Vidarbha canter into semi-final

By Patitosh Pramanik

Nagpur, February 11

IT was a dramatic end to the match. Vidarbha were in command on the fourth day and at one point they were on course of a resounding win. Then, Tamil Nadu tail wagged and frustrated the home side.

At 5 pm, after the half an hour extended session, with the visitors looking down the barrel with nine wickets down, umpires asked Tamil Nadu batters whether they wish to play for another half an hour. 

M Mohammed and Ajith Ram the, two tailenders, would have denied and had taken the game into the fifth day on Wednesday.  But they accepted the challenge. 

Vidarbha were looking for this extra ‘support’ and with seven minutes remaining on the clock took the last wicket of Mohd to record a resounding 198 runs win and storm into yet another semi-final at VCA Civil Lines Stadium with a day to spare.

Vidarbha will lock horns with Mumbai in the semi-finals at Nagpur from February 17.

Tamil Nadu chasing an improbable 401 for a win, folded at 202 in 61.1 overs.

Vidarbha medium pacer Nachiket Bhute tore Tamil Nadu batting apart with a three-wicket burst in the afternoon breaking the back of the visitiors from which they could not recover.

First, captain of Tamil Nadu Sai Kishore delayed the inevitable with a 23-run partnership for the 8th wicket with Sonu Yadav (57) and then Yadav and Mohd Mohammed (12) put up 43 runs for the last wicket to take the game beyond 5 pm.

With seven minutes still remaining, Harsh Dubey (40-3) completed the formalities with the wicket of Mohammed caught by Danish Malewar.

Vidarbha put up a mammoth target of 401 thanks to Yash Rathod who hit a classy 112. The target was too steep to climb and Tamil Nadu needed some special efforts from their batters.

But it was Bhute who produced a magical spell of seam bowling to take three wickets in his first spell of seven overs. From 25 for one in eight overs, Tamil Nadu were 32 for four in 10.3 overs.

Bhute was in stunning form. Aditya Thakare forced S Mohd Ali to play an away going delivery to give a simple catch to Danish Malewar at first slip to start Tamil Nadu’s downfall.

Karun Nair showed his athleticism with a direct hit to send B Sai Sudharsan back.

From there on, Bhute took over and in a span of just 42 minutes took three wickets to send Sai Kishore-led side’s top order in 

the hut.

He first trapped N Jagadeesan in front and then shaped the ball brilliantly to find the edge of Vijay Shankar. Boopathi Vaishna Kumar failed to gauge the pace of the delivery as the ball rammed into his pads to give Bhute his third scalp.

Andre Siddarth (15) and Pradosh Paul (53) tried to rebuild their innings with a fighting 38 runs for the 6th wicket but a direct hit from Rathod put the visitors in deep trouble.

Earlier, Vidarbha innings folded at the stroke of lunch on 272 with Rathod being the last batsman out.

Dubey showed maturity and completed his 16th half century from 16 First-Class matches. The left-handed bowling all-rounder has slammed back to half centuries for fourth successive time this season.

In Vidarbha’s last league match against Hyderabad at the same venue, Dubey had scored 65 and 55 and then followed it up with another fifty (69) in the first innings of this match. He continued his purple patch scoring another valuable 64 as Vidarbha swelled their lead.

In his company, Rathod, overnight 55, picked up runs through gaps. He completed his sixth First-Class century with a sweep off Ajith Ram which raced down the square leg fence.

The left-hander once again showed his ability of playing long innings. Rathod batted for 331 minutes and faced 213 deliveries for his 112. There was a period when it looked that he would remain stranded at 93 when Vidarbha lost Bhute, Thakare and Akshay Wakhare in quick succession. But last man Yash Thakur gave Rathod the much need company to help him complete his hundred.

Rival captain Sai Kisore took five wickets in the second innings.

Vidarbha in driver’s seat

By Patitosh Pramanik

February 11

ADITYA Thakare took his first five-wicket haul of the season in the morning and, as the shadows lengthened, Yash Rathod hit a calm unbeaten half century which helped Vidarbha take a huge 297 runs lead over Tamil Nadu on the third day of their Ranji Trophy quarter-final match at VCA Civil Lines Stadium on Monday.

The lead, which will definitely swell once the two unbeaten batters Rathod (55) and Harsh Dubey (29) walk again on the morrow, has put the former two-time champions Vidarbha in the driver’s seat.

After scoring 353 in the first innings, Vidarbha bundled out Tamil Nadu for 225 in 64.3 overs, thanks to seamer Thakare’s fifer, his sixth overall. After taking 128-run lead, Vidarbha batted patiently to score 169 for five swelling their overall lead.

The healthy lead must be attributed to the undefeated sixth wicket partnership of 55 runs between  two left-handers Rathod and Dubey who batted brilliantly holding the fort after Vidarbha were in a sort 

of trouble with 114-5 in the 

44th over.

Rathod, who scored 13 in the first innings, completed his half century with a single off M Mohammed, looked determined to bat long against Tamil Nadu. He and Dubey made it sure they returned unbeaten when the stumps were drawn for the day.

With a cushion of 128 runs in the first innings, Vidarbha started brightly in the second essay on the third morning but lost wickets at reguar intervals. 

Taide (19), who got out on a duck in the first innings, hit four boundaries through covers to start his day on positive note. 

He looked in fine touch but in an attempt to clear the point region, he gave an easy catch to Boopathi Vaishna Kumar at gully off Sonu Yadav.

Danish Malewar fell for duck which slowed down the pace of Vidarbha innings. First innings centurion Karun Nair and opener Dhruv Shorey (20) too could not build up a big partnership as the latter was bowled by a delivery that kept low from rival captain Sai Kishore.

