Report
Nair and Asnodkar break records
A round-up of the second day's play of the second-round matches of the Ranji Trophy Plate League, 2007-08
Cricinfo staff
16-Nov-2007
Services 33 for 1 trail Kerala 566 for 6 dec (Nair 306*, Jagadeesh 109) by 533 runs
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Sreekumar Nair helped himself to an unbeaten triple-century - and won a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh (approximately US$2500) in the process - as Kerala posted a mammoth 566 for 6 declared against Services at Fort Maidan in Palakkad. With his 306*, Nair became the first Kerala batsman to score a first-class triple hundred, beating the previous best of 262 scored by Balan Pandit - perhaps the biggest name in Kerala cricket - against Andhra in 1959. Nair spent a little more than ten-and-a-half hours at the crease while hitting 37 boundaries. Services, meanwhile, faced with a mountain to climb, lost their opener Soomik Chatarjee early in reply before close.
Railways 31 for 2 trail Goa 535 for 9 dec (S Asnodkar 254*, Arunkumar 75) 504 runs
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Mumbai take first-innings lead with Nayar century
A counter-attacking 105 by Abhishek Nayar, a knock characteristic of holders Mumbai, saw the visitors finish their first innings with a lead of 111
Tamil Nadu 206 and 30 for 1 (Karthik 28*, Yo Mahesh 0*) trail Mumbai 317 (Nayar 105, Jaffer 50, Ramkumar 4-88) by 81 runs
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A counter-attacking 105 by Abhishek Nayar - a knock characteristic of reigning champions Mumbai - saw the visitors finish their first innings 111 runs ahead of Tamil Nadu in Chennai. At stumps on the second day, Tamil Nadu trailed by 81 runs for the loss of M Vijay's wicket.
The hosts stuck to the basics and put pressure on Mumbai's top order with a disciplined performance but the momentum quickly shifted towards the visitors in the afternoon as Nayar propelled his side to 317. The left-hand batsman, a handy bowler as well, finally delivered, scoring his first century in the Ranji Trophy and his third first-class ton - all of which have come this year.
Full postNaidu century puts Karnataka in impregnable position
Karnataka rode on Thilak Naidu's sizzling ton before snaring four quick wickets to take firm control of the game against Himachal Pradesh
Sriram Veera at the Chinnaswamy Stadium
16-Nov-2007
Himachal Pradesh 117 for 4 (Mannu 16*, Bisla 11*) trail Karnataka 452 for 9 dec (Naidu 105) by 335 runs
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Karnataka rode on Thilak Naidu's stroke-filled century to pile up a first-innings total of 452 before taking four quick wickets to gain control of the game against Himachal Pradesh.
Naidu added 98 runs in 112 balls to his overnight seven, a typical innings with fours to square and lofted shots down the ground. He had just one moment of concern when, on 95, he charged at a delivery from the left-arm spinner Vishal Bhatia that landed well outside leg stump. The ball spun between his legs as he tried to pad it away but the stumping chance was missed.
He began the day with his favourite shot, a square drive - which he would repeat to bring up his fifty and his hundred - before unfurling a cover drive against the seamers to set the tone for the day. He then hit Bhatia to the straight boundary, and drove him inside-out through cover before cutting one past backward point.
Full postRajasthan fight back against Maharashtra
A round-up of the second day's play of the second round matches of the Ranji Trophy, 2007-08
Cricinfo staff
16-Nov-2007
Baroda 129 for 3 trail Bengal 370 (Das 117, Majumdar 103) by 241 runs
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Baroda finished on 129 for 3, after Bengal added only 108 to their overnight score of 262 for 2 on a slow day's cricket at the Moti Bagh Stadium. Bengal had been given a superb start with their openers scoring centuries, but Baroda pulled things back expertly, converting 221 for no loss to 370 all out. Yusuf Pathan, Irfan's brother, was the pick of the bowlers, with 5 for 83 from his 35.1 overs of offspin. When Baroda batted it gave Bengal's spinners a chance to play a role, and they did, with Sourashish Lahiri and Murtaza Lodhgar sharing the three wickets to fall.
Punjab 216 for 4 (Goel 75, Dharmani 52*) trail Hyderabad 379 (Manohar 119, Teja 55) by 163 runs
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South Africa batter New Zealand with pace
New Zealand wilted in the face of aggressive fast bowling from South Africa, as Dale Steyn continued his fine form with 4 for 42. From 84 for 1, they collapsed (literally, in the case of Craig Cumming) to 187 for 8
The Bulletin by Will Luke
16-Nov-2007
New Zealand 187 for 8 (Cumming 48, Vettori 16*, Steyn 4-42) v South Africa
Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
How they were out
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How they were out
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New Zealand wilted in the face of aggressive fast bowling from South Africa, as Dale Steyn continued his fine form with 4 for 42. From 84 for 1, they collapsed - literally, in the case of Craig Cumming - to 187 for 8.
It was another depressing day for New Zealand on a tour that has swung from one calamity to another. Without Jacob Oram, the towering allrounder and lacking the spearheading pace of Shane Bond, Daniel Vettori had little option other than to bat first, even on a pitch which had South Africa's bowlers salivating with glee. With a greenish tinge and crazy-paving cracks, it was made for Steyn and Makhaya Ntini.
