Manpreet Gony was the pick of the bowlers. He bowled a tight line and length and never gave anything to the batsman. All the Chennai bowlers extracted good bounce from the wicket and were right on the money from ball one. The fielding was great and equally supported the bowler's efforts. Punjab looked in all sorts of trouble from the begining and never recovered back at all. They have to blame their own self for the loss. Dhoni shuffled his bowlers regularly and also started the proceedings by tossing the ball to Muttiah Muralidaran to surprise everyone.

They managed to restrict King's XI to a paltry 112/8. Later Parthiv Patel and swashbuckling Suresh Raina smashed the King's bowlers all over the park. Raina was particularly ruthless and smashed some sensational blows. He looked in ominous touch and his devastating knock took the game away from the King's Xi Punjab. Parthiv Patel, on the other hand, paced his innings beautifully and ensured that ni further damage was done to them after Vidyut's fall.

What a game we've had? This makes a 100% record for Chennai Super Kings against King's XI Punjab and also they give themselves a chance to take a revenge against the ravaging Rajasthan Royals who have already made it to the Finals of the IPL. Looking forward for tomorrow's game and my anxiety levels are very high.

The first came with a lot of hype, and lived up to it for the most part. While the first half was all Rajasthan, the second half was the more exciting one to watch. Chasing 200-odd in T20 is not an easy task and I though the Chennai team game the Rajasthan a run for their money. Credit to the Chennai Super Kings for that. While Dhoni reminded us once again never to depend on him too much, Parthiv played a good cricketing innings: almost no crap shots and a fairly cool head on those shoulders. I was also impressed with India-reject Raina. The other part that was really commendable was the Chennai crowds - who not only braved the sweltering heat, but also seemed great sports. When it comes to crowd sportsman spirit - we Chennai-ites kick partisan Mumbai's butt!

I almost didn't watch the Mumbai Indians and the Delhi Daredevils fight it out, but somehow they kept my attention. Sachin flopped yet again, as I had expected. Uthappa came good with the bat but made up the sloppiness while fielding. Sehwag ramped up by attacking Pollock like very few batsmen can. You cannot help but ebb with pride when sehwag bats like this. Was disappointed to see him fall shortly after, but that was to be expected. Gambhir turned it on, though cautiously. Dhawan and Tiwary batted T20 style - irritatingly T20, but entertaining nonetheless. Karthik, was the pick of the batsmen - played classly, pulling it off well, especially when it was required of him and almost not expected of him. Way to go Karthik!

It will now be interesting to see Mumbai fight it out. They will most probably lose to the Rajasthan Royals and though it may seem absurd to wish, I would like to see Bangalore trounce them once again. :)

Of the Chennai team, Ajay Jadeja and cheerleaderish Kris Srikanth said they weren't even going to consider Chennai losing and debated on how many over they would take to win. Chennai on the other hand buckled under pressure after their opening pair, Fleming and Patel, gave them a very good start of 60. Dhoni, coming in at #3, threw away his wicket (and no, I'm not complaining about it), and some poor shot selection saw an end to their brashness, as Dhoni rightly called it.

In the post match presentation, what was most stark was Dravid's humility on being congratulated and Dhoni's admission of brashness. As an BRC supporter, being up till midnight was totally worth it. End of the day, it was nice to see a smile on dear Dravid's face, and pulling one over Dhoni.

All the other bowlers didn't let this effort go to the dumps and they too tightened the screws to ensure that the run-flow was in check. A late push was given by Laxmi Ratan Shukla made sure that the Kolkatta Knight Riders ended up with 147. But this never seemed enough as Matthew Hayden, Parthiv Patel and the Chennai Super Kings Captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, made short work of the Kolkatta Knight Rider's attack. The crowd was at its best and every player had their praise for this Chennai Crowd and the Captain said that they will give their best to make sure that they remain unbeaten at home for the entire tournament.

I expect the Bangalore Royal Challegers vs. Rajasthan Royals to be a cracker of a match with two deep strategists Dravid and Warne facing off. Bangalore will be boosted by the inclusion of Pakistan's Misbah ul-haq but continue to be plagued by Sunil Joshi in the absense of Kumble. The most interesting contests here will be  Warne the bowler vs. Dravid the batsman. For once, I will be hoping that Misbah doesn't land himself in trouble with the (largely unforgivable) scoop shot.

