Sourav : Need to work on errors For the Quarters vs saurashtra

FEB 23,2010 , Calcutta: Sourav Ganguly is confident Bengal team will perform well in the National One-dayers for the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

The former India captain, who practised with his statemates for the past couple of days at Eden Gardens, feels that Bengal is a better one-day side compared to their performance in the longer format.

“Our performance during the past couple of seasons has been pretty good. That shows that we have been a better one-day side.

“There is no reason why we can’t repeat our performance,” Sourav told reporters after the training session on Monday.

Bengal have been runners-up for the past two years.

They lost the 2007-08 edition’s final to Saurashtra while during the last edition it was Tamil Nadu who emerged victorious.

The Bengal squad will be leaving for Vadodara on Tuesday where they will play Saurashtra in the quarter finals on Thursday.

The Bengal team has directly earned a last eight berth by virtue of being the last season’s finalist.

Asked about the team’s two loss at the zonal one-dayers, Sourav said: “We didn’t field well as a few catches went abegging.

“We have to make sure that we don’t repeat our mistakes at the knock-out level,” he added.

Vice-captain Manoj Tiwary, who was back among runs during the Orissa match with a fluent 86, also feels that team has learnt from the mistakes during the Cuttack leg.

“We have a balanced side with a nice blend of youth and experience.

“I am really confident that this time also we won’t disappoint,” Tiwary said.

If one goes by the practice sessions, it is almost certain that two seniors Arindam Das and Sourasish Lahiri will be back in the playing XI against Saurashtra.

While Arindam will be Sreevats Goswami’s opening partner, Sourasish will replace Iresh Saxena as the team’s specialist spinner.

The inclusion of Sourasish will also bolster the team’s batting in the lower-middle order.

The senior offie can also be promoted up the order as a pinch-hitter according to the requirements of the team.

Sourav will be coming in at No. 3 where he will get ample opportunity to make use of the PowerPlays if one of the openers is dismissed cheaply.

Manoj and skipper Laxmi Ratan Shukla will come in at No. 5 and No. 6, respectively with Wriddhiman Saha coming in at No. 7.

Meanwhile, in Vadodara, former champions Saurashtra beat Uttar Pradesh by seven wickets in a pre-quarter-final match.

Chasing a modest UP target of 204, Saurashtra won with 57 balls to spare.

Opener Sagar Jogiyani scored an unbeaten 102 while veteran Sitanshu Kotak struck an unbeaten 69.

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Sourav to open in tie vs Orissa

Date : 2/18/10

Calcutta: Sourav Ganguly is all set to open with in-form Sreevats Goswami as Bengal take on Orissa in their final round-robin encounter of the Vijay Hazare Trophy (East Zone leg) at the Barabati Stadium on Thursday.

There will be two changes in the Bengal squad. Senior opener Subhamoy Das who has had a woeful tournament so far will make way for Manoj Tiwary.

That will give Sourav a chance to utilise the Powerplay overs to good effect along with Sreevats who has scored back-to-back centuries against Jharkhand and Assam.

Pacer Sourav Sarkar will also get his first match of the tournament as all-rounder Sayan Sekhar Mondal, who has performed well in both departments, is out with a groin strain.

The Bengal team will be again bolstered by Sourav’s presence, who joined the squad on Wednesday morning.

The other positive aspect is the return of Manoj, who would like to leave behind the controversies of the past week and notch up a good score.

The match will decide who will be the East Zone toppers.

Orissa are currently on top with 12 points from three matches while Bengal are placed second in the group with nine points. However, Bengal have a better net run-rate of 0.716. Orissa are on 0.579.

“We are hopeful that we will win the match and emerge as group champions,” skipper Shukla told The Telegraph from Cuttack on Wednesday...

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Surprising to see selectors panic : Sourav

Date : 2/13/10

I am sure the cricket fraternity is disappointed with India’s loss to South Africa in Nagpur. But I am surprised with the reaction, which has gone through the roof. Everybody seems to be giving explanations and I do not understand why. India has been outplayed by a very strong team, which bowled and batted superbly.