Full postSri Lanka suffer a Jaques and Hussey rerun
The first day in Hobart gave Sri Lanka flashbacks of Brisbane as Phil Jaques and Michael Hussey each scored their second consecutive century and Australia went to stumps at 3 for 329
The Bulletin by Brydon Coverdale
15-Nov-2007
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The first day in Hobart gave Sri Lanka flashbacks of Brisbane as Phil Jaques and Michael Hussey each scored their second consecutive century and Australia went to stumps at 3 for 329. Hussey was in danger of spending a night in the 90s but he relieved the pressure in the final over by pulling Farveez Maharoof expertly through midwicket for four to bring up his hundred from 169 balls.
Sri Lanka had changed their attack by including Lasith Malinga but the results were largely the same as the first Test and at the close Hussey was on 101 with Michael Clarke on 8. Hussey's century was just another way the opening day at Bellerive Oval copied the start of the Gabba game - Australia batted first, Matthew Hayden fell to pace, Muttiah Muralitharan removed Ponting, and Jaques reached triple-figures with Hussey by his side.
Full postPowar's four puts Mumbai on top
A committed effort in the field, led by Ramesh Powar, helped Mumbai bundle out Tamil Nadu for 206 on the opening day
1st day Mumbai 20 for 0 (Kukreja 17*, Jaffer 3*) trail Tamil Nadu 206 (Karthik 76, Srinivasan 66*, Powar 4-55, Salvi 2-43) by 186 runs
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A committed effort in the field and Ramesh Powar's bowling helped Mumbai bundle out Tamil Nadu for 206 on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy match at the Guru Nanak College Ground in Chennai. Powar finished with figures of 4 for 55 as the Tamil Nadu batsmen faltered on a two-paced pitch, with Dinesh Karthik and R Srinivasan the only two to score half-centuries.
The bright, sunny weather presented ideal conditions for batting and the home side sent out a strong signal by deploying Karthik, the lone international in their line-up, as an opener alongside M Vijay. The first hour belonged to the home team as Karthik and Vijay added 47, taking advantage of the fact that Mumbai's opening bowlers Ajit Agarkar and Aavishkar Salvi didn't bowl flat out at the start. Karthik drove Salvi elegantly through the covers and followed it up with a pull off a half-tracker from Agarkar.
Full postDravid's class helps Karnataka dominate
Rahul Dravid stamped his class on the Ranji Trophy with another century - this time against Himachal Pradesh
Jamie Alter at the Chinnaswamy Stadium
15-Nov-2007
1st day Karnataka 271 for 4 (Dravid 121, Raghu 58, Pawan 56) against Himachal Pradesh
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As he did at the Wankhede Stadium last week, Rahul Dravid stamped his class on the Ranji Trophy with another century. This time his team was not trailing and the opposition, Himachal Pradesh, was weaker but the temperament was the same on a slow and dry Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch. Dravid's innings was flanked by two contrasting half-centuries, from opener KB Pawan and C Raghu, and at the end of the day Karnataka had 271 for 4 on the board.
For the first 31 minutes of Karnataka's innings Dravid sat in the far right corner of the dressing room, eyes fixed on the proceedings in the centre. The younger players sat a few rows away,
chatting among themselves as Dravid shared a few words with Anil Kumble, the captain, and the coach Vijay Bhardwaj. As soon as Barrington Rowland slashed a poor drive into the wicketkeeper's gloves in the eighth over, Dravid got up, gathered his helmet and gloves, and strode out.
Having played much of his first-class cricket at his home venue, Dravid knew this surface, even though it's been relaid. The feet moved, the head was still, the weight balanced. The distinct sound of ball middled on bat reverberated around the empty stadium and Dravid was away. Not once was he beaten all day, and the one instance he got into his shot early, against Ashok Thakur, the left-arm medium-pacer, he shook his head and walked to square leg.
Full postTimil Patel's five wickets floors Tripura
A round-up of the first day's play of the second-round matches of the Ranji Trophy Plate League, 2007-08
Cricinfo staff
15-Nov-2007
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Gujarat 84 for 2 trail Tripura 116 (Timil Patel 5-15) by 32 runs
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Legspinner Timil Patel left Tripura clueless, shooting them out for 116 on the first day in Ahmedabad. Justifying their captain's decision to field first, Gujarat's bowlers enjoyed a good day. Siddharth Trivedi did the early damage, dismissing opener Manoj Singh, but it was the spin twins - offbreak bowler Mohnish Parmar and Timil - who were the wreckers in chief. It was Timil's second five-wicket haul of his career and he mopped up the tail by grabbing the last four wickets. Gujarat responded confidently, reaching 84 for 2 with Parthiv Patel leading the way with a 91-ball 48.
Haryana 200 for 7 (Vishwanathan 61, Sahni 58) v Jharkhand
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Das and Majumdar star on a run-filled day
A round-up of the first day's play of the second round matches of the Ranji Trophy, 2007-08
Cricinfo staff
15-Nov-2007
Bengal 262 for 2 (Das 117*, Majumdar 103) v Baroda
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Bengal's opening pair made the most of winning the toss to pile the agony on Baroda at the Moti Bagh ground in Vadodara. Anustup Majumdar, in only his third first-class match, recorded his maiden hundred while the relatively experienced Arindam Das matched him in a fine 221-run stand. The duo made the most of Baroda's greenhorn new-ball attack and struck 33 fours between them in a sensible partnership. Majumdar was run-out shortly after reaching his century but Das was undefeated at the end of the day.
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