, are already playing for India).
Netravalkar isnt very quick, which is the one thing I hope gets
a little better as his body fills out. He currently bowls about
125ks (the other 2 Indian U19 pacemen are not nearly as
good as Netravalkar, but both hit 130 every once in a while,
while Netravalkar didnt seem to, his best seemed about
125-127). But his discipline is excellent, as is his stamina -
bowled 10 overs on the trot several times in this U19 World
Cup (and in the last game IIRC bowled exactly 1 ball on
leg-stump in 10 overs!) He gets ok bounce because of
his height, and he genuinely moves it both ways - often
had batsmen confused as to what the ball was doing.
His results so far have been very good in this tournament.
So far the pacemen results have been:
vs Afghanistan U19: Netravalkar 10-4-23-2
vs HK U19: Netravalkar 5.5-0-36-1
vs Eng U19: 10-1-25-3
The last spell reduced England U19 to 60/4 in 20
overs, when Netravalkar finished his quota (probably a mistake
by the captain not to hold some overs back). The conditions
got easier too, and England U19 hit up 246 in their
50 overs - and ended up winning by 30 runs. Which has
left India U19 in trouble - in the quarters against Pakistan
U19, but needing a win to progress (Pakistan go thru if the
game is washed out - and at the moment the start is being
rain-delayed).
Sadiq [ a one-loss going-home wouldnt be much fun ] Yusuf
Cricketwallah
> On Jan 4, 9:12 am, Sanjiv Karmarkar <sanjivkarmar...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> > On Jan 3, 10:13 pm, Uday Rajan wrote:
>
> > > the next great 15-year old (or sometimes 12-year old) from Bombay to
> > > worry too much about the most recent lad. I'll wait until he's
> > > actually done something at the f.c. level before I figure that one
> > > out.
>
> Still a lot of good 12-year-olds around... almost all of them seem to
> be playing for Rizvi, however. A couple days ago the Rizvi coach
>
> few weeks ago by scoring a 400-odd, Armaan is 12 I think (or
> maybe still 11), and has put up a couple of double centuries
> this year already (though he isnt strong enough to hit sixes
> yet, or even fours as easily as the apparently strongerSarfarazdoes).
> and both the kids actually got invited to a "tea" or some
> such with Shahrukh Khan (who, no doubt, is trying to sign
> them for the IPL in a few years). Theyve already killed
> bowlers in tandem even in the Harris Shield last month
> (the U16s, which Rizvi won handily in the end).
>
BTW, the 12-year-olds continue to shine. And Rizvi continues
to maintain a hold on the best of them - just completing a
"double", winning the U14 Giles Shield by a massive margin (after
winning the U16 Harris Shield by a massive margin a few weeks
ago). And the same players shone in both - Sarfaraz Khan,
Armaan Jaffer and Prithvi Shaw.
In the finals Anjuman was bowled out for 180-odd on D2 IIRC,
and Rizvi responded 300/2 by the end of the day, with opener
Prithvi Shaw getting 167, and the Sarfaraz-Armaan pair together
to end the day.
On D3 Armaan fell for 67.. but Sarfaraz went on to hit 314*,
and when Rizvi reached 673/6 Anjuman conceded and the
game was over.
Sarfaraz Khan is apparently 13 years old - son of cricket coach
Naushad Khan (coach of Iqbal Abdullah etc).. the 400* that he
scored earlier this season came in the U16 Harris Shield, and
got a lot of publicity.
This current final was the Giles Shield - U14s - where Sarfaraz
got the highest score this year with the 314*. This wrapped up
his Giles Shield season, in which he had the following run of
scores:
224* vs BAK Swadhyay Bhavan, Mahim
107* & 72* vs IES Raja Shivaji, Dadar
295 vs IES Sec, Mulund
145 vs Swami Vivekanand, Borivali
314* vs Anjuman Islam, VT
Thus he ended up with 1157 runs in this Giles Shield season.