Winning the toss is very important in India and the South Africans not only did that well, they also executed all aspects of the game superbly. After losing two early wickets, Kallis and Amla batted superbly under pressure and put SA in command on the first day.

I have not seen Sir Don Bradman and think Sachin is the best ever player to play the game and that includes Sir Garfield Sobers. To me, the one next after Sachin is Jacques Kallis, considering the impact he has in a Test match both with the bat and the ball.

The Indian bowlers had a poor game. Ishant Sharma’s form continues to be a worry and somebody needs to sort him out as quickly as possible. There has been a lot of criticism of Harbhajan Singh and I am sure he knows it. He is a match-winner and I am sure he will turn the table around for India once again. There has been talk about selection and how an extra batsman should have been picked as cover for Rohit Sharma. But these are useless talks. Who would have imagined that two batters would get injured 24 hours before the Test? It is easy to jump to a conclusion once the event is over. But unfortunately the captain and the selectors have to take the decision before the game and not after it.

Could an extra batsman have prevented the loss? There is no guarantee. So let’s stop this nonsense and focus on the next Test. We have to accept that a good team has beaten us and we have the ability to beat them.

The selectors also have panicked, which is surprising and uncalled for, by making four changes in the squad and particularly with players who have not played the game. It is sad to see Wriddhiman being left out after one Test. I think he showed a lot of character in the second innings. One must remember that not many people get a 100 on debut. Even Sachin Tendulkar took nine Tests to get to his hundred. What message are they sending out to other players by doing this? Dinesh Karthik, who, to me is a quality player, might not even play the Test after Laxman recovers. Dinesh comes back after a one-Test absence. Does he become a good or a bad player in one game? He had a fair bit of opportunity before this Test. Though it was always in the form of a replacement for Dhoni, he has not capitalised on that.

If the selectors have to build the team, they will have to be consistent and apply the same rules for everyone. That will send a quiet and strong message of confidence in the dressing room. The selectors need to identify players who play fast bowling well and back them in order to get players of the calibre of Sehwag, Dravid, Sachin and Laxman.

For the selectors, the most worrying part will be India’s performance in the last eight months against quality fast bowling, and that includes the T20 World Cup, the Champions Trophy, the one-day series against Australia and this Test against SA. Probably there is a riddle to be solved here.

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Sourav to skip Jharkhand tie

Date : 2/12/10

Calcutta: After suffering one of the most ignominous defeats in the history of Bengal cricket, it’s time for the zonal heavyweights to make amends.

Laxmi Ratan Shukla and Co. are trying to pick up pieces as they face Jharkhand in their second encounter of the National One Day Championship for Vijay Hazare Trophy (East Zone leg) at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Friday.

It won’t be unfair to say that Shukla is yet to figure out a solution for such a batting debacle. Although they gave a green-top wicket being the reason for the batting debacle but that sounds a very weak explanation against a side like Tripura, which has never been able to bowl out Bengal for less than 175 in a one-day match.

One man could have bailed Bengal out in this crisis situation — Sourav Ganguly. But Bengal won’t be getting the services of former Indian captain who will skip the Jharkhand encounter. Sourav has excused himself from the match as daughter Sanaa is ill. He is expected to join the team by Saturday. How desperately, the Bengal team management wanted to Sourav was evident that skipper Shukla became a touch worried after getting the news that the senior-pro won’t be available.

“We had Sourav in mind and till evening I knew that he was coming. Now, we will have to change plans,” Shukla told The Telegraph from Cuttack.

Incidentally, it was lack of co-ordination on the part of Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) officials and team manager Rusi Jeejeebhoy that led to this mis-management.

The CAB brass, who are busy with organising the Eden Test match, didn’t find time all through the day to inform the team management.

Meanwhile, youngster Sudip Chatterjee will make way for Wriddhiman Saha.

Bengal (likely XI): Subhamoy Das, Sreevats Goswami, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Manoj Tiwary, Laxmi Ratan Shukla (captain), Wriddhiman Saha, Sayan Sekhar Mondal, Arnab Nandi, Ranadeb Bose, Ashok Dinda, Iresh Saxena.

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