Nair (29) and Rathod then rotated the strike with singles and doubles to take Vidarbha’s lead to over 200.

The period between lunch and tea was a tad slow with Vidarbha losing two wickets. 

There were occasional boundaries, with the straight six from Nair off Vijay Shankar which stood out. But Nair was caught first ball after tea with Boopathi Vaishna Kumar collecting a regulation catch at slips off Vijay Shankar.

Rathod survived an LBW decision off pacer Sonu Yadav when on 17. The umpire raised his finger and Rathod immediately went for DRS. The review showed that the ball had hit the bat first. Next delivery, Rathod picked a boundary of a beautiful backfoot punch through covers to regain his confidence.

In the morning, Tamil Nadu managed to add only 66 runs as their innings folded at 225 after playing for 96 minutes. Thakare completed his first five-wicket haul of season taking the last wicket of Sonu Yadav caught by captain-keeper Akshay Wadkar. 

Pradosh Ranjan Paul, overnight 18, scored 48 runs before he was caught by Taide at second slip. 

The ball popped out of his hands on the first attempt but Taide pounced it, giving Nachiket Bhute his second wicket of the innings. 

The remaining batters did not trouble Vidarbha for long.

Thakare was happy with his first five wicket haul of the season. “I am happy for this first fifer of the season. Hope to continue in same vein,” he said after the day’s play.

On what target Vidarbha would look to putting for Tamil Nadu, Thakare said “anything around 350-370 would be enough.”

Thakare to the four as Vidarbha take control

By Patitosh Pramanik

NAGPUR, Oct 10

VIDARBHA pacer Aditya Thakare bowled lethal spells to take four Tamil Nadu wickets, three in first spell, to push them to the wall on the second day of the Ranji Trophy quarter-final at VCA Civil Lines Stadium. 

At stumps, Tamil Nadu were 159 for six, still 194 runs in deficit to Vidarbha’s first innings total of 353. Captain Sai Kishore (6) and Pradosh Paul (18) were at crease.

Thakare bowled fiercely in the afternoon accounting for Tamil Nadu’s top order and then changed his bowling end to break the dangerous looking fifth wicket partnership between Vijay Shankar (55) and Andre Siddarth (65) to escort Vidarbha back on the front foot.

Thakare gave hosts breakthrough in his first over uprooting Mohammed Ali’s stumps on his third delivery. Sai Sudharsan and N Jagadeesan tried to build up the innings but Yash Thakur took a blinder at the point region to cut short Sudharsan’s innings off the Thakare. 

Thakur timed his jump to perfection as flied to his right to take an aerial catch. An over later, there was more trouble for Tamil Nadu as Thakare’s seaming delivery found Boopathi Vaishna Kumar’s bat’s edge and Vidarbha captain-wicketkeeper Akshay Wadkar pounced it with relative ease. Medium pacer Nachiket Bhute, included in the side in place of Parth Rekhade, piled up more misery on Tamil Nadu in the next over forcing N Jagadeesan to poke his bat to an away going delivery to hand Atharva Taide a low catch at slips.

Shankar and Siddarth then steadied the rocking ship which was going southwards. The duo hit some fine boundaries and a few sixes, two of which from Shankar’s blade coming against Harsh Dubey. Siddarth also stepped out to pick boundaries from pacers and also from Dubey who bowled from the pavilion end. 

Shankar targeted Dubey and hit him for a straight six on the bowler’s first over. Wadkar immediately replaced Dubey with Bhute after three overs. In the meantime, Siddarth completed his half century with a six off Bhute straight over the pavilion.

But when it looked that Shankar and Siddarth would take Tamil Nadu closer to Vidarbha’s total, Wadkar brought Thakare from the pavilion end and the bowler gave his captain the prized wicket of Shankar caught behind. 

Thakare bowled a beautiful delivery which moved slightly away to which Shankar could not take his bat away from the line.

Dubey, bowling from the far end, then sent back the other set batter Siddarth who was caught beautifully at slips by Taide.

Earlier in the morning, Vidarbha managed to add 89 runs to their overnight score of 264 as they got all out for 353 during a seven minutes extended lunch session.

In the process Harsh Dubey (69) completed his half century with a single off Sonu Yadav. Dubey was lucky to get two lives in two successive deliveries first by wicketkeeper N Jagadeesan and then by Boopathi Vaishna Kumar at second slip, bowler being Yadav on bith the occasions. Dubey hit nine boundaries for his yet another half-century.

Karun Nair managed to add 22 more runs before he was cleaned up by Yadav with an incoming delivery. Nair missed the line completely as the bowler found enough gap between his bat 

and pad.

Nair’s unbeaten ton, Vid take Day 1 honours

By Patitosh Pramanik

KARUN Nair continued his dominant show this season with another century and two big partnerships as Vidarbha posted 264 for six on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy quarter-final match against Tamil Nadu at VCA Civil Lines on Saturday. 

Nair was unbeaten on 100 in company of Harsh Dubey who was on 19 when the stumps were drawn for the day.

Nair hit his third Ranji century of the season, 22nd overall, as Vidarbha recovered from a precarious 44-3 in the morning. Nair also had two fruitful partnerships, first with talented Danish Malewar (75) of 98 runs for the fourth wicket and then for the sixth wicket with Vidarbha skipper Akshay Wadkar (24) of 64 runs which tilted the day’s play in the hosts’ favour.

Vidarbha once again had a poor start as they lost Athrava Taide for a 10-ball duck. The hosts surprised all, sending seamer Aditya Thakare as one down batter in an attempt to see off the first hour. But the bowler could stay in the middle for only 31 minutes as he ballooned a simple catch to Tamil Nadu captain Sai Kishore off pacer Sonu Yadav.

