Ranji Trophy giants, Mumbai, pulled off a thrilling one-wicket win over Tamil Nadu despite visiting skipper Dinesh Karthik's brilliant 167 in the first innings of the Group 'B' league encounter, in Mumbai, on Sunday.
A clinical display by the bowlers gave Mumbai a crucial first innings lead before captain Aditya Tare's fine show with the bat helped them reach to a commanding position on the third day of their Ranji Trophy quarterfinal match against Hyderabad. On a topsy-turvy day, defending champions Mumbai bowled out Hyderabad, who began the day on 167/3, for 280 with left-arm spinner Vijay Gohil picking up three of the five wickets to fall. Abhishek Nayar, who made 59 in the first innings, took 4 wickets for 60. Hyderabad needed 127 runs to wipe out the first innings deficit and they came within 15 runs of the lead. But a lower order collapse resulted Hyderabad slipping from 255 for 5 to 280 all out. Wicketkeeper Kolla Sumanth battled through to make 44 and he was the last man to be dismissed.
Shreyas Iyer on Saturday expressed his desire to make a comeback to the Indian Test squad, emphasising the hard work he has put into cultivating patience and resilience for the longer format after undergoing a back surgery.
A summary of Day 2 action in the Ranji Trophy matches, played at various venues across the country.
The Mumbai Cricket Association will not take any action against India discard Ajit Agarkar for returning home in a huff after being dropped from Mumbai's team against Orissa in the Ranji Trophy Elite match at Cuttack, since he had taken permission.
In an act of gamesmanship, pacers, right-arm quick Harshit Rana (1/27 in 3 overs) and left-arm seamer Kuldip Yadav (2/27 in 3 overs) also wasted time, either faking cramps or tying shoelaces or not delivering the ball even after completing the action.
The reliable Wasim Jaffer led from the front and scored his 35th Ranji century to guide Mumbai to 242/2 on day one of their Ranji Trophy Group A clash against Odisha at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday.
The team will be announced on Tuesday, September 24.
'I was mentally disturbed and thinking too much. I spoke to them (Jayawardene, Tendulkar and Gambhir) and expressed myself about what had happened in the Ranji season, they shared their experience which helped me'
Sourav Ganguly on Monday was not included in the Rest of India squad for the Irani Trophy match against Ranji Trophy champions Delhi to be played in Baroda, starting on September 24. Yuvraj Singh and Rohit Sharma were also left out of the 15-man squad announced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in Mumbai.
Mumbai's bowling mainstay, Dhawal Kulkarni, tell Rediff.com's Bikash Mohapatra, that the key to his success is being patient, sticking to basics and doing things well.
Mumbai's 'Man of all Seasons' Abhishek Nayar once again brought his best out in pressure situation to guide the defending champions to the semi-final of the Ranji Trophy beating Hyderabad by 30 runs in a closely-contested last-eight encounter on Tuesday.
Pujara forced his way back into the national team for the fifth Test against England after scoring 720 runs in just 5 matches
Shashank Singh says not finding a place in the Mumbai Ranji team was a turning point for his career.
He would leave on Thursday for Kolkata where Bengal will play their Ranji Trophy tie against Mumbai.
Senior batter Manoj Tiwary combined with the young Sudip Kumar Gharami to steer Bengal to a hardfought seven-wicket win against Baroda to climb to the top of Group A in the Ranji Trophy.
Wasim Jaffer and Ajinkya Rahane were involved in an unfinfished partnership of 328 runs as Mumbai amassed 366 for 1 on Day 1 of the Ranji Trophy match against Hyderabad.
While the young Indian team showed great resolve to earn a creditable draw in England, the series exposed several weaknesses that need urgent attention.
Arjun Tendulkar is sweating it out with the Mumbai Indians' squad in UAE ahead of the second phase of IPL, which is slated to begin from September 21.
Ashwin went on to cite examples of other domestic stalwarts like Sarfaraz Khan, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shahbaz Nadeem and Abhimanyu Easwaran.
The selectors face a tricky task of striking up the right bowling combination when they meet in Mumbai on Friday to pick India's Test squad for Sachin Tendulkar's farewell series against the West Indies next month.
A summary of the second day's play in the Ranji Trophy matches played at various venues across the country.
'Me and my family along with Sarfaraz have given our entire life towards this dream.'
Comeback man Dhawal Kulkarni wreaked havoc with the new ball to hand Mumbai the initial edge in their quest for 41st Ranji Trophy title by reducing Saurashtra to 192 for eight in the first innings on the opening day of the summit clash, in Pune on Wednesday. Back in the side after missing the semifinal due to a groin strain, Kulkarni utilised the green track on offer to perfection after Mumbai skipper Aditya Tare won the toss and invited Saurashtra to bat. -Scorecard Kulkarni was spot on with his line and length, and managed to cut through Saurashtra top-order with figures of four for 30, which included the important wickets of opener Avi Barot, Cheteshwar Pujara, Arpit Vasavada and skipper Jaydev Shah. Kulkarni was ably supported by his new ball partner Shardul Thakur (2/59), Abhishek Nayar (1/42) and Balwinder Sandhu (1/41). Kulkarni, in particular, produced an impressive opening spell as Mumbai reduced Saurashtra to 108 for seven at one stage. Had it not been for Arpit Vasavada and debutant Prerak Mankad, it could have been an embarrassing scorecard for Saurashtra at the end of day's play during which they played 84.4 overs.
Round up of the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals matches played on Saturday.
The 60-year-old Pandit played five Tests and 36 ODIs for India between mid '80s to early '90s.
Veteran Wasim Jaffer became the first batsman to reach the landmark of 11,000 runs in Ranji Trophy during Day 2 of Nagpur's Group A match against Baroda on Wednesday.
"I came to know from my dad who is always active on social media. He forwarded me the list and also sent me a short message, 'not to take any pressure and enjoy your batting'.
Premier middle-order batter Sarfaraz Khan, wicket-keeper Dhruv Jurel and pacer Yash Dayal are set to be released from the Indian team for the Irani Cup in case they are not selected in the playing XI for the second Test against Bangladesh, starting September 27 in Kanpur.
'You only need to make that initial breakthrough. I believe you are bound to settle down once you are in the top bracket, unless you are dumb,' says Mumbai stalwart Amol Muzumdar.
A round-up of Ranji matches played on Sunday
A summary of the Ranji Trophy Group A and Group B matches played across India on Sunday.
Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary and his Mumbai counterpart Rohit Sharma are eyeing spots in the Indian middle-order which has opened up following the retirement of Test greats Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman even as they are focusing on their current jobs in the Ranji Trophy.
Ajinkya Rahane is back among the runs with 532 runs in five Ranji Trophy matches for Mumbai this season, with a top score of 204 and an average of 76.
The focus will be firmly on India's Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane and young prodigy Prithvi Shaw when Mumbai take on Karnataka in their Ranji Trophy Elite Group B game, beginning in Mumbai on Friday. Both Rahane and Shaw failed with the bat in the last Ranji Trophy game against Railways which the domestic giants lost by 10 wickets inside two and half days.
BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has assured state units that the Board 'will do everything to restart the domestic season once the COVID-19 situation is under control'.
Fine spin bowling by Vidyuth Sivaramakrishnan restricted Railways, replying to 481, to 342 in the first innings of the semi-final.
The India Test spinner had one wicket to show in 21 overs during Day 1 of the Ranji Trophy Group B match against Madhya Pradesh.
While the pace department needs some urgent solutions, the spin has a slightly different landscape.
