Revision as of 20:02, 7 January 2018

BCCI’s technical committee’s recommendations

The Times of India, May 30 2016

Home advantage in Ranji Trophy could be a thing of the past from the upcoming season as the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) technical committee has recommended to hold the matches of its premier domestic championship at neutral venues.

The decision, taken during the meeting, will deny the home teams an opportunity to tamper with pitches according to their strengths. The Sourav Ganguly-chaired committee felt the concept would give domestic players experience in varied conditions. BCCI president Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke too attended the meeting.

“In a bid to make domestic cricket more competitive and rule out issues related to preparing specific wickets for home teams, as well as to expose players to playing in different conditions, the BCCI technical committee has recommended neutral venues for the Ranji Trophy matches,“ the BCCI said in state ment.

In another major change, the Duleep Trophy will return to the first-class cricket calendar this season (2016-17) in a new avatar. The tournament, traditionally played by the five zonal teams, will be a four-team affair in the upcoming season. The tournament will be a daynight affair and will be played in a roundrobin format, the release stated. It is learnt that all matches will be played with kookaburra balls.

The technical committee's recommendations will now be tabled at the BCCI working committee for approval.

Meanwhile, the committee has cleared India A's tour of Australia in August.The team is expected to play two four-day matches and a tri-series. It has emerged that the board is likely to hold talks with New Zealand Cricket for an away series for India `A'.

In the National Cricket Academy committee meeting, the members were updated about the assessment of all the ongoing zonal camps in various age groups and the umpires' refresher course.Members were also briefed about the physiotherapist and trainers course to be conducted by the NCA next month.Physios and trainers of all the state associations will be attending this course.

Finals

Major milestones, as in Dec 2017

Ranji Trophy finals: Major milestones, as in Dec 2017
From The Times of India

See graphic, 'Ranji Trophy finals: Major milestones, as in Dec 2017 '

Statistics, year-wise

2017: Gujarat beats Mumbai

Gaurav Gupta, Jan 15 2017: The Times of India

Ranji Trophy for Gujarat, January 2017; Gaurav Gupta, Jan 15 2017: The Times of India

When Gujarat's Chirag Gandhi smashed Mumbai pacer Shardul Thakur past point to the fence, he didn't just score the winning runs in the Ranji Trophy final-he also created history.

For the first time, Gujarat had clinched India's premier domestic championship. And that too vanquishing 41-time winner Mumbai, the most suc cessful team ever. The Davids had humbled the Goliaths.

Gujarat was playing a Ranji final after 66 years and the unthinkable was accomplished, primarily via skipper Parthiv Patel's brilliant 143 and middle-order batter Manprit Juneja's invaluable support act (54) as the team chased down 312 on Saturday , the last day of the match. Patel, who had hit 90 in the first innings, was declared the player of the match.

It is believed that Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) boss Amit Shah was keenly following the score.

The redemption took a long time coming. In a case of tremendous irony , it was on this very ground, Holkar Stadium, that Gujarat lost the Ranji summit clash of 1950-51 to Holkar by 189 runs.

That Gujarat's finest cricketing moment came on the festive occasion of Uttarayan (kite flying), also celebrated as Makar Sankranti, made the triumph sweeter for Gujaratis. It isn't easy to beat Mumbai in a Ranji Trophy final. The last time the defending champions lost a Ranji final was almost a quarter of a century back in the 1990-91 season, when Haryana edged them out by two runs in a thriller.

2017-18

The leading batsmen and bowlers

Leading run-getters, and
leading wicket-takers in Ranji Trophy matches, 2017-18
From [ The Times of India ]

See graphic, ' Leading run-getters, leading wicket-takers in Ranji Trophy matches, 2017-18 '

Ranji Trophy, 2017-18: Factoids
From [ The Times of India ]

See graphic, ' Ranji Trophy, 2017-18: Factoids '

 Delhi enters Ranji Trophy final after 2008

Archiman Bhaduri, Delhi enters Ranji Trophy final after 10 yrs, December 20, 2017: The Times of India

Delhi in Ranji finals, 1976-2008
From: Archiman Bhaduri, Delhi enters Ranji Trophy final after 10 yrs, December 20, 2017: The Times of India

In January 2008, then skipper Gautam Gambhir smashed an unbeaten 130 as Delhi strolled to a nine-wicket victory against Uttar Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy final. Few could have imagined then that Delhi would not play another final for a decade.

In the intervening years, Delhi cricket often found itself engulfed in controversy and the team struggled to recapture its past glory, even as bright young stars kept appearing every now and then.

One of those stars, Navdeep Saini, was spotted bowling in a tennis-ball tournament by former Delhi player Sumit Narwal (who had himself played in the 2008 Ranji final). An excited Narwal called up Gambhir, who was sufficiently impressed by what he saw in the nets to push Saini into the playing XI.

