Odisha shot out for 37 - Ranji update !

It has been raining and news on rain is almost no news – one may not be following Ranji – Tamilnadu is to play Gujarat in Group B – at Tirunelveli, which too is likely to be a wash out.  Meantime, in Group A, Bengal moved to top in Group A – having won only 2 matches of their 7 though. 

After grey, blustery and mostly cricket-free Bangalore, where SA struggled again, the Test now shifts to the geometric centre of India and the promise of a Test match free of interruptions under clear, cloudless skies. India ended day one of the second Test in a position of great cricketing and psychological strength, but there has been no action in the ten days since. India is on a strong  1-0 up – and for sure it is going to be another spinner-friendly track.

Getting back to that West Bengal match – it was played at Kalyani,  a city and a municipality in West Bengal,  located around 50 kilometres (31 mi) from Kolkata.   Situated on the banks of Hooghly River, the city is spread over an area of 29.14 square kilometres (11.25 sq mi).  Interestingly, Kalyani was site of an American Airbase, known by the name of Roosevelt Town or Roosevelt Nagar during WW II.] It was developed as a planned town in early 1950s by the Government of West Bengal on behest of Bidhan Chandra Roy - the second Chief Minister of West Bengal for hosting the Indian National Congress meeting and to accommodate the housing needs of the growing population of Calcutta.  Kalyani has a dedicated industrial zone having numerous industries including Andrew Yule and Company, Kalyani Breweries ( UB Group), and Dabur; though many of the industries have closed or stopped production.

At Kalyani, the scorecard reads : Bengal  142 (Eswaran 88, Dhiraj 5-58) and 135 (B Mohanty 5-20) beat Odisha 107 (Gani 6-34) and 37 by 133 runs. Forty wickets fell in a little over a day and a half as Bengal beat Odisha to throw their hat into the qualifying race for the knockouts. Ashok Dinda ran riot by picking up 7 for 19 on a surface that was termed a "paddy field" by Rashmi Parida, the Odisha coach, as the visitors were bundled out for 37. Bengal, who made 142 in the first innings thanks largely to Abhimanyu Easwaran's 88, were shot out for 135 in the second innings, with Basant Mohanty taking five wickets.  None of the Odisha batsmen reached double figures – highest was score of 7 as it reads : 1,5,7,2,4,0,1,1,7,0,5 & extras 4

Ashok Bhimchandra Dinda has played 13 ODIs and 9 T20s taking 12 and 17 wickets thus far.  This 37, however is not the lowest – In Nov. 2010, on  the first morning of the 77th Ranji Trophy, Rajasthan bowled Hyderabad out for 21 in 78 minutes of mayhem in Jaipur, breaking the tournament record for the lowest team total and equalling the Indian first-class record. Debutant Deepak Chahar, Rajasthan's 18-year-old medium-pacer, did the damage with a spell that read 7.3-2-10-8. The previous lowest was  in 1934-35, when Southern Punjab were bowled out for 22 chasing 114 against Northern India in Amritsar.

Mohammad Hafeez, the Pakistan batsman, has said he will not share a dressing room with any player who has tarnished the image of Pakistan cricket. His declaration comes after an Urdu newspaper, Jang, reported that Hafeez had turned down a lucrative offer from Bangladesh Premier League franchise Chittagong Vikings to play in BPL 2015-16, because Chittagong have Mohammad Amir in their squad. "I am not against any individuals," Hafeez told ESPNcricinfo. "It is about the image of Pakistan cricket. I cannot play with any player who has tarnished and brought a bad name to the country. But, yes, if any other team offered me the contract with good money I could definitely play the BPL. Otherwise I prefer playing for my domestic team, SNGPL, in Quaid-e-Azam trophy at home.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

25^th Nov. 2015.