Cheers Kolkata and Bangalore! :)

The Delhi vs. Rajasthan was fairly one-sided with McGrath and Maharoof not allowing the Rajasthan batsmen to get on with it. That apart, I thought the Rajasthan team, lacking on star power did fairly well to put up a respectable albeit chase-able total on the board.

Both the matches weren't exciting enough for me to follow till the end. I hope today's matches are more interesting.

The Chennai Team was brought by Mr.Srinivasan (Also BCCI Office-Bearer) for USD 91 million, representing India Cements. The Team has been named as " Chennai Super Kings ".

Jacob Oram - No doubt that he's one of the best all-rounders in the current Cricket era. He has been an outstanding performer for New Zealand in the past few years. He is very well-known for his ability to strike the Cricket ball as clean as a whistle. He has played some breath-taking innings for his country (Still I remember his innings against Australia that he played at No.6). He's also an equally good fielder. Can't ask for a complete player like him. His experience could prove handy for the Chennai Super Kings. At USD 675,000, he's such a note-worthy player. Look out Chennaites (If he's available though). He's a good finisher of the ranks o Chris Cairns.

Albie Morkel - He is from South Africa and is shaping up into a pretty good All-Rounder. Though his ability to hit the ball cleanly may look appealing, his ability to bowl quick and extract good bounce can't be let alone. In his short International tenure, he has done well to capture the hearts of people with his ability. At USD 675,000, Chennai Super Kings of a Bowler who can trouble the Batsmen with his pace and bounce. Be careful, don't ever under-estimate his ability with the Bat.

Suresh Raina - Ex-Indian Coach Greg Chapple regarded him as one of the best players in the country. He is electric in the field. His batting is also flawless. He can play the dual role of re-building the innings as well as shifting gears to up the tempo. He is also a handy Off-Spinner and can be quite effective in stemming the run-flow. His ability to play both spin and pace with sheer command makes him one of the most talented youngsters in the Indian Cricket. At USD 650,000, the Chennai Super Kings have made sure that they have an electrifying Multi-Utility player in their ranks who can last the entire season.

Muttiah Muralidaran - The name speaks for itself. One of the living legends of the game and with the leading test wickets under his belt, the Chennai Super Kings have done a good job securing him. His experience could prove very crucial. T20 format will be challenging for Murali too. But he's the one who enjoys challenges and would love to dominate the Batsmen even in this format. He's being paid USD 600,000 for his stint here. Wake up youngsters, make the most of him.

Matthew Hayden - Probably one of the finest openers that the game has seen, he is not afraid of playing his shots. He boasts of holding the record for the fastest century in World Cup history. He can prove very dangerous at the top and can turn the tables single handedly. He's also a very good fielder despite his build and age. At USD 375,000, Chennai Super Kings have struck a perfect deal.

Stephen Fleming - He is one of the good guys of International Cricket and has already announced his retirement at the Internationa level. He is one of the most influencing personalities on the field. He is a specialist at the slips and is also the most experienced Captain at the big stage. Again his experience could be very handy and he alongside Matty Hayden can tear apart any opposition on a given day. With the experience he brings in, he's worth every penny of USD 350,000 that the Chennai Super Kings are paying him.

Michael Hussey - One of the most consistent players in the current generation of Cricketers. He's aptly called Mr.Cricket for his consistency.He's a very solid player and can play dual role, either consolidate the line up when the top order fails or play aggressively. He's also pretty good inside the circle. He will be a tricky customer to bowl to.He's very good against the quicker bowlers.The Chennai Super Kings have signed a decent deal with him priced at USD 350,000.

Parthiv Patel - He is one of the upcoming talents in Indian Cricket. He cam into the International scene quite briskly and left with the same pace because of his improper work behind the stumps. But he has come quite a long way from there on. He has become all the more improved player and has started to play some quick-fire scintilating knocks. At USD 325,000 Chennai Super Kings have ensured that they have aback up for M.S.Dhoni who is quite capable behind the stumps and also with the Bat.

