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(ARCHIVE) Vol. XX No. 2, may 1-15, 2010
A good season, but it could have been better
(By a Special Correspondent)

In all the hoopla over the IPL’s T20 cricket and the Chennai Super Kings’ performance, Tamil Nadu’s splendid performances in the Ranji Trophy (runners-up), the Vijay Hazare one-day championship and the Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 tournament have been quite overlooked. Those performances have had much to do with the way the Chennai Super Kings performed.

We have in these pages referred to the Ranji Trophy performances some time ago. In this issue we pay tribute to Tamil Nadu’s showing in the other two tournaments.

For the second year in succession, the State torpedoed Bengal’s hopes in a thrilling final in Ahmadabad and won the Vijay Hazare Trophy for All-India One-Day cricket. A year ago it had won at Agartala.

Tamil Nadu doused Bengal’s ambitions in Ahmadabad with, first, the free-scoring by its batsmen and then by the accuracy of its bowlers.

Brisk scoring dominated the Tamil Nadu run-feast. Captain Dinesh Karthik led the way with a 47-ball knock of 88. It helped Tamil Nadu reach an almost unbeatable total.

Bengal were hoping for a change in fortunes in their third successive final. But with Murali Vijay, Dinesh Karthik and last year’s tormentor Abhinav Mukund taking full toll of a below-par bowling display, their hopes dimmed even before they went about the chase. Consistent opener Srikkanth Anirudha kick-started the innings with a quick 56 (52 balls and nine fours). Putting on 85 with Vijay for the first wicket, he helped lay the base not only for a solid score but also for a more than comfortable win. Tamil Nadu maintained the pattern of scoring over 300 runs in nearly all the matches of the successful Subbiah Pillai campaign and in the knockout Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign.

Vijay, realising his responsibility, adopted during most of this time a steady approach. After Anirudha left, he took his cue from him and opened up once he had gone past his half-century. At the receiving end were the slower bowlers Soumya Pakre and Manoj Tiwary. But then he miscued a ball from Pakre to hand to Tiwary a difficult catch.

If Bengal thought the storm was over, Mukund, who had scored a match-winning 118 in the previous final, rubbed salt into their wounds as he hit 75 off 71 balls which included five fours and two sixes. Captain Karthik, however, proved to be the show-stealer. He was merciless in his approach, toying with the Bengal bowlers and smashing 11 fours and three sixes en route to a 47-ball 88 and thus enabled Tamil Nadu to post an almost invincible score of 379 for six. Rajagopal Satish’s brisk 36 off just 18 balls boosted the final tally.

Bengal opener Shreevats Goswami (81) and veteran Indian star Sourav Ganguly (74) posed a serious challenge to this massive target at the start and then Anustup Majumdar made a fighting 66 at the end giving hopes of a successful chase. However, Tamil Nadu made it to the winning post by 29 runs.

Ganguly, the volatile Bengal skipper, was simply livid that his side’s middle order batsmen caved in so tamely. Recent Test recruit Wriddhiman Saha was run out for 26 during his partnership with Majumdar and this eventually proved to be the turning point. All credit must go to the Tamil Nadu seamers Chadrasekhar Ganapathy (three for 63) and Vijayakumar Yo Mahesh for keeping their nerves cool and thwarting Bengal’s spirited efforts.

The pressure of scoring quickly weighed heavily on the middle order. Yo Mahesh flourished during the period, picking up three wickets to set Bengal back. Chandrasekhar Ganapathy, too, managed a three-wicket haul and there was also some stellar fielding on display, with Rajagopal Satish pulling off four catches. Despite the efforts of Majumdar, the enormity of the task meant Bengal’s wait for silverware would continue longer.

The semi-final against Madhya Pradesh proved a cakewalk for Tamil Nadu. Batting first, Tamil Nadu scored 348 for five, with Anirudha (76 with seven fours), and Mukund (130 with 12 fours and a six off 137 deliveries) clubbing 177 for the first wicket against a hapless Madhya Pradesh attack.

MP’s reply was pathetic despite a 72-run second wicket partnership between opener-keeper Naman Ojha (31) and Manish Mishra (41) and late rearguard action by Harpeet Singh’s 43. The side crumbled to a mere 214 runs as Satish (4 for 16), Yo Mahesh (three for 49) and Selvam Suresh Kumar (two for 16) scythed the MP batting line-up. Prabhu bowled economically conceding just 24 runs off the eight overs that he bowled.

Earlier, in the quarter final, Tamil Nadu outclassed Mumbai by 174 runs. Subramaniam Badrinath’s superb 105 off 92 balls with eight fours and four sixes, coupled with Mukund’s stroke-filled 80 off just 96 balls, reduced a powerful Mumbai attack to dust. Superb bowling by Lakshmipathy Balaji (three for 27) and debutant off-spinner H. Prabhu (four for 34) snuffed out all hopes that Mumbai might have entertained after watching their opener Sushanth Marathe whacking a brilliant 64 (seven fours). In the end, the entire Mumbai’s 128 formed just the other half of Marathe’s efforts.

Tamil Nadu was easily the best side of the tournament and its all-round consistency, despite its top players having been called up for national duty frequently, proved the value of its bench strength. Anirudha and Mukund proved themselves a consistent combination and so were bowlers Yo Mahesh, Balaji and Prabhu.

In the still shorter version of the game, Maharashtra held its nerve for a three-wicket win with two balls to spare against fancied Tamil Nadu in Indore. The big names for Tamil Nadu were on IPL duty but the opening stand of 54 between Abhinav Mukund (32) and Srikkanth Anirudha (30) augured well after they were put in. Offspinner Ganesh Gaikwad sent back both batsmen but another 37 followed from Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan which helped Tamil Nadu post 153. Wicket-keeper H. Gopinath struck a very useful unbeaten 25. Yet the total appeared inadequate.