The 25-year-old Saini amply repaid the faith shown in him, taking 4 wickets for 35 runs to rip through the Bengal batting line-up and bowl Delhi to victory by an innings and 26 runs — and its first Ranji final in 10 years. Saini, who consistently bowled at 140kmph, finished with 7 wickets for the game to bag the man of the match award.

Pacers give Delhi innings win over Bengal

Saini, Khejroliya End Team’s Long Wait To Make The Final

Gautam Gambhir may no longer be captain but remains a key member of the Delhi team, top-scoring with 127 to drive the side to a winning position. He is the sole player from the last Ranji-winning Delhi squad who’s playing for the team this year (Shikhar Dhawan, the only other survivor of the Class of 2008, is on India duty).

And Gambhir he remains a major influence in the dressing room, as revealed by Sani, who was supposed to go to South Africa as a net bowler for the India side but decided not to on Gambhir’s advice. “I was happy that I would go to South Africa but when I called up Gautam bhaiyya, he said Delhi needs you now for the semifinal and if you do well, you will be automatically be in that Indian dressing room someday,” said Saini, whose grandfather, Karam Singh, was a driver in Subhas Chandra Bose’s Azad Hind Fauj.

If Saini’s performance is anything to go by, an India call-up may not be too far away.

Saini was ably backed up by Kulwant Khejroliya, who took 4/40 on a day that saw 17 wickets tumble, ending the five-day match on the third day itself. The Bengal batsmen panicked in the face of some raw pace and were bowled out for 86 in 24.4 overs, nullifying the lionhearted effort of Mohammad Shami.

The India pacer, who was playing his last match before flying out to South Africa next week, bowled his heart out to claim 6 for 122 as Delhi were restricted to 398, a lead of 112 runs only.

With plenty of time and plenty to play for, the stage was set for an intriguing contest. But Saini and Khejroliya turned it into a one-sided show.

Vikas Tokas provided the first breakthrough before walking off injured. He had opener Abhishek Raman trapped in front in the third over of the innings. Then, Abhimanyu Easwaran failed to capitalise on a dropped chance as he played to the same fielder (Kunal Chandela) in the very next ball off Khejroliya.

It was time for Saini to get into his special act. He immediately dislodged Sudip Chatterjee’s stumps, beating the batsman with sheer pace.

To make matters worse, Writtick Chatterjee (1) was run out due to a terrible mix-up with skipper Manoj Tiwary while going for the second run on an overthrow. As both batsmen found themselves at the same end, Chatterjee sacrificed his wicket by leaving the crease. But his sacrifice did not earn any dividends as Tiwary was soon castled by Saini with one that held its line to go past the batsman’s outside edge and hit the top of off stump.

Saini then struck on consecutive deliveries, removing Aamir Goni and B Amit, both being clean bowled. While the former shouldered arms to an inswinger that saw his off-stump dislodged, Amit was beaten by pace.

Brief scores: Delhi 398 (Gambhir 127, Chandela 113, Himmat 60, Shami 6-122) beat Bengal 286 (Sudip 83, Saini 3-55) and 86 (Saini 4-35, Khejroliya 4-40) by an innings and 26 runs

Delhi Vs Vidarbha, December 2017

Arani Basu, December 29, 2017: The Times of India

Delhi in Ranji finals, 2017; Ranji trophy finals- major milestones
From: Arani Basu, December 29, 2017: The Times of India

It’s Delhi Vs Vidarbha As Ranji Final Marks Growing Competition In Domestic Circuit

“It has been an extended season for both the teams here.” Delhi coach KP Bhaskar was only talking tongue in cheek, but he delivered the underlining statement ahead of the Ranji Trophy final between his young team and Vidarbha from Friday. These are untested waters for both sides. Delhi last lifted the trophy back in 2007-08, while Vidarbha have never made it this far in five decades of playing first-class cricket.

But then, this has been the trend in the Ranji Trophy over the last decade — throwing up unexpected finalists. Rajasthan started it and repeated it. The likes of Maharashtra, Saurashtra and Gujarat followed suit. This final, though, is a bit different. The MPCA Holkar Stadium will hosts two teams which were not expected to come this far. The usual talk about conditions, pitch and team combinations was benched for the day as the occasion dominated proceedings.

There will only be three players out of the 22 on the two team sheets who know the feel of holding the trophy aloft — Gautam Gambhir, Wasim Jaffer and Ganesh Satish. In effect, these two teams are underdogs who have elbowed their way to the top of the heap this season. Now they are ready to flaunt their canines.

“We’re already thinking of the Irani Cup. That’s not looking too ahead,” Vidarbha captain Faiz Fazal asserted on Thursday. “I’ve never experienced the feel of holding the Ranji Trophy. But we believe we can’t lose this. This approach got us over the line against Karnataka in the semifinal,” he added.