Joginder Sharma - He was a member of the victorious Indian T20 team and he was the one who bowled the last over against both, Australia and Pakistan. He did well to take up the responsibilty then. He's looked at as an All-Rounder. But he has a lot to prove at this level. Still a rookie. That can work in his favour as there won't be too much pressure on him. Chennai Super Kings have done well to get him at USD 225,000 and will surely exploit his plus points in due course which would benefit him also.

Makhaya Ntini - This South African Player has performed very well in many crunch situations. Everyone knows about his ability with the ball. He'll provide the fire power that we need with the ball. He is very good either opening or at the death overs.He's a cool customer and can keep the Batsman hoping on any surface. At USD 200,000 you can't ask for more.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni - He's the new face of Indian Cricket and he is the highest paid player in the IPL tournament. He's been paid a whomping USD 1.5 million for his appearance in the matches. He should make sure to convert those apperances into stunning performances. He has improved his game behind the stumps and has grown more mature these days. If given proper starts by the top order, you can count on him to make sure that the oponents are torn to pieces. He brings this Multi-Dimension into the team. As far as I'm concerned I still feel that its quite a gamble. Whatever be the scenario, he'll surely bring in fans and also sponsors along. Well planned Chennai Kings.

Kepler Wessels (Former South African Captain) is all set to done the role of the Coach of the Chennai Super Kings team. The team looks quite balanced on paper. All of them are proven performers and you can put your money on this team for some breath-taking performances. The team is estimated at USD 96,925,000. The fans will back this team and they have to perform accordingly to satisfy this Cricket crazy Metropolitan.

For more details about the match schedules for Chennai Super Kings, kindly follow the link. For details about the Second Bidding follow this link.

HYDRABAD
Adam Gilchrist         2.8 c
Andrew Symonds   5.3 c
Hershelle Gibbs       2.3 c
S Afridi                     2.7 c
VVS Laxman           1.5 c
Rohit Sharma         3.0 c
R. Zoysa                 0.44 c
C Vass                    0.8 c
RP Singh               3.5 c

DELHI
V Sehwag                  ICON PLAYER
D Vettori                   2.5 c
S Malik                      2.0 c
Mohammad Asif      2.6 c
A B Devilliers           1.2 c
D Karthik                  2.1 c
P Maharoof              0.9 c
T Dilshan                 1.0 c
G Gambhir              3.0 c
M Tiwari                 2.7 c
G Mcgrath              1.4 c

MUMBAI
S. Tendulkar            ICON PLAYER
Harbhajan Singh      3.5 c
S. Jayasurya            3.9 c
S Pollock                  2.2 c
R Uttappa               3.2 c
D Fernando            0.6 c
L. Malinga              1.4 c
S Chanderpaul
L Bosman              0.7 c

JAIPUR
Shane Warne            1.8 c
Greame Smith          1.9 c
Younis Khan             0.9 c
K Akmal                   0.6 c
Yousuf Pathan        1.9 c
M. Kaif                     2.7 c
M. Patel                   1.1 c

MOHALI
Yuvraj Singh                 ICON PLAYER
K Sangakkara               2.8 c
Mahela Jayawardena   1.9 c
Brett Lee                    3.6 c
S Sreesanth                2.5 c
Irfan Pathan              3.7 c
P Chawla                    1.6 c
R Powar                     0.68 c
R Sarwan                   0.9 c

BANGALORE 
Anil Kumble                 2.0 c
Rahul Dravid               ICON PLAYER
Jacques Kallis              3.6 c
Zaheer Khan               1.8 c
M Boucher                  1.8 c
C White                       2.0 c
W Jaffer                      0.6 c
Daryl Steyn                1.3 c
N Bracken                   1.3 c

KOLKATTA
S Ganguli                    ICON PLAYER
S Akhtar                    1.7 c
R Ponting                   1.6 c
B Mccullum                2.8 c
C Gayle                     3.2 c
A Agarkar                1.3 c
D Hussey                 2.5 c
U Gul                       0.6 c
M Karthik               1.8 c
Ishant Sharma       3.8 c
T Taibu                   0.5 c

In any case, here is the list of 24 players -

It is funny how the probables list has 13 bowlers, even more than the batsmen and wicket keepers combined.