Dhruv Shorey managed to hit five boundaries for his 26 runs but he was caught beautifully by Vijay Shankar off his own bowling as Vidarbha reeled at 44-3 in the 16th over.

Danish Malewar and Karun Nair then started the repair job. Nair, who had slammed a century in Vidarbha’s last match against Hyderabad, played with maturity and supported Malewar who looked a bit aggressive. Malewar’s innings of 75 had 13 boundaries and all were praiseworthy. He got a life when wicketkeeper N Jagadeesan dropped him off M Mohammaed when on 56. Nair stood calm at the other end and kept building the partnership with singles and doubles. Malewar scored his boundaries through beautiful cover drives, elegant backfoot punches and straight drives which pleased all. Nair, too, got into the groove. The fuller balls were dispatched to straight and cover boundaries while short deliveries were pulled towards midwicket or fine leg fence by the Vidarbha professional.

Tamil Nadu’s Vijay Shankar was in for some stick from Malewar as he hit eight boundaries off his bowling. Their partnership of 98 runs for the fourth wicket ended when Malewar missed a Shankar bouncer and mistimed his shot to give M Mohammed a simple catch at mid-on.

Nair kept rooted in the middle and hit boundary off a reverse sweep of Mohammed Ali and then completed his half century with a single in 106 balls. 

Immediately after hitting his 37th First-Class fifty, Nair swept Sai Kishore as the ball raced towards square leg fence. Captain Akshay Wadkar then gave Nair the company dropping the anchor as Vidarbha took tea at 181-5.

Post tea, both picked runs at ease. Wadkar managed to find enough gaps to hit occasional boundaries. Their 64-run partnership for the sixth wicket was broken when the Vidarbha stumper was caught beautifully by rival keeper Jagadeesan.

Nair adjusted himself well against two left-arm spinners Sai Kishore and Ajith Ram. He played them cautiously picking runs in singles and doubles by pushing the ball into the gaps.

He also played some innovative shots as well as he built his innings. He pedal-swept Sai Kishore for a boundary to reach in the 90s. He then swept Ajith for a four to reach 97 and then took a single on the last ball of the over to keep the strike. 

He then took two singles from Ajith’s over to complete his well deserved  century.

With Nair unbeaten and hard-hitter Dubey still in the middle, Vidarbha will look to posting a huge total on the morrow when both the batters take fresh guard.

Vid aim for KO punch against TN

By Paritosh Pramanik

A GENTLE cool breeze welcomed Vidarbha and Tamil Nadu teams at Vidarbha Cricket Association’s Civil Lines Stadium on Friday morning. As the day grew up, the temperature soared and so did the intensity in the training session. Both the teams aimed at ironing out their flaws before their Ranji Trophy quarter-final match to be played from Saturday.

Going down with their drills and nets sessions, both the teams looked match ready for the five-day encounter.

Vidarbha, on a high with the unbeaten tag this season, would aim for a knock-out punch against the team from the South. They have six outright wins and a first innings lead under their belt and finished with maximum 40 points to top Group B.

The team is on a roll this season and if one goes by their form, they are the firm favourites for this last-eight game. The team has shown great determination and resilience as on three occasions, they have conceded the lead only to win the game outrightly.

The match would be played on the track which was used for Vidarbha’s opening game against Andhra. But that was in October and the weather conditions were totally different as compared to what it is today.

With the temperature dipping in the morning a bit since last couple of days, the wicket would assist seamers in early part of the game. Vidarbha might go in with three seamers and two spinners but the final decision will be taken on the match morning.

“The wicket looks good. I think it was the same one on which we played our opening match against Andhra. But the weather condition is different from then. I think the wicket might help our seamers,” Vidarbha captain Wadkar said after team’s nets session on Friday. Aditya Thakare and Yash Thakur will man the pace department while the spin section will be handled by season’s highest wicket-taker Harsh Dubey. He is in form of his life taking 55 wickets to equal former Vidarbha spinner Aditya Sarvate’s record of most wickets in a season. The left-arm Vidarbha tweaker will definitely break that record in the next five days. Apart from winning matches with his magical deliveries, Dubey is also a finisher and has helped Vidarbha win games with his exploding batting. In Vidarbha’s last league match against Hyderabad, Dubey had scored back to back half centuries apart from taking eight wickets in the match.

The batting looks solid with Athrava Taide and Dhruv Shorey taking first strikes.

Danish Malewar, in-form Karun Nair and Yash Rathod apart from captain Wadkar will hold the middle order with Dubey coming down and throwing his bat for fours and sixes.

With wicket assisting seamers, as hinted by Wadkar, Vidarbha might include pacer Nachiket Bhute who can clear the ball into the stands with his brute power.

It would be interesting to see whether veteran spinner Akshay Wakhare or Parth Rekhade, who made his debut against Hyderabad, get to sit out.

Rekhade holds edge over Wakhare as he can bat well too. He and Dubey had added crucial 69 runs in the second innings against Hyderabad to help Vidarbha score 355 runs against Hyderabad. Wakhare, on the other hand, is an experienced spinner with over 100 First-Class matches.

Vidarbha will have to see off the first hour as they are throwing their wickets early. In their first match against Andhra and in their last league match against Hyderabad the top and middle-order failed to stay put.

For Tamil Nadu, they have had a mixed league round with three wins, as many draws, and a loss as they finished second best team from Group D behind Saurashtra.

They are coming into this match with a loss against a lowly Jharkhand. Their morale would have been hurt and they would aim to pull their socks in this do-or-die battle. They received a blow as Baba Indrajit, who pulled up a calf muscle, was left out of the 16-member squad for the quarter-finals. Sai Sudharsan is back in the squad while Sonu Yadav has also found a place in the team after recovering from an injury. Pacer G Govind has also been added to the squad.