Fazal understands Delhi’s seven Ranji titles is now just a part of history. But seven remains a compelling number for Bhaskar and has played a vital part in prepping the team. “Bhaskar sir tells us how strong the team was during their days. How they tackled difficult situations during their campaigns,” said Rishabh Pant, a 20-year-old who is captaining Delhi in only his second full first-class season.

You soon realise what Pant implies. Bhaskar, a canny veteran of the domestic circuit, reminded: “Vidarbha have got three professionals playing for them. We have a history. They are a bit inexperienced in these situations.”

‘Professionals’ becomes the operative word here. The emergence of the so-called fringe teams in Ranji Trophy has had to do with BCCI allowing players to switch states as professionals. Rajasthan did it with the services of Aakash Chopra and Hrishikesh Kanitkar. Gujarat had used RP Singh in the last two seasons and now Vidarbha have got Jaffer to lend weight to their campaign. And you can’t tear your eyes away from the presence of another Mumbai strongman, Chandrakant Pandit, as Vidarbha’s coach.

“It helps with professionals coming on board. They have the experience and they guide the youngsters well. That surely makes a lot of difference in how teams grow,” Fazal reasoned. Delhi have their inherent brash and unapologetic culture to rally around. Vidarbha, meanwhile, have tried to instill a professional culture in the team.

Vidarbha beat Delhi to win first Ranji title

January 1, 2018: The Times of India

HIGHLIGHTS

Chasing a target of 29, Vidarbha completed the task with loss of skipper Faiz Fazal's wicket

Opting to field, Vidarbha bowled out Delhi for 295 in the first innings with Rajneesh Gurbani picking up six wickets

In reply, Vidarbha notched up a mammoth 547 all out, as Akshay Wadkar struck his maiden century in first-class cricket

Vidarbha claimed their maiden Ranji Trophy after beating Delhi by nine wickets in the final of India's premier domestic tournament here on Monday.

Chasing a target of 29, Vidarbha completed the task with loss of skipper Faiz Fazal's wicket.

Opting to field, Vidarbha bowled out Delhi for 295 in the first innings with Rajneesh Gurbani picking up six wickets.

In reply, Vidarbha notched up a mammoth 547 all out, as Akshay Wadkar struck his maiden century in first-class cricket.

Overnight Vidarbha were 528 for seven with wicketkeeper Wadkar unbeaten on 133, but Delhi quickly picked up the remaining three wickets in the morning.

Young pacer Navdeep Saini was the most successful bowler for Delhi, returning figures of 5 for 135 after bowling a marathon 36.3 overs.

Delhi were a bowler short through the Vidarbha first innings as left-arm spinner Manan Sharma remained off the field due to a knee injury. Manan, though, batted in the second innings.

In their second innings, Delhi were all out for 280 with Shorey scoring another half-century - a 142-ball 62 - while Nitish Rana struck 64.

Vidarbha chased down the 29-run target with a day to spare at the Holkar Stadium, which hosted the title clash of the tournament for the second successive time.

Trailing by 252 runs, Delhi lost opener Kunal Chandela with just 32 runs on the board. And a bigger blow was dealt on the seven-time winners when their most experienced campaigner, Gautam Gambhir, in what looked like a debatable decision, was adjudged out lbw off Gurbani to a ball that seemed to be heading down the leg side.

The out-of-favour India opener looked in good touch during his quick 36 off 37 balls (32 coming in boundaries), and could have helped Delhi's cause had he stayed longer.

First-innings centurion Shorey and Rana then added 114 runs for the third wicket.

The second session saw Shorey and Rana playing freely, hitting some lovely drives and flicks. However, as the team score reached 164, Delhi lost Shorey, who was given a reprieve by Wasim Jaffer in first slip, to the left-arm spin of Aditya Sarwate.

Rana followed suit as he nicked the impressive Gurbani to Wadkar behind the stumps. Like in the first innings, Gurbani was again bowling his heart out and swung the new ball to good effect.

Himmat Singh, who had a fifty in the first essay, was bowled by off-spinner Akshay Wakhare before he could open his account.

And then came a reckless shot by skipper Rishabh Pant (32), an attempted heave off Siddhesh Neral leading to his dismissal as Delhi ran out of batting options. This was an over after Pant was let off by Wadkar, who missed an easy stumping chance.

Records

Double-centuries

PUJARA BREAKS DOUBLE-TON RECORD | IndiaTimes/ The Times of India 02 November 2017

Rajkot: Cheteshwar Pujara became the leading Indian double-centurion in first-class cricket -breaking Vijay Merchant's tally of 11 double tons, a record which has stood for more than 70 years -during Saurashtra's Ranji Trophy match against Jharkhand on Thursday. Pujara finished Day Two on 204 off 355 balls, with 28 fours, as Saurashtra declared on 5539.Jharkhand seamers Ashish Kumar and Varun Aaron bowled more than 30 overs each for three wickets. At stumps on the second day, Jharkhand were 522. Pujara batted in total for nine-and-a-half hours before being dismissed.