The ones in italics are certain to tour - Jaffer, Tendulkar, Dravid, Ganguly, Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Kumble, RP Singh, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh and Dhoni. That leaves room for another 5 players. I would think that of the 16 players - the break down would be 7 batsmen, 7 bowlers and 2 keepers.

Based on that, there is room for just one regular batsman and based on current form, this is most likely to go to Gambhir although Chopra has prior experience playing in Australia. My preference would have been Sehwag, but he is not in the mix here.

Of the bowlers - taking more than 2 spinners would be a luxury, so Murali Karthik and Chawla will have to miss out. For the other 3 spots, Munaf should get the nod ahead of the others and Pathan may be picked based on his all round ability. The other seamer slot is a tough one to pick. As Ishant Sharma was picked for the last test, it is very likely that he may get the nod ahead of the others, but Agarkar has a knack of getting into the team when you least expect him to.

I really don't expect the fifth player to play any games unless the others are injured. Why not have an  extra batsman instead? My preference would be Sehwag, but he is not in the mix here. Did I say that already? Doesn't matter how many times I say it - he is unlikely to be included now. Maybe, the selectors should think of including someone like Badrinath in team. Oh, he is not in the list of 24 either! Oh, well...The only option the selectors have is to pick Chopra, and this may very well happen.

The 2nd keeper is probably not that easy to pick either. Parthiv Patel is in very good nick in domestic cricket and has played well when he has represented India A and Karthik has had a poor run with the bat in the current series. Parthiv Patel has played in Australia before and he plays the pull and cut quite well, which could come in handy down under. But, if the selectors still have faith in Karthik based on his showing in England he still has a chance of making it to the squad. He is my also my choice ahead of Parthiv Patel.

Assuming that the players who missed out the last test are all declared fit, here is what the team would end up looking -

Jaffer, Gambhir, Dravid, Tendulkar, Ganguly, Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Dhoni, Karthik, Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, RP Singh, Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel, Ishant Sharma/Chopra.

-Mahesh-

Chappell has this to say in his article -

Now was not the right time to give up on Virender Sehwag. His selection for Australia would have been a gamble worth taking. Forget about whose nose might have been put out of joint, the Australians still fear Sehwag from the last tour, and it's rarely that you have a chance to put one over on the Baggy Green caps, so when the opportunity arises, you grab it with both hands

As soon as the shortlist was announced, I was expressing similar thoughts to a friend of mine. As a matter of fact, I do not even understand why the selectors had to announce an interim 24 member short list if they couldn't decide on the exact players. What purpose does it serve? (Visas, maybe?) IMHO, they could have waited till one more round of Ranji games had finished to see how Sehwag goes against Maharashtra.

I also felt that India should have included Sehwag in the squad for the Pakistan series in preparation for the Australian tour. He has a Bradmanque average against them and it would have been ideal preparation for him - it would have helped him regain both his confidence and form.

Australia has this ability to choke the opposition of runs and the wickets automatically fall due to the pressure. This is where someone like Sehwag would be have been invaluable as he scores both against fast bowlers and spinners at an excellent strike rate. This not only helps in putting the pressure back on the bowlers, it helps the other batsmen playing around him to take their own sweet time to settle down and then start scoring.

The selectors have not recognised this and the selection this year has been a bit short sighted by relying on a makeshift opener (even though Karthik did a terrific job in that role in both South Africa and England) to fill an important role in the team.

From their point of view, Sehwag's run in the domestic competition has not been that great. Both his Delhi team mates Aakash Chopra and Gautam Gambhir have done better than him and someone like Parthiv Patel or Dinesh Karthik fill in the role of reserve 'Keeper, while also filling the opener's slot for India.

With Yuvraj's success against Pakistan with the bat, I have a feeling that Dravid will be asked to open with Jaffar for the Australian tour so that they can somehow fit Yuvraj into the playing XI. Although, Dravid is more than capable of opening the batting for India, it is a role he has had reservations with in the past. Being a team man, I am sure he will oblige.

Although I am not sure whether this move will work out, I have a feeling that is where we are heading towards...

-Mahesh-

Of the lot, Raina and Tiwary had outstanding double centuries. Badrinath came out to bat in spite of food poisoning and shows the kind of commitment he has. Pujara has also played to his potential in round 1 scoring a 50 and a hundred. As the list shows there are some notable failures like Kaif, Bose and Chopra, but this is just the first game of the season...