Tamil Nadu would look up to openers Momammed Ali and Narayan Jagadeesan to give them a good start. India player Vijay Shankar will hold the middle-order along with Pradosh Rajan Paul and Ajith Ram.

Ram and captain Sai Kishore, both left-arm orthodox, will have to deliver their best if Tamil Nadu fancy any chance to reach the semis.

The match will be streamed 

live on Jio.

Teams: Vidarbha: Akshay Wadkar (Captain & WK),  Atharva Taide, Aman Mokhade, Yash Rathod, Harsh Dubey, Akshay Karnewar, Yash Kadam, Akshay Wakhare, Aditya Thakare, Shubham Kapse, Nachiket Bhute, Siddhesh Wath (WK), Yash Thakur, Danish Malewar, Parth Rekhade, Karun Nair, Dhruv Shorey.

Tamil Nadu: Sai Kishore R (C), Jagadeesan N (VC), Mohamed Ali S, Sai Sudharsan B, Boopathi Vaishna Kumar, Vijay Shankar, Andre Siddarth, Pradosh Ranjan Paul, Mohammed M, Ajith Ram S, Sonu Yadav R, Trilok Nag H, Achyuth C V, Lokeshwar S, Siddharth M, Govind G.

We will continue to play aggressive cricket, says Buttler

By Paritosh Pramanik

NAGPUR, Feb 5

THEY were beaten 1-4 in the just concluded T20I against India but England captain Jos Buttler asserted that his side will continue to play the aggressive brand of cricket in the three-match ODI series starting with the first game at VCA Jamtha Stadium on Thursday.

The English side has been following the ‘Baz-ball’ format of cricket for quite some time but have not achieved success they expected. However, Buttler said England would continue with the style of cricket they play. The captain also said that it is the best possible way his side would have prepared with matches against India ahead of Champions Trophy.

“Coming to the style of cricket we played (in T20Is)...doubling down in the 50-over format with Champions Trophy just round the corner, it is great to play against the top side (India) the three ODIs before that tournament.

“We are quite clear with the style of cricket we play. We got some great options and great combinations that we can go with. So, we will have to look at the wicket and will have to take the best decision (about playing XI) leading into this match,” replied Buttler during the pre-match press conference ahead of their only nets session.

Buttler said the side would definitely benefit with the inclusion of Joe Root who would take the Number 3 spot in batting.

“This groups is together for a couple of weeks now and we have Joe Root into this team which is great to have a player of that quality. It’s exciting to look forward to against the top team. He is  a great player of the game and he will bat at number three,” said Buttler.

“He has been a vital part of ODI cricket for England for a long time and I am excited to see him in this phase of his career, what he has done with his Tests ... with that cheeky smile on his face. He is enjoying his cricket and I am expecting him do the same in this environment. 

“He’s got loads of experience in ODI cricket and he has been a vital player for England in all formats of the game and we feel he has got crucial role for us in these games,” the captain said of Root who has scored 6522 runs in 171 ODI till date.

Asserting that they would not change their style of play, 34-year-old Buttler said they would try to put pressure on India in the coming matches.

“We are going to play exactly the same way. We are going to put pressure on the opposition with the bat. We will try and find ways to take wickets. Its always about executions. I think whatever plan you come with you have to execute it well and we believe that’s the best way to win games and get the best out of the players in our dressing room. So we double down on that. 

“I think we played well in phases in T20Is but its very important to stay on course the way we play and try to execute best to the abilities in these games,” Buttler said.

Buttler, who has 181 ODIs under his belt said that the conditions in Pakistan (for Champions Trophy) would be same as in India. “I think it might be the same on each ground that we will play. We will have to adapt to the conditions. Taking India in India will be a great challenge and it will be a good preparation going into the Champions Trophy,” concluded the wicketkeeper-batter.

Rahul or Pant? ‘A happy headache’

By Paritosh Pramanik

NAGPUR, Feb 5

IT WILL be a headache for the team management when they sit to tick the final XI for the first One-Dayer against England at Jamtha Stadium on Thursday.

The main point of picking the right team would be the toss-up between wicketkeepers KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant.

Rahul has been donning the wicketkeepers gloves for the country quite well and might be the first choice again. However, the gamechanger Pant is, where he can change the complexion of the match in no time, it would be a decision the management would like to take looking all the scenarios. Rohit said it is a happy headache to have while picking the team.

“Obviously KL is being keeping wickets for us in the ODI format for a number of years now and he has done pretty well if you look at last 10-15 ODIs. He has done exactly what the team required... Rishabh is there...if there is option of playing either one of them.... both are capable of winning games on their own. So it’s a good headache to have whether to play KL or Rishabh. But obviously looking at what we have done in the past and...the continuity is also important for us and that is where we stand as a team with KL and Rishabh,” said Rohit during the pre-match presser on Wednesday evening.

Earlier, it was expected that Jasprit Bumrah would join the team from third ODI but he was not included when the team for last ODI was announced. “We are waiting fort some updates about his (Bumrah) scan which was due to happen in next few days. Once we get that scans we will be able to get more clarity on where he stands right now,” informed Rohit.

The Indian captain said people should not judge Mohd Shami in just few games he played during the domestic meets and should also think of the past what he has done for the team.

“Shami is coming back into the team after a gap of one and a half years. Don’t start judging players so early. He has done well in the past 12 years, you can look at his bowling in the World Cup, how he bowled. You can’t gauge him on one or two domestic matches. He is a match winner for us, taking wickets in heap, all these  should be taken into consideration. People have a tendency to think on short-term. Our (people’s) memory is short-term. We forget the past very easily. We forget what the player has done 6-8 months back. We judge a player on just one series or a few matches. This should not be the criteria,” Rohit replied.

