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Friday, September 4, 2009
Dravid now warms up for ODI and Comeback
One of the advantages of the corporate tournament, the BCCI has said, is that it would provide adequate warm-up for Team India players ahead of their tri-series in Sri Lanka.
Rahul Dravid, making a comeback to the 50-over format, certainly got his feet moving on Wednesday evening at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Dravid, leading the India Cements side for the first time despite being employed with them for 15 years, lost the toss in their opening match against underdogs BSNL, but got almost everything right after that as his side posted a 25-run win in a match reduced to 47-overs-a-side due to rain to open their account.
Coming in to bat at No 4, one slot lower than he does for India, with the scoreboard reading a dodgy 36/2 in 8.3 overs, he posted 63 off 77 deliveries and added 127 runs with S Badrinath (90) to take his team to 253/5.
He looked solid as ever, dropping the ball at his feet and ambling for singles, stroking it through the gap for boundaries and easing the spinners away without much fuss.
BSNL skipper Joginder Singh was economical, his spell reading 7-2-14-0, while Niranjan Behera picked up two wickets.
They flattered to deceive in their chase though, losing wickets as they went for the big hits. Anshul Kapoor hit 51 from 79 balls while Joginder got a fiery 30-ball 34 with three huge sixes, but couldn't stop campaign from coming to an end.
India Cements will now take on Air India Red on Thursday to decide the semi-finalist from the group.
Brief scores: India Cements 253/5 in 47 overs ( S Badrinath 90, R Dravid 63; N Behera 3/37); Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited 228/9 in 47 overs (A Kapoor 51, J Singh 34; H Badani 2/ 26, S Kumar 2/28)
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Champions Trophy a big test for ODIs
The question-marks surrounding the future of 50-over cricket may have gotten bolder recently, with a number of countries opting for alternate formats in their domestic calendars, but the International Cricket Council (ICC) maintains that the 50-over version of the game remains a viable format.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) recently dumped the Friends Provident Trophy - the traditional domestic 50-over tournament for next season, replacing it with a 40-over event after the counties voted 13-5 on it.
Earlier, the BCCI had scrapped the Deodhar Trophy, the annual zonal 50-over competition, while the domestic limited overs tournament in South Africa is a 45-over affair.
ICC chief executive officer Haroon Lorgat said that while member nations were welcome to experiment and introduce new formats domestically, it was too early to talk about the demise of the 50-over format at the international level.
"The ECB has scrapped their 50-over tournament as it was domestically a viable decision for them," said Lorgat.
Lorgat did admit that the Champions Trophy in South Africa would be a real test for 50-over cricket, adding that the ICC were making huge efforts to spruce up the image of the format.
"We have remodelled the Champions Trophy and in addition to unveiling a shorter and leaner version this time around, there will also be innovations like the winner's jackets," he said.
The Champions Trophy, starting September 22, will be a two-venue event and will host the top eight ODI teams across 14 days.
No window for IPL
Lorgat added that the ICC wouldn't be providing the IPL with a separate window in its next Future Tours Programme (FTP).
"In fact the IPL officials themselves don't want a separate window, they are comfortable with the present format as they have a large pool of players."
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