Of the others not in my list, but whom I am still watching, Pankaj Singh took a ten wicket haul -  5 for 43 in the first innings and 5 for 110 in the second.

-Mahesh-

• Parthiv Patel has been scoring in the India A games consistently and he doubles up as a wicketkeeper. It would be interesting to see if he is able to challenge Dinesh Karthik as the reserve wicketkeeper for India. But more than his keeping abilities, it is his batting that has been impressive - notching up a successive centuries (126, 124, 164 and 110) in his last four innings for India A and following it up with a 179, opening the batting for Rest of India against Mumbai in the Irani Trophy.
• Joginder Sharma has already made his ODI and T20 debut for India and although I don't see him make into the test team any time soon, he is certainly one to watch out for. He was the second highest wicket taker in the Ranji Trophy last year and also impressed with the bat, particularly in the Duleep Trophy.
• Praveen Kumar opens both the batting and bowling in domestic one day competition and his performances with India A and in the Challenger Trophy has already earned him a call up to the national ODI squad, although he is yet to make his debut.
• Yusuf Pathan is another allrounder who could be useful in the T20 and ODI games, although his induction into the Test squad seems unlikely at this stage. Would be good to see how he performs this season.

-Mahesh-

Abhishek Nayar is shaping up as a really useful allrounder to watch out for in the future. He bats left handed and is a right-arm fast medium bowler. In this match, Nayar bowled more overs than any other Mumbai bowler. Not that this fact alone counted for much in the end, but it talks of the confidence that the team has in this 24-year-old!

After a shaky start in response to this large total, RoI responded soundly, with Parthiv Patel (179 off 235) and Manoj Tiwary (130 off 184) scoring brisk centuries. Parthiv Patel opened the innings with Akash Chopra and has been in stunning form with the bat! In the end, RoI had a slender 1st innings lead. Badrinath had made 29.

It was around this time that news may have leaked of Badrinath's impending selection in the India team. He may have hoped for the Irani Trophy match to get over soon so that he could pack up is kit and join Team India! But even Badrinath, -- who commented, "I can't leave till this match gets over. I hope we win it tomorrow." -- would not have expected the swiftness of the RoI victory!

In the second innings, Mumbai folded for 106 off 33.3 overs in a mere 166 minutes! RoI had to make 90 to win, which they did for the loss of only 1 wicket! Parthiv Patel smashed a 48-ball 59 to continue his dream run with the bat.

There were several positives and some questions asked from this match:

• Parthiv Patel will continue to put pressure on Dinesh Karthik for a place in the team, especially since Patel is opening too!
• For Manoj Tiwary, this century represents a timely reminder to the selectors that he can't be forgotten.
• Mohammed Kaif continues to be the most successful representative captain who probably didn't play much for his country!
• Ramesh Powar didn't make any impression on anyone!
• Ajit Agarkar continued to bowl like a millionaire that he is not.
• Young Iqbal Abdullah continues to impress and so does Pragyan Ojha.
• But most interestingly, after an insipid first innings, Munaf Patel bowled with fire in the 2nd innings for RoI. His 5-for-25 off 7.3 overs wrecked Mumbai and caused them to crumble to 106 all out (and his fighting partnership with Ranadeb Bose in the RoI 1st innings to take RoI to a lead will perhaps help his cause too)!

Ps: Who is Omkar Gurav? What happend to Vinayak Mane?

EDIT: Vinayak Mane is injured.

-- Mohan

While India 'A' includes Mohammed Kaif (13 Tests, 125 ODIs), Parthiv Patel (19 Tests, 14 ODIs), Ishant Sharma (1 Test, 1 ODI) and Suresh Raina (36 ODIs) as players who have donned India colours, South Africa 'A' includes Morne van Wijk (5 ODIs), A. Petersen (2 ODIs), Gulam Bodi (2 ODIs), Boeta Dippenar (38 Tests, 107 ODIs), Albie Morkel (12 ODIs), Justin Ontong (2 Tests, 21 ODIs), Thami Tsolekile (3 Tests), Vernon Philander (5 ODIs), Johan Botha (1 Test, 13 ODIs), Charl Langeveldt (6 Tests, 48 ODIs).