Last year’s find, the left-arm paceman Rangaraj Sutesh’s early strikes rattled Maharashtra but key contributions from Sangram Atitkar and Gaikwad kept them in the hunt. Even as off-spinner Murthy Prabhu picked up three for 16, a most important hand was played by Digambar Waghmare. The No. 7 batsman hit 31 off 17 balls, including one four and two sixes, to take Maharashtra home eventually.

Tamil Nadu was the reigning champion having won the inaugural Twenty20 tournament in 2007. On that occasion, there was a “sixer-specialist” in N. Devendran who proved to be the side’s trump card.

IPL-III, coinciding with the Mushtaq Ali tourney, proved a big setback for many of the top teams and Tamil Nadu was no exception. Maharashtra was among the bottom sides in the Ranji Trophy. Its success in the Mushtaq Ali tournament, eventually beating Hyderabad in the final, gave it a big boost in its national standing.

Though ill-luck stared on Tamil Nadu’s face in the semi-final against Maharashtra, Dame Fortune smiled on the State team in the earlier round match against Himachal Pradesh which did not have its main wicket-taker Vikramjit Malik in its ranks. Batting first, HP scored 152 for six in its 20 overs. Tamil Nadu was staring down the barrel of defeat when the score stood at 45 for six. But Selvam Suresh Kumar had other ideas. He clubbed an unbeaten 82 off just 44 balls with five fours and six sixers. He was ably supported by M.K. Sivakumar (21) and Suteesh (17 n.o.) in this miraculous victory chase.

The zonal clashes had been completed in September 2009. South was the worst affected with rains washing out most of the matches. With Hyderabad and Tamil Nadu scoring victories in the limited opportunities permitted, the teams wrested the chances to enter the knockout stages. It is to be hoped that a separate window will be created for the domestic Twenty20 by the Board of Cricket Control in India soon so that it does not clash with the IPL or other longer duration BCCI-organised tournaments. – (Courtesy: Straight Bat)

State players deserved a CSK chance

(By A Special Correspondent)

With Tamil Nadu having such a record in India during the past year, it is surprising that many of its young players have not got an opportunity with the Chennai Super Kings, feel many in the State. A Special Correspondent, echoing their thoughts, says the Indian Premier League (IPL), like the now-defunct rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL), appears to be a haven for those discarded from their national teams, which prefer youth below 25 years of age. The Chennai Super Kings, like the other franchises in the fray, have a whole bunch of unwanted overseas players, making it a motley crowd of cricketers.

It is surprising that someone like South Africa’s fast bowler Makhaya Ntini, discarded by Cricket South Africa, is cooling his heels in the hot Chennai summer. While a few Indian players, like Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly, are still good for international cricket and still active in this tournament, others like Sadagopan Ramesh (who has played quite a few ODIs for India and is just 34) are unwanted. Why talk of Ramesh? Young natural stroke players in Tamil Nadu like Abhinav Mukund, S. Anirudha and S. Vidyut too have been cast away.

It is equally surprising that players like Murali Vijay and Subramaniam Badrinath, who are ideal for Test matches, are preferred ahead of Anirudha, Abihinav and Vidyut in T20 cricket. As a matter of fact, Vidyut, who partnered “Mongoose” Hayden in the inaugural IPL edition in 2008 in Chennai, was sent back before being tried in the 2009 edition. This year, a natural hitter and useful bowler like this gifted left-hander is in the wilderness. Amazing indeed, the same kind of treatment has been meted out to Abhinav and Anirudha as well.

It is a privilege of the franchise-holders and their prerogative to pick the players of their choice. After all, they’re doling out huge sums of money at high risk. But this year, watching the CSK perform has been sad. Rather than hire aged foreign players, it could have used more useful players like the Australian lan Harvey who played so innovatively in the ICL games. Here was a player who performed creditably with great consistency in Twenty20 games for the rebel organisation. Coincidentally, Harvey represented the Chennai outfit in the rebel games. A thinking cricketer, who can use the new ball or bowl with the old one and can bat and field innovatively, would’ve been far more useful to the CSK than players like Ntini or George Bailey.

Watching Bailey play you are amazed at how Cricket Australia has kept him on contract. On the other hand, it’s heartening news that one of the world’s finest current fast bowlers Dougie Bollinger is with CSK. His presence definitely gives a big thrust to the poor bowling of CSK. Bollinger may not be as good a bat as Albie Morkel, but he is more penetrative than Morkel. Mike Hussey who played for a short span in 2008 is a valuable asset too.

It’s also been depressing to see the likes of Sudeep Tyagi and Lakshmipathy Balaji bowl full tosses and ill-directed deliveries, conceding runs like millionaires. There’s hardly been a game where Balaji has not conceded more than 40 runs off his four overs. How long can CSK put up with this kind of stuff? C. Ganapathy should have been given a try and not made to wait indefinitely. And what on earth is a guy like Parthiv Patel going to do filling up a valuable batting slot that could’ve gone to an Abhinav or Anirudha or Vidyut?

CSK, please, wake up. You can’t win games with a motley crowd like the one you have. Lovers of Tamil Nadu cricket want its young players to be encouraged and promoted, rather than aged overseas guys, long discarded by their national teams. (Courtesy: Straight Bat)

 

 

In this issue

Can Tamil signage lead to uniform signage?
Is Government really committed to maintaining heritage buildings?
Two tales of the Hall
A good season, but it could have been better
Historic Residences of Chennai - 41
Other stories

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