Indian Domestic Season 2009-10 - Ranji rounds 1&2

Two weeks of Ranji is over and two rounds of mostly meaningless mediocre domestic cricket games are in the books. Out of all the games in the super league we have had only 3 games with positive results and the remaining ending in tame draws. Out of all the teams only Karnataka has shown any semblance of good cricket and the ability to run down the opponents twice in a game. Even they choose to play it safe when they could have pushed for a win against Delhi (chasing 172 on the last day). The other two teams with wins are Gujarat over Orissa (who look like misfits in this league) and Bengal over Maharashtra. Even these two teams came up with inconsistent performances in their second game. The other team worth mentioning is Tamil Nadu (leading the tough group A with 6 points) whose bowlers have been less than impressive and batsmen have had good starts before throwing their wickets away. The Mumbai team is in full strength this year (except for Sachin) but hasn't lived up to expectations (thanks to the weather in part).

Among the plate league teams, only Haryana has stood out. Even they don't have a win yet. Out of all the games played only 2 have had positive results. Thanks to the lively Jaipur pitch Rajasthan has figured in both these games - one win over the lowly Assam and one loss to the lowly Tripura (probably their first ever win in Ranji trophy games). The biggest disappointment has been the suspension of the Services team. Even though no one would consider them to be a good team, their suspension brings the number of group B teams to 5 (4 games for each team) while some teams in the super league could play more than 8 games this season. The suspension should rank among the more obscure decisions handed down by the board. If their absence on day 1 of their game against J&K was a genuine mistake, couldn't the board have accommodated them by rescheduling the game. Is the board trying to prove a point? What point, one wonders...

Many of the outstanding performances thus far have come from the Karnataka players. It looks like the KPL has contributed immensely to their confidence. In the first game it was the debutant fast bowler Abhimanyu Mithun who ran through the UP line-up not once but twice. We can only hope that this lad performs consistently and understands the 'Chakra Vyuha' unlike his namesake, Arjuna's son (Hindu mythology). In the second game against Delhi it was the seasoned performer Vinay Kumar and another rookie Sreesanth Aravind who ran through the opponents. Among the batsmen, the performers are Manish Pandey who has lived up to expectations with a century plus a fifty and Rahul Dravid the Mr. Gentleman of Indian cricket who has scored 3 fifties. Outside of the Karnataka players, Shikar Dhawan (opener from Delhi), Parthiv Patel, Sumit Narwal (fast bowler from Delhi), and the return man Ranadeb Bose seem to be in good nick.

The notable plate league players were Sunny Singh (middle order bat from Haryana), Pankaj Singh, rookie Madhur Khatri (another pace man from Rajasthan), and Umesh Yadav (fast bowler from Vidarbha). A special mention must be made on the wonderful triple century by Sunny Singh. In a season marked by average performances, Sunny Singh stands out as a player to watch.

In addition to the mediocre grounds, pitches, ground staff, playing conditions, and player performances, even the match referees and on-field umpires have left a lot to be desired. Tamil Nadu captain Dinesh Karthik was suspended by a match referee for one game for 'excessive appealing'! Railways off-spinner Kulamani Parida was called for 'chucking' by the on-field umpires after having played for 13 years and 107 matches! With the pitches predominantly aiding batsmen (except for the Jaipur wicket), the team batting first is able to bat through the first day scoring anywhere between 250 and 325 runs. By the end of the second day, the second team would have had 25-35 overs to cut the arrears to about 200 runs. The third day determines which team gains the first innings lead while the last day is a dull day of cricket where both the teams play out a draw. This has been the trend in most of the games this season. Unless these games are given 5 days to finish or the pitches are modified to offer more to bowlers, domestic cricket in India is bound to continue in its downward spiral. Hope the administrators are reading!!