India won the 2-match Test Series 1-0 (one match was rained out). The first 2 ODIs were completely rained-out. In the latest ODI, India beat South Africa by 1 run off the last ball in a thriller at Rajkot.

S. Badrinath continues to impress with both bat and ball and in my view, it is only a matter of time before this exciting 27-year-old dons India colours. He is a valuable bat, an electric fielder and a competent off-spinner too.

For sometime now, I have been saying that India really needs a few good allrounders in its ODI make up. While welcoming the return-to-form of Irfan Pathan, I have been dismayed with the selectors' reluctance to invest in Joginder Sharma for the ODIs against Australia. This after captain M. S. Dhoni had invested his reputation as well as India's fortunes in the T20 Championship in two of the biggest last overs an Indian has bowled in international cricket!

Here is a quote on Joginder Sharma from Dileep Premachandran's article on Dhoni.

His treatment of Sharma in the two biggest matches of the tournament summed up his qualities as captain. You or I could toss the ball to a Wasim Akram or a Curtly Ambrose and calmly watch a match clinched in the final over. It requires no great leadership quality or tactical nous.

The real test of captaincy lies in bringing the fringe player into the centre circle and making him feel that he's not a misfit there. It's almost certain that no other Indian captain of the last decade and more would have dared go with Sharma for those final overs. By doing so Dhoni was emphasising sport's greatest but often forgotten truth - it's not about the stars, it's about the XI. And sometimes the unlikeliest ones shine brightest.

And after that bold and forthright statement, and especially when an opportunity persented itself with Piyush Chawla's freak injury, Joginder Sharma has been cast to the sidelines.

I have been following the careers of allrounders like him and Praveen Kumar, the 20-year old allrounder from UP. He plays alongside R. P. Singh, Piyush Chawla, and Suresh Raina in the UP side. He is a carefree bat and an opening bowler. He opened the batting and bowling in yesterdays' game. Although he didn't make much with the bat, he bowled well -- including the last over of the match.

I do believe that Joginder Sharma and/or Praveen Kumar should play for India in ODIs soon. Just the presence of Irfan Pathan does so much for team balance. This balance will be augmented by the presence of another allrounder and I will continue to pay close attention to the progress of both these contenders.

All through these matches, Parthiv Patel has been thoroughly impressive. He has notched up several 100s and 50s and his 'keeping has also been quite 'tight'. Mohammed Kaif, who scored a smart 98 in yesterdays' match continues to impress with his captaincy and may end up being the best U-19 and India-A captain that didn't get an extended stint with the national team! Suresh Raina made his first appearance yesterday and scored a compact 45.

Amit Mishra, the young leg-spinner, has had a few good games too. After bowling with aplomb in the Test match, he also scored a breezy 22 off 11 balls in yesterdays' ODI.

The one disappointment through this tour is that bowlers seem to have worked out Manoj Tiwary's weakness against the short-rising-ball. He is getting peppered with the short stuff and the young dasher seems to be hell-bent on rewarding the bowlers' efforts too!

-- Mohan

Add to this Robin Uthappa!

After yesterdays' pyrotechnics at the Brit Oval in the 6th ODI of the NatWest Series against England, it is conceivable and reasonable to expect that Uthappa will play a significant role in Indian cricket in the future. The lad has got serious talent. And Uthappa started life as a 'keeper up until the U-19 stage.

Let's not forget that Rahul Dravid was a 'keeper too and has, indeed kept wickets for India in several ODIs!

So, the Indian team of the immediate future could have as many as 4 potential wicketkeepers!

And if another one is needed, Parthiv Patel appears to have hit a purple patch with a higher-order batsman!

-- Mohan

In Kenya, Parthiv Patel is batting like a dream while Mohammed Kaif has been stuttering. Parthiv Patel has pushed himself up the order and is batting at #1 and even opened in one match raising the distinct possibility of India playing 3 'keepers in a game soon! After a rather insipid start, Irfan Pathan looks like he is coming good. He has been taking wickets in most matches. After strong initial contributions with the ball from Piyush Chawla, Pragyan Ojha has stepped up to the plate as a convincing bowling left-arm-spin alternative for the future. One standout in the entire tour has been S. Badrinath. He has been making the runs steadily and he has been making them in quick time too! Of course, India has been winning everything on this tour of Zimbabwe and Kenya!