Rohit said Varun Chakravarthy is very much in the scheme of things for the Champions Trophy.

“He has certainly shown something different, though it was a T20 format. But it’s clearly something different about him so we just wanted to have an option and see what we can do with him . Clearly it presents us an opportunity to play him at some stage and see what he is capable of. Right now we are not thinking about taking him of not (for Champions Trophy) but definitely he will be in contention if things pans out really well. If he does what is required from him then definitely there is something that we need to think about,” said the Indian captain.

On his own form in the past year, Rohit said ups and downs are part and parcel of a cricketers career and he is not thinking about the past. “As cricketers will all know there will be ups and downs and I have a faced a lot in my career so this is nothing new to me. We know every day is a fresh day, every series is fresh series. I am looking forward to the challenge and not thinking of what happened in the past. There is no reason for me to look behind....a lot of good things have happened as well. so it is important that I focus what is coming up and what lies ahead of me. it is as simple as that. I try and start the series on a high, let’s see what happens,” he said.

On reports that he was asked by the BCCI to clarify on his future plans after Champions Trophy, Rohit said, “how is it relevant that I talk about my future plans sitting here where we have three ODIs and Champions Trophy coming in next few days. The reports are going on for a number of years and I am not here to clarify those reports. 

For me, these three games here and then the Champions Trophy is very, very important. My focus is on these games we’ll see what happens after that.” he concluded.

Nagpurians ‘Bleed Blue’ as India triumph

By Paritosh Pramanik

THE six-year wait for a One-Dayer finally ended on a happy note as Nagpurians enjoyed the moment cheering, shouting, applauding, dancing during their 8-hour memorable stay at VCA’s Jamtha Stadium on Thursday.

India and England started their preparation for Champions Trophy at the right earnest as the hosts defeated the visitors by four wickets under lights extending their supremacy at Jamtha Stadium.

Though the match started at 1.30 pm, fans made a bee-line at the gates from morning itself. With banners, placards the fans made a serpentine queue to occupy their seats well in advance.

They all came beautifully dressed, some wore turbans, hats, traditional dresses, camouflaged T-shirts to look attractive and get noticed by the broadcasters’ cameras and photographers lens. Some patriots even painted tricolour on their cheeks.

The stadium turned into a sea of blue with spectators wearing India Blue jerseys. 

With the DJ blaring at every fours and sixes, the fans danced to the tunes soaking in the atmosphere.

There was a tight security blanket in and around the stadium but the men in khaki were at ease and let the fans celebrate the ‘festival’.

The chants of Jeetega bhai jeetega....India jeetega, Vande Matram.... Bharat Mata Ki Jai reverberated from the stands with fans uniting common cause — watching India win.

Shouts of Shubman...Shubman, Iyer...Iyer.....after Rana...Rana.... continued to breach the decibel level as Indian cricketers took control of the game.

India responded to fans’ faith by restricting England to 248 with debutant Harshit Rana and experienced all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja taking three wickets each.

Fans were shocked when they got the news in the afternoon that one of the best One-Day players Virat Kohli won’t be playing the match due to sore knee. But Shreyas Iyer, vice-captain Shubman Gill and Axar Patel made it sure they return home happily.

Iyer hit a fine 59 with nine boundaries and two huge sixes to entertain the crowd.

Gill  and Patel (52) then made the celebration more bigger with a match-winning 108 runs partnership. Gill added icing on the cake with a fine 87.

There was a moment when the stadium fell silent when India lost debutant Yashasvi Jaiswal (15) and captain Rohit Sharma (2) cheaply early in the innings. But Gill, Iyer and Patel lifted their spirits hitting boundaries and sixes.

All in all the six-year wait for an ODI in Nagpur was worth as fans returned home with some cherished memories.

All set for Thunderous Thursday

INDIA TAKE ON ENGLAND IN FIRST ODI AT JAMTHA TODAY

By ParitoshPramanik

COME Thursday, the Nagpur-Hyderabad Highway will be chock-a-block when India and England begin their three-match ODI series in the day-night encounter at VCA Jamtha Stadium.

Fans would be in for a treat with the ball flying into the stands when the likes of Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Jos Buttler, Harry Brook, Phil Salt, to name a few, tonk the balls with brute power. It will be after six years that Jamtha would be hosting an ODI, the last being played in 2019 when India beat Australia.

The preparations were in full swing with final touches being given to the stadium, built in 2008.

It was khakhi all around the periphery of VCA’s Jamtha Stadium on the eve of the first One-Dayer. To make it fool-proof, the police department has taken over the area and converted it into a citadel. A posse of police force guarded the entire approach road to the stadium as one entered the stretch in the noon.

The 45,000 capacity Jamtha Stadium would be packed to the roof where fans would enjoy and cheer their favourite stars. This has been a happy hunting ground for the Indians with four wins and two loses at this venue. Their last victory for India at this venue was over Australia, by eight runs in 2019.

Out of the four wins, twice India defended the total and have chased down the target in as many games.

WILL VIRAT RESUME HIS ‘LOVE AFFAIR’ AT JAMTHA?

Virat Kohli might not be in the best of his forms but the star batter has a happy memory of Jamtha stadium.

The last time he played at this venue, he had slammed 116 runs from 120 deliveries against Australia in 2019. India had won that match by eight runs. A lot of water has flown since then but Kohli will love to resume his love affair at Jamtha and give his thousands of fans something to cheer about.

