Ranji Round-up

For those following the current round of India’s domestic First Class tournament, these are heady times. For those not following India’s domestic First Class tournament, this would be the time to jump in. The fourth round of matches has given rise to a flurry of activity that must surely be of great interest to the Indian cricketing fraternity.

First up, is Sourav Ganguly, the man whose spot has yet to be filled in the Test squad for the last 3 years, has announced his return with a century against Haryana. Though he couldn’t help his team gain the first innings lead, his innings must surely send some warning signs to the current crop of players lining up to take his spot, more so if any of the selectors happened to see him caress 20 fours and a six on his way to 135. Could we see him taking the field alongside the famed trio once again? Or is it just the misguided delusions of a nostalgic fool? Reason points to the latter, but the heart wants something more.

Cheteshwar Pujara is finally back on a cricket field and this would certainly be not so good news for Kohli, who is the favourite to hold the position come Boxing Day in Melbourne. Having looked good in his first few games, Pujara must be kicking himself for getting injured at a time when the slot was so nearly his. His first outing wouldn’t help him a whole lot, as he scored 9 runs in an hour and 3 minutes, but at least he’s back on the field, and after nearly a year’s worth of inactivity, he would be satisfied to finally be able to play some cricket.

India’s current leading wicket taker in Tests however, has no such reason to smile. Harbhajan Singh is now out of the Punjab team facing a Railways side at Mohali. With Ashwin and Ojha having performed more than commendably at home against the WIndies, it could be a long time before we see the spinner turn out for India. Though the reasons for the exclusion were not clear, it is certain to be a performance based decision by the selectors as Singh, with 406 Test wickets to his name, picked up only 4 wickets in the first 3 games and did not contribute significantly with the willow either.

But some good news to round off today’s action as Zaheer Khan came back to pick up four wickets across two innings as a part of the all round destruction of Orissa by Mumbai. Being conditionally picked for the tour Down Under, Zaheer looks set to lead the attack once again. Also, Irfan Pathan has found some form with the ball, picking up his third five-for of the tournament against Delhi. Could he too be on his way back into the Indian Team?