The real test will come when these lads travel to England, South Africa, West Indies and Australia. But it is certainly nice to follow the travails of the India-A team.

We have kept our eyes focussed on the U-19 tour of Sri Lanka too. There, one of the key interests was in the travels of Tanmay Srivastava and Abhinav Mukund. They both travelled well in the second match of the series, with Abhinav Mukund scoring a double century and a century in the same game!

-- Mohan

The second match of the series sees Zimbabwe Select staring down the barrel! Zimbabwe Select first allowed India-A to score 524 for 8 declared. Cheteshwar Pujara, the opener, Parthiv Patel and S. Badrinath made centuries. Irfan Pathan made a duck! In response, Zimbabwe Select are 67 for 5 with Piyush Chawla and Pragyan Ojha being the chief-wreckers.

I just don't see the point of tours of Zimbabwe. Perhaps the next tour will be to France and then Holland and then USA, followed by a gruelling tour to Tahiti! Bah!

-- Mohan

Apart from Cheteshwar Pujara, all the batsmen got going, but none of them managed to score a hundred. Uthappa scored 88, Parthiv Patel 67, Kaif 63, Rohit Sharma 66, Badrinath 62 and Piyush Chawla 58. Irfan Pathan would have been disappointed with his duck. He later conceded 36 runs of just 6 overs without taking any wickets when Zimbabwe batted. Makes me wonder whether we've seen the last of Irfan in the national (senior) squad.

Zimbabwe are currently 129/4 in reply to India's 489.  Here is the link to the scorecard.

-Mahesh-

• Mohd. Kaif (Captain) - Middle order Batsman
• Parthiv Patel (Vice-captain) - WK, but picked as batsman
• Robin Uthappa - Opening batsman
• C Pujara - Middle order batsman
• S Badrinath - Middle order batsman
• Rohit Sharma - Middle order batsman
• Rajesh Pawar - Left Arm Spin
• Mahesh Rawat  - Wicket Keeper
• Piyush Chawla - Leg Break Bowler
• Arjun Yadav - Middle order batsman
• Pragyan Ojha - Left Arm Spin
• Irfan Pathan - Left Arm Medium Pace/Left hand batsman
• Yo Mahesh - Right Arm Medium Pace
• Pankaj Singh - Right Arm Medium Pace
• Niraj Patel - Middle Order batsman

So, whats wrong with this team? Plenty.

• Opening batsmen - India currently has a lack of opening batsmen and it is time to try out genuine openers. It was pointed out by this article too (Thanks, Chandan). Apart from Uthappa, there is no one. Why wasn't M Vijay picked? He is an opener and barring Uthappa and Tiwary has scored more runs than anyone else in the Ranjis. He is also only 23 years old. Sure Parthiv now opens the batting for Gujarat, but c'mon...Apparently, Chopra wasn't picked because of his age (29 years!), while Rajesh Pawar (28 years) finds a place in the team. IMHO, trying out Chopra before the Aussie tour should have ranked high on the selectors agenda.
• Fast bowlers - Yo Mahesh and Irfan Pathan are good choices, but why weren't Munaf and Ishant picked? Or VRV Singh?? Pankaj Singh is definitely a surprise selection.
• Left arm spinners - Do we really need two? Why not pick one offspinner instead? Yusuf Pathan has been picked up for the Twenty20 shortlist. Surely, he could have been given a try. Or R. Aswhin, the off spinner who took 31 scalps in 4 matches and was named bowler of the year in domestic cricket, could have been given a go.
•  Arjun Yadav - Will someone please explain to me why he was picked? Apart from being Shivlal Yadav's son and being able to threaten people with a stump, please give me one good reason.
• Suresh Raina - Why wasn't he picked? In an interview to Hindustan Times a day before the team was announced, Raina says he is now fully fit, but he wasn't picked. Apparently, Manoj Tiwary is also not fully fit to be included in the team.
• Joginder Sharma - He had a good domestic season and India is looking out for all rounders. Why wasn't he picked? I think this is a shocking omission.
• Sehwag - I think India needs Sehwag. It's a pity he is not in the Seniors team and doesn't find a place in the  A team either. They could have named him captain and Kaif vice captain. Bajji must be glad he is playing for Surrey, chalking up much needed match practice and experience, while Sehwag must be hoping to score some runs in the local Buchi Babu tournament.