DUE FROM SHAMI

ohd Shami had an extended session two days prior to the One-Dayer. The pacer has been coming after a long injury lay-off and India think-tank would love to see him in his best form. On Tuesday, Shami was bowing full steam in the centre wicket for more than an hour. He did not look in any discomfort. If Shami is selected, he will be looking to bag some wickets at this venue. The last time Shami played here, against Australia in 2019, he went wicketless and Shami would aim to bag at least a couple of English wickets to boost his confidence ahead of the Champions Trophy.

From that 2019 One-Dayer, only Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav have played here taking one and three wickets respectively.

BIG BLOW FOR ENGLAND?

Ahead of the first ODI against India, England might suffer a big blow with wicketkeeper-batter Jammie Smith unlikely to play at least the first two ODIs.

The wicketkeeper-batter is troubled by a calf issue which he suffered during the third T20I in Rajkot. The England camp is expecting the 24-year-old to be fit before the Champions Trophy. But if reports in the English media are to be believed, Smith will not be playing in Nagpur and Cuttack.

SPECIAL BUS SERVICES

Nagpur Municipal Corporation will be making arrangements for special bus services on the match day. The special buses will ply from Panchsheel Square to Jamtha Stadium from 9 am onwards on Thursday. The service will be available till late night after the match is over. The buses will leave for the venue (Jamtha) every 15 minutes. With network congestion in and around the stadium, NMC has requested spectators to book tickets in advance through their mobile app. Similarly, a ticket booking counter will also be set up at Jamtha T-point.

Net gains

By Paritosh Pramanik

THE chinks were ironed out for one last time by both the teams as India and England cricketers did their nets on the eve of the first ODI at VCA’s Jamtha Stadium on Wednesday.

India, who preferred to practice in the afternoon on Tuesday, decided to have a feel of the ground under lights on Wednesday.

“We would like to see how much dew will be there in the evening and then only we will decide on the team composition,” India vice-captain Shubman Gill had said on Tuesday.

Though there was no dew when the lights were put on, the Indian nets was in full flow. The pace department was given rest and was not seen bowling. India batters took the services of net bowlers and throw-down specialists even as bowling coach Morne Morkel watched them bat with chief coach Gautam Gambhir.

PITCH UNDER COVER

The match pitch which was kept open on Tuesday was under cover for most part of the day on the eve of the match. The groundsmen were seen shaving off the last blade of grass on Tuesday and on Wednesday nothing such activity was seen as the 22-yard track kept wrapped under red blankets.

HIT-MAN ARRIVES

It was the 50-over format where Rohit Sharma got the name of Hit-Man for his swashbuckling batting. In the nets, Rohit showed his brute side hitting deliveries after deliveries into the stands announcing ‘Hit-man’s arrival’. He connected the ball beautifully, from the middle of his bat as the ball sailed into the stands on several occasions. Even the carpet driven shots were unstoppable. Hope he continues in the same vein on the morrow.

LIGHT WORKOUT

BY ENGLAND 

CRICKETERS

The England cricketers played it safe and did not slog it out for long under the sun.

There was a bit of running and stretching on the field before the players ventured back into the pavilion. A few, including captain Jos Buttler and Joe Root, hit the batting nets but most of them were inside the cool environs of the dressing room. The afternoon temperature on Wednesday in Nagpur hovered around 30 degree Celsius.

Later clouds brought some respite for them and Root was seen taking some throw-downs. He tried to fine-tune his pull shots, hitting them to quite a distance. The next batters followed him and they too freed their arms.

BUTTLER VISITS RR’S TALEGAON HPC

England captain Jos Buttler made a special visit to the Rajasthan Royals High Performance Centre (HPC) in Talegaon. Jos also took the opportunity to step onto the field, playing a few balls with the the IMSE tribal kids’ cricket team. 

The young cricketers were thrilled to bowl and bat alongside the England captain, making it an unforgettable experience for them. Buttler also inspected the pitches at the HPC, taking a keen interest in the training conditions and infrastructure.

The grind continues

By Paritosh Pramanik

ITS all decked up for the first One-Dayer in six years at VCA Jamtha Stadium.

The stadium looked swanky with newly-fitted bucket seats shining under the bright sun on Tuesday afternoon.

There was a calmness in and arround the stadium but once the shining stars of Indian cricket led by Rohit Sharma decended on the field, the atmosphere became electric.

While captain Rohit, vice-captain Shubhman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja reached the Orange City a day in advance, the other team members reached Nagpur on Monday night and were immediately ‘on national duty’.

The Indian team’s training session started at 12 noon and continued till 4 pm. And it was intense. With changng times, the warm-up drill also have seen a sea of change.

Gone are days when players used to run laps to get fully ready for nets. 

On Tuesday they warmed-up by playing a unique game in which the team was divided into two and they all played with a tennis ball in which they had to pass it to their team-mates who had to hold it by a single hand.

Who won the game? That doesn’t matter because all were charged up for the next session, the catching and fielding. Again players shuffeled in groups with one taking high catches and the others pouncing some parallel ones.

There were fielding drills too at the far end of the ground.

With England deciding not to hold any training session, India used the whole playfield to fine-tune their skills.

They all looked in fine nick whether it collecting high catches or the sharp ones. There was not a single ‘drop’.

Only once Arshseep Singh spilled but it was a difficult one. But still the pacer was not happy with his ‘lethargic’ attempt and even used the ‘F’ word on his own performance.

All this was minutely watched by coach Gautam Gambhir who did not break an eye-lid and stood in the middle, either performing the role of an umpire when the cricketers batted and at some times stood alone to take notes of the happenings in the middle.

