Indian domestic cricket has seldom been this absorbing. After analysing the recent Ranji season that went by, it is safe to say that while most matches were played on docile batting paradises (yes they were dull and predictable), the best individual performances came against quality domestic oppositions that were endowed with strong batting or bowling units.
In the recent past, teams like UP, Delhi, Mumbai and Baroda have been performing really well. This is one reason why we find many cricketers play for India from this part of the circuit.
However, the 2009-10 season was a little bit different from the past few seasons. Karnataka emerged as the real team to beat for the season. Even though, Mumbai ended up as the winners, Karnataka won most of their games in style with a bowling attack that looked extremely dominant and a batting line up that boasted strong and consistent performers who hit the purple patch at right moments.
There was one more team from South, that did exceedingly well for most part of the Ranji season. However, their season ended when they conceded the first innings lead to Delhi in the Quarter Final of Ranji Trophy.
While Karnataka had an all round team, Tamil Nadu, relied heavily on their batsmen to help them gain that all important first innings lead. More often than not, their batsmen delivered.
We will now delve into 5 of season’s best performances.
ABHIMANYA MITHUN (Karnataka) – Indian cricket is currently undergoing a predicament with its fast bowling resources. Fast bowlers come into the international circuit quite early after a brief success in the domestic scene. Soon, they fizz off in the same speed with which they actually arrived.
It is however hoped that Mithun gives India a different flavor with his raw pace bowling. Playing for Karnataka in his Ranji debut against Uttar Pradesh, Mithun picked up 11 wickets in the match including a hattrick that accounted for Piyush Chawla, Amir Khan and RP Singh. His devastating spell in both innings helped Karnataka beat (by 185 runs) a strong Ranji trophy contender in UP in their home (Meerut) itself.
Copyrights - Ananthasubramanian Narayanan
While Mithun snapped the top order of UP (including UP captain Mohd. Kaif), his accurate and sharp bowling was too hot for the lower order to handle. It has been some time since a fast bowler has brandished so much ferocity with the ball in Indian domestic scene. So, when we actually find somebody delivering killer blows on his debut, its natural to get excited.
By the end of the Ranji season, Mithun had done enough to earn the selection for Indian test team.
SUBRAMANIAM BADRINATH (Tamil Nadu) – Harsha Bhogle in his article in cricinfo.com says, “Badrinath has done everything in Indian Cricket except play for India.”
Already 29, Badrinath is an exception for Indian test debutants. While we usually find 16 and 17-year olds debuting for India quite often, 29 year old test debutants are far and few.
Badrinath kept accumulating runs even in the season that just ended. However his best knock came against a strong opponent in Mumbai. Mumbai have almost always had the upper hand in encounters with TN. Tamil Nadu were on a roll before they stumbled upon Mumbai at Bandra Kurla Complex. Batting first, TN needed to wrest the ascendancy by making a huge first innings score. Badri took the initiative with a splendid 250.
His innings was a mixture of aggression, composure, defence and doggedness. He braved the Mumbai attack for over 10 hours and batted 476 balls to score 250 runs. His innings also included 5 sixes. Mumbai is one of those teams in Indian domestic cricket, who usually make life arduous for the opponents. But when they faced a batsman of supreme quality awaiting a test call up for a long time then, the hosts were left clueless.
AUSHIK SRINIVAS (Tamil Nadu) – Being a champion team, Mumbai are regarded the Australia of Indian cricket. They always have attacking bowling options and batsmen who can stay on the crease for a long time. In the same game when Badri scored 250, Mumbai were cruising at 336-4 with Wasim Jaffer on 141.
With another 170 odd runs to score, Mumbai looked certain to take the first innings lead against an opposition they usually love to win. Aushik Srinivas, one of the newest TN recruits for this season, however had different ideas. Mumbai had a free fall from 336-4 to 366 all out. All of this in just 14 overs!
Srinivas, who masterminded this collapse collected 7 wickets including the last 6 wickets of Mumbai’s first innings. It was a collapse of Pakistani proportions as Mumbai conceded the first innings lead and points to Tamil Nadu.
The 17 year old left arm spinner from Coimbatore has already made a big impression in the national circuit. Srinivas’s performances in his first Ranji season also earned him a place in the South Zone side that played the final of Duleep Trophy against West Zone. However his real test would happen when he turns up for TN next season. A lot of teams would have analyzed his bowling even more.
MANISH PANDEY (Karnataka) – He hogged limelight when he became the first Indian to score a hundred in IPL 2009. His 2009-10 season started in a great fashion with a resplendent 194 against Uttar Pradesh at Meerut.
There was no stopping for Manish Pandey last season. Pandey’s heroics continued through the season and it helped Karnataka reach the final. They might have well won the final too, had Pandey stayed on for a little more time.
Copyrights - Ananthasubramanian Narayanan
His 144 off 151 balls during the 338-run chase (for the title) will probably be rated as the best performance of the season by any individual. Walking in at 46-3 with captain Uthappa departing back to the pavilion, the team’s chances banked heavily on Manish’s performance. After the duck in the first innings, Pandey had to come up with a special knock to secure the title for Karnataka. With Ganesh Sathish displaying solidity at the other end, Pandey started the recovery slowly. By the end of the 4th day the game was evenly poised with Pandey already completing his half century. Mumbai surely knew that Pandey’s wicket was vital for their chances to brighten.
The final day started with fireworks from the youngster. The way he manhandled Ramesh Powar at Mysore will always be remembered by those who witnessed it live in the ground. There were many who actually compared this with the famous Tendulkar-Qadir duel in Pakistan, a couple of decades ago.
It was not as if Pandey went blazing all the way. There was a method for the way he went about his business. There was precision in his cuts, his pulls, his drives and on occasions he gave respect to the bowler whenever he commanded one.
On that day, there was this whole world on one side and then Manish Pandey, on the othe side. He totally looked a class apart and was every bit prepared for the big stage, already. However his dismissal diminished Karnataka’s aspirations to win the Ranji title.
AJIT AGARKAR (Mumbai) – While there was a youngster who covered all the headlines during the tournament final, there was one seasoned Mumbai stalwart who helped his team win the title yet again!
Ajit Agarkar’s 5/81 was his most important contribution to Mumbai cricket this season. He did very little before the final and even after this final.
On the 4th evening he crashed the Karnataka top order, only to be prevented by Manish Pandey for a few more hours. KB Pawan, CM Gautam and Robin Uthappa , however, were removed early.
Agarkar has always been a dangerous new-ball threat. His outswingers came back to life at the right time for Mumbai. After picking up three early wickets he returned, yet again, with the second new ball to wrap up the lower order of the hosts. Sunil Joshi and Shreenath Aravind soon became his victims.
As the hosts neared the target the tension in the ground was palpably high. Bowling tight under such tense situations needs some experience and Agarkar brought all of that to pull off a sensational win.
This spell of 5/81 also earned him the Player Of The Final award. It will be one award he will cherish for a long time now.
P.S. :- A double hundred on comeback by Cheteshwar Pujara and the 8-wicket haul by Vinay Kumar against Delhi missed the bus very narrowly.
Thanks for the Post208 views
Author: Ananthasubramanian – Seasoned Keeda
Has written 29 Articles, posted 5 Comments, 0 Posts, has 7 Fans and was thanked 19 Times
Thanks for a good, informative read!Also,I would have loved to read about R.Sharma’s triple hundred albeit against a weak attack!
Cant say much bout Agarkar,but Pandey is definitely worth a big bet.