More impressively, it appears from the above scores listed
that he was dismissed only twice - which gives him, I suppose,
an average of 578 this year? Its the best Giles Shield season
I can remember from anyone in a while (not the best ever, of
course - IIRC Sachin had scored his 1000+ runs back when
he was 13 or so years old with IIRC only one dismissal, at
an average of 1000+ :-)
Sadiq [ huge number of schools tournaments nowadays ] Yusuf
Mohan
>
> BTW, saw a bit of Netravalkar recently.
>
> Good bowler. Tallish, left-arm swing, very intelligent guy and a lot
> of
> it shows up in the bowling (apparently he just got 95% in his
> 12th grade HSC exams, and is headed for engineering college).
Saw him in today's match against Pak. Decent bowler. Not much pace, as
you say. Mid 120's. Bowls very good line and length. Had a catch
dropped at second slip off his first ball today. And then, in the next
over, beat the same batsman with one that pitched on middle and moved
away. Couple of balls later, identical ball, just moved a touch less
and took the edge to keeper. Very good piece of bowling.
But the other two fast bowlers bowled even better. Sandeep Sharma, the
right arm bowler, is slightly faster than Net Traveller, and moves the
ball in a long way. Almost his entire first spell consisted of balls
pitching outside off, coming in to hit just the top of middle. None of
the batsmen could score off him. One guy french cut one ball for four,
was bowled the next ball and the new batsman got an identical ball,
but was lucky to have his pad in the way and wasn't given out, even
though it hit him in line and would have gone on to hit the leg stump.
The other lefty, Jaydev Udankat, is the fastest of the three. Mid
130's, gets good bounce. Got a wicket in his first over, with one that
pitched on good length and took off, with the batsman fending it to
first slip.
All three bowlers bowled well, defending a low score, but once the
spinners came on, they scored much more freely than what our batsmen
had managed against their spinners and that proved to be the
difference between the two teams. Good match in the end, though. I
thought, their jinx in the WC games against us will continue, but it
was not to be.
Mohan
Cricketwallah
Mohan wrote:
> On Jan 23, 6:20 am, Cricketwallah <cricketwal...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > BTW, saw a bit of Netravalkar recently.
> >
> > Good bowler. Tallish, left-arm swing, very intelligent guy and a lot
> > of
> > it shows up in the bowling (apparently he just got 95% in his
> > 12th grade HSC exams, and is headed for engineering college).
>
> Saw him in today's match against Pak. Decent bowler. Not much pace, as
> you say. Mid 120's. Bowls very good line and length. Had a catch
> dropped at second slip off his first ball today. And then, in the next
> over, beat the same batsman with one that pitched on middle and moved
> away. Couple of balls later, identical ball, just moved a touch less
> and took the edge to keeper. Very good piece of bowling.
>
Yes, this is similar to the earlier games - though the morning
conditions were probably more helpful, so he bowled even better
there. Was swining it both ways with very good control the
earlier match - but at about 124-125 or so. His 3 wickets in
the previous game, I think were all caught behind with outswingers.
> But the other two fast bowlers bowled even better. Sandeep Sharma, the
> right arm bowler, is slightly faster than Net Traveller, and moves the
> ball in a long way. Almost his entire first spell consisted of balls
> pitching outside off, coming in to hit just the top of middle. None of
> the batsmen could score off him. One guy french cut one ball for four,
> was bowled the next ball and the new batsman got an identical ball,
> but was lucky to have his pad in the way and wasn't given out, even
> though it hit him in line and would have gone on to hit the leg stump.
>
Thats good to hear. Sandeep was a little faster than Netravalkar
in the previous match too - about 128 or so previous game, with
occasional balls hitting 130/131 (about 4-5 ks faster than
Netravalkar usually). However he didnt bowl nearly as well as
Saurabh the previous match - was far less controlled, going
for more runs in decently helpful conditions. For example, I think
after like 10 overs when Sharma was taken off against
England U19, he had like 5 overs, 0 for 24 or some such;
at the other end Netravalkar had 5 overs, 2 for 9 at that stage
and was kept on (he then got another wicket and had 3/14 or
so in like 7 overs - but the captain continued to bowl him until
he was bowled out, with 10-25-3).