SIXES FLY INTO 

THE STANDS

The batters namely Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Yashasvi Jaiswal showed their brute power to hit the ball into the newly-fitted bucket seats in the stands. Their shots looked so easy but filled with power as the white balls landed into the stands. The ball boys were mere spectators and they had to go into the stands to fetch the ball.

Vid shining bright In ‘HD’ quality

End Ranji League phase with 58 runs win over Hyderabad

Dubey snares eight wicket in the match

To play quarter-final against Tamil Nadu at Nagpur from Feb 8

By Paritosh Pramanik

THEY were the first team to qualify for the knock-outs, with a game to spare. But Vidarbha did not let their intensity down and continued their dominant form as they went on to thrash Hyderabad by 58 runs in their last league match of Ranji Trophy at VCA Civil Lines Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Vidarbha won six of their seven matches outright, drew one against Gujarat, and topped Group B with 40 points, which no other team can match. Vidarbha, last year’s finalist, is the best team of the league stage and is shining bright, in HD quality, since October.

Harsh Dubey (HD), the 22-year-old left-arm spinner, is leading the team to victories after victories with his “different level” of bowling and exceptional batting lower down the order.

Against Hyderabad, Vidarbha managed 190 in the first innings, with Dubey scoring highest 65. The hosts then restricted the opponents at 326 and then rode on Karun Nair’s century (105), Atharva Taide’s 93 and Dubey’ 55 to post 335 and set a target of 220.

The target looked small, but when Vidarbha are the opponents, even 100 would have been difficult.

Yash Thakur gave Vidarbha early sneak into Hyderabad citadel on the third evening. Aditya Thakare then opened the gates on the fourth morning and from there on it was Dubey show for the next two hour or so where the left-arm tweaker gulped six wickets in no time to bundle Hyderabad out for 161 in 38.5 overs. Dubey’s second innings figures read 11.5-1-57-6. Another five-wicket haul for the spinner who is the leading wicket-taker in country with 58 this Ranji season. The next best are Jammu and Kashmir’s Auqib Nabi and Baroda’s Mahesh Virambhai Pithiya who both took 38 wickets each. Dubey was difficult to play on the fourth day track of Civil Lines ground.

He displayed his excellent ability to vary the pace of his deliveries. “He is bowling at a different level,” commented former India pacer Prashant Vaidya after the match. “He is varying his pace beautifully and to bowl left-arm spin in that way is truly commendable,” added Vaidya.

Hyderabad’s batter who were foxed by Dubey were Abhirath Reddy (21), K Himateja (0), Varun Goud (5), captain Chama Milind (20), Rakshan Readdi (0) and Mohd Siraj (26) who hit the bowler for a few sixes and four to entertain the crowd and delay the inevitable.

“I did not do anything different, just kept bowling on the right area,” replied Dubey.

In Dubey’s company, debutant Parth Rekhade too excelled as he was instrumental in picking up two wickets. He was responsible in sending back Hyderabad wicketkeeper Rahul Rudesh (48) caught by Taide and then found the slightest edge of Rahul Buddhi’s bat to get caught by captain Akshay Wadkar.

Graduating from Uder-23 set-up left-arm spinner Rekhade is also a handy batter and loves the company of Dubey. They both have taken the age group teams to finals of domestic competitions earlier and this season, both are enjoying each other’s success. While batting in the first innings, Rekhade added 40 crucial runs with Yash Rathod. In the second essay, Rekhade and Dubey posted 59 runs for the eighth 

wicket.

“We wanted to test Rekhade before the quarter-finals....whether he could handle the pressure of Ranji trophy and how he will deliver in the top tournament of the country. And he came out with flying colours. He delivered what we needed from him and I think he is ready for the grind,” said captain Wadkar for the debutant Rekhade. 

Vaidya was also all praise for the left-arm tweaker and said, “He is mentally very strong. He has a very different kind of approach towards the game. Coming from Under-23 he has developed a very strong base and will only get better from here on.”

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 SIRAJ FURIOUS WITH UMPIRES

India and Hyderabad seamer Mohd Siraj is furious with the umpires of the match against Vidarbha which the visitors lost by 58 runs. Siraj said there were many decisions which could have changed the complexion of the match. 

“The umpiring was very poor, to say the least. Ok, I can understand one or two mistakes but on 7-8 occasions, they erred,” claimed Siraj after the match.

Akshay Totre and Navdeep Singh Sidhu were the onfield umpires. On many occasions, Siraj was seen standing shocked in the middle of the pitch after his lbw appeals were turned down. When asked whether he has seen the videos of his bowling, Siraj said, “I have seen them many times and then only I am blaming them. But its ok, its cricket. I am happy the way Vidarbha played the match,” he concluded.

Exciting finish on cards

By Paritosh Pramanik

Karun Nair scored a gritty century while Athrava Taide missed out on a deserving one as Vidarbha gave a huge 220 runs target to Hyderabad on the third day of their last Ranji Trophy league match at VCA Civil Lines Stadium. 

Vidarbha, starting the day at overnight score of 56-2, scored 355 runs in their second innings with runs from Taide, Nair and Harsh Dubey taking the centrestage. Vidarbha have already qualified for the quarter-finals to be played at the same venue, most likely against Tamil Nadu, from February 8.

At stumps, Hyderabad were 23 for one still needing 197 runs for a victory. Yash Thakur shattered in-form Hyderabadi batter Tanmay Agarwal’s stumps in the third over of the visitors’ second innings. Abhirath Reddy (9) and Tanay Thayagarajan (7) were at the crease.

Though Taide and Nair were instrumental in taking Vidarbha’s lead past 150-run mark, it was once again all-rounder Harsh Dubey who slammed his second half century of the game to make it sure the hosts bowlers get enough total to defend on the last day of the game.