Ok, now that I've let my steam out, I do agree that there can only be 15 people in the team and selection is not an easy task. But the team(s) that Mohan picked earlier had a good combination of people trying to get back into the team and people in the fringes of national selection. On the other hand, this team contains people like Arjun Yadav....

-Mahesh-

Openers:
Virender Sehwag, Aakash Chopra, Robin Uthappa, Shikar Dhawan

Middle-order bats:
Dinesh Mongia, Suresh Raina, Mohammed Kaif, S. Badrinath, Venugopala Rao, Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli

Wicket Keepers:
Parthiv Patel, Puneet Bisht

Pace-bowlers:
Munaf Patel, Ajit Agarkar, V Yo Mahesh, Rakesh Patel, Ashish Nehra, Irfan Pathan, Joginder Sharma, V. R. V. Singh

Spinners:
Harbhajan Singh, Rajesh Pawar, Piyush Chawla, Murali Kartik, K. P. Appanna, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha, Sayyed Iqbal Abdulla, Shahbaz Nadeem

Given this scenario, it is possible for us to construct an India-A and an India-B as follows (each with 16 players in them):

India-A
Virender Sehwag
Shikar Dhawan
Dinesh Mongia
Mohammed Kaif
S. Badrinath
Suresh Raina
Parthiv Patel
Piyush Chawla
Ajit Agarkar / V Yo Mahesh
V. R. V. Singh / Ashish Nehra
Murali Kartik / K. P. Appanna / Sayyed Iqbal Abdulla / Shahbaz Nadeem

India-B:
Aakash Chopra
Robin Uthappa
Cheteshwa Pujara
Venugopala Rao / Rohit Sharma
Manoj Tiwary / Virat Kohli
Puneet Bisht
Irfan Pathan
Harbhajan Singh
Rakesh Patel / Joginder Sharma
Rajesh Pawar / Pragyan Ojha / Amit Mishra
Munaf Patel

The one other player that perhaps could be added is Gagan Khoda. But that would be at the exepense of one of the lefties -- perhaps Abdulla...

-- Mohan

Vengsarkar said that in his view, "the BCCI must organise [India-A tours] on a war footing". I don't think any Team India fan would disagree with him on that view. I am not sure if the BCCI is listening though! There is no reason why India-A should not be continually on tour to some part of the globe. An alternative would be for India-A and India-B to constantly play against each other! Why not? How else would you know if, for example, Munaf Patel has tested himself in a match situation?

Vengsarkar then says that, in his opinion, "the right age group would be the under-25s".

I am not sure I agree with that view. I think India-A should include players who are on the fringes of national-team selection and if they happen to be under 25 years of age, then so be it.

If we take the current Team India that is in the UK as the representative team of the moment, then we can think of the following players who are on the fringes of national selection (for Tests matches).

Openers:
Virender Sehwag, Aakash Chopra, Gautam Gambhir

Middle-order bats:
Dinesh Mongia, Suresh Raina, Mohammed Kaif, S. Badrinath, Venugopala Rao, Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Cheteshwar Pujara, Robin Uthappa

Wicket Keepers:
Parthiv Patel, Puneet Bisht

Pace-bowlers:
Munaf Patel, Ajit Agarkar, V Yo Mahesh, Rakesh Patel, Ashish Nehra, Irfan Pathan, Joginder Sharma, V. R. V. Singh

Spinners:
Harbhajan Singh, Rajesh Pawar, Piyush Chawla, Murali Kartik, K. P. Appanna

I may have missed some names. If I have, please add them to the Comments section and I will update this list a few days later...

Note that only some of these 27 players are under-25. But most of them are often mentioned in the context of being on the verge of consideration of national duties. I think that a subset of this set of players should constantly play either in some part of the world or in India against each other. That is the only way to (a) keep the seniors honest, (b) ensure that people like Irfan Pathan and Munaf Patel are match-fit, (c) ascertain true bench strength, (d) sharpen match skills of players in a slightly higher-intensity setting than the Ranji Trophy setting.

Views?

-- Mohan