> The other lefty, Jaydev Udankat, is the fastest of the three. Mid
> 130's, gets good bounce. Got a wicket in his first over, with one that
> pitched on good length and took off, with the batsman fending it to
> first slip.
>
I had heard this about Unadkat, that he was the quicker one -
btu didnt see him, he was dropped for the England U19 game
(they played Harshal Patel over him, who was left out for the
Pak game after an iffy match). In general Unadkat and Patel
played like 2 games each I think, they were seen very much
as the 3rd pacers in the squad.
> All three bowlers bowled well, defending a low score, but once the
> spinners came on, they scored much more freely than what our batsmen
> had managed against their spinners and that proved to be the
> difference between the two teams.
The real reason, IMHO, was that we didnt score enough runs-
hard to defend 114 in 23 overs, especially when conditions
are going to ease up thru the day as they have all tournament
long. Didnt help that we lost both our openers 3 balls into the
game (saw a bit early on - the Pak opening bowler was
bowling 134/135, and our openers played poor shots to get
out early).
As for spinners - we didnt really have a good one, thats why
they scored freely against them :-) Basically Gaurav Jathar
was the best spinner we had - and he is Bombay U19s
#2 left-arm spinner, after Harmeet Singh! But Jathar bats a
little better, and so was the main choice in this tournament -
played from the start and did well (vs HK U19 and Afghanistan
U19, getting like 3 and 2 wickets)... but after 2 good games
they left him out! Brought in Harmeet, who had been sitting
around and "cold" probably for the England U19 game - and
Harmeet didnt bowl v well, was bowling too quickly and
too short IMHO (lovely action though, like Maninder Singh
or Bedi). So out went Harmeet after one game, and back
came Jathar for the Pakistan game.
And in the Pak game, they bowled Jathar for 2 overs - he
got 2-0-12-0, and that was it. Not a great choice, IMHO,
given that he had been your #1 spinner and done well for
the first 2 matches of this tournament (in the end, for the
entire tournament, Jathar ended up 5 wickets, avg13.40,
econ 3.52!)
Our other spinner who played was Manan Sharma - who
was playing more as a battting-allrounder anyway. He
was given 3 overs, 0/23 against Pakistan (ended up 4
wickets for the tournament, avg 30.75, econ 4.92; but
he *is* more of a batsman, though useful parttime
bowler),
In the end the captain Menaria (also mostly a batsman)
bowled 3 overs too against Pakistan. But he too is
very much a batting-allrounder who bowls parttime
spin, even if he did it ok (he bowled 18 overs in the
entire tournament, 4 games, in the end).
I think in the end they ought to have played the whole
tournament picking one bowler more - Jathar, after
all, was seen as a bowling-allrounder, and the keeper
Sufiyan Shaikh can bat too, just didnt get much of an
opportunity to (when he did, in the England U19 game
after a collapse, he top-scored with 48 or so IIRC).
I think they ought to have had Unadkat, Harmeet etc
bowling more earlier in the tournament, against
Afghanistan, HK etc, and gotten them going theyd be
in form by the time England and the knockouts
rolled around.
But still, in the end it wast he batting that let us down
effectively - easy conditions and chasing 250 against
England U19, got 50/0 in like 7 overs, then threw it
away in a collapse (down to like 90/6!).. then even
late-order tail-wagging from Sufiyan and Netravalkar
(getting 30 or so) ended up getting 220 or so. This
surprising loss made us face Pakistan U19, in a
rain-shortered game - and then we collapsed again
(3 wickets in the first 2 balls of the match), to get
only 114/9 in 23 overs. Left too much for the bowling
to do, really.
> Good match in the end, though. I
> thought, their jinx in the WC games against us will continue, but it
> was not to be.
>
Maybe the good thing out of this will be that hopefully
these kids wont be rushed into national contention, now
that they lost in the quarters of the U19 World Cup. That
can only be good for them long-term.
Sadiq [ Duleep semis kick off today ] Yusuf
> Mohan