Dubey, who hit crucial 65 in the first innings, slammed valuable 55 in the second essay as Vidarbha take control of the game.After conceding first innings lead and then two wickets down in their second innings at the end of  second day’s play, Vidarbha needed their batters to apply themselves. Overnight batter Taide and Nair answered the call with a face-saving fourth wicket century stand which helped Vidarbha put up the huge target for Hyderabad on a fourth day pitch.

Taide was back among runs after some below-par scores and he hit boundaries with ease. He completed his half century with a couple pushing the ball towards third-man off Rakshann Readdi. The next ball he delicately diverted it towards fine leg fence for a boundary. A few overs earlier, he had earned applause from the crowd after he hit Siraj for a straight four.

Nair, on the other hand, was in his zone. With five hundreds in Vijay Hazare Trophy still fresh in his mind, the right-hander had to curb his shots to build partnership with Taide. At times he stepped out to fetch boundaries off Readdi and Tanay Thayarajan.

Nair was lucky when he was dropped at slips by K Himateja when on 20. The former Karnataka batter built on that chance to complete his century with a single pushing the ball towards covers. He and Harsh Dubey stitched an important 51 runs for the seventh wicket before Nair was stumped brilliantly by Rahul Radesh.

Dubey continued his good form against Siraj hitting him for timely boundaries through covers and later completed his half century in 60 balls before he was bowled by Readdi.

Agarwal hits ton but Vid restrict Hyderabad’s lead

 By Paritosh Pramanik

The only time left-handed Hyderabad opener Tanmay Agarwal looked in discomfort was in the 66th over when he pulled a muscle. Rest of the day it was Vidarbha bowlers who were in search of answers to the visitors solid batting which helped them take the first innings lead.

Riding on Agarwal’s (136) third century of the season, Hyderabad, who started their day at 90-2, posted 326 against Vidarbha’s 190, taking an overall lead of 136 runs on the second day of their Ranji Trophy match at VCA Civil Lines ground on Friday.

At the end of day’s play, Vidarbha were 56-2 losing the wickets of Shorey and night-watchman Aditya Thakare. The hosts still trail by 80 runs.

Atharva Taide and Shorey batted well and added 47 runs for the opening wicket before Shorey was sent back by Rakshann Readdi’s superb delivery which clipped the bails in the 17th over. Thakare was bowled two deliveries before stumps by Mohd Siraj who set up the batter beautifully and brought one back with his inswinger to end the day’s play.

The two wickets swung the initiative back in Hyderabad’s favour a bit but  Vidarbha will look to batting strong whole day on the morrow and their first target would be to wipe out the lead and bounce back in the match, which they had done on several occasions in the past.

Hyderabad’s Agarwal, who is the leading run scorer of this Ranji season with 928 runs, was solid in his batting.

Resuming the day at his personal score of 53, the 29-year-old left-handed batter negotiated Vidarbha pacers with utmost ease. His chanceless innings of 136 was decorated with 13 boundaries and a six.

Agarwal started the day slowly scoring only seven runs in the first hour. But gradually he opened up and scored some exquisite boundaries. There was a beautiful reverse sweep boundary off Vidarbha spinner Harsh Dubey, a straight as an arrow four off Parth Rekhade and pull shots against pacer Yash Thakur which fetched him runs.

With Agarwal strong at one end, other batters supported the opener as they stitched crucial partnerships in their innings with the  best being between Agarwal and Rahul Buddhi of 61 runs for the fifth wicket.

It was pacer Thakur who broke Agarwal’s strong resistance with the second new ball. The pacer bowled a beautiful length delivery which kept a bit low only to dislodge Agarwal’s bails in the 87th over. That was the only time Agarwal was beaten in his entire innings.

Immediately thereafter, Hyderabad’s innings folded in next 26 minutes as they lost the remaining three wickets in no time.

Thakur sent back rival captain CV Milind caught by wicketkeeper Akshay Wadkar on the last ball of 96th over and in the next Dubey wiped out the tail in space of three deliveries.

Earlier in the morning, experienced veteran spinner Akshay Wakhare broke the partnership between overnight batters Agarwal and K Himateja sending back the latter on the stroke of hour’s play. Himateja tried to forward defence a delivery but guided the ball towards Danish Malewar at silly point who grabbed it easily.

Parth Rekhade then took his maiden Ranji Trophy wicket in Varun Goud (24) cleaning his furniture with a straighter one. Rahul Buddhi innings was cut short by Aditya Thakare off a bouncer which was beautifully caught at deep midwicket by Akshay Wakhare.

‘RCB’ chants for Siraj

A decent crowd turned up at VCA Civil Lines Stadium to watch India pacer Mohd Siraj in flesh and blood. The stand in the north wing was full with the spectators. During Hyderabad’s innings, Siraj came in to bat but was left stranded at the non-striker’s end as the last two wickets fell in space of three deliveries.

But while bowling, Siraj entertained the crowd and also signed autographs for them who chanted ‘RCB...RCB....RCB and Siraj...Siraj...Siraj... The crowd was unaware that Siraj is no more with Royal Challengers Bangalore and will be playing for Gujarat Titans this IPL season.

Still, Siraj obliged the fans signing autographs even 

during the last drinks break of the day.

Injury scare for Shorey

Vidarbha opener Dhruv Shorey was hit on his left thumb during the second innings on second evening. Shorey, who was batting on 15, failed to read the pace of Hyderabad seamer Rakshann Readdi’s last delivery of 11th over. 

Shorey fell to the ground holding his left wrist in pain as doctors attended him on the field. After onfield treatment, Shorey continued with his batting with his opening partner Athrava Taide.

During the drinks break, the doctor again came to ground to check Shorey’s thumb.