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India A’s batsmen have faltered twice in chases against Australia A in a series full of huge totals. Will it be any different in the final?

The Preview by Abhishek Purohit13-Aug-2013Match factsAugust 14, Pretoria
Start time 0930 (0730 GMT)India A’s batsmen have come up short against Australia A twice this series•Getty ImagesBig Picture It looked an excellent plan on paper. Send your fringe players, and a few first-choice batsmen, to South Africa on an A tour three months before the senior side travels to the country. Ideally, far better preparation than any camp in home conditions would have been. The main course – the two unofficial Tests – are yet to arrive, but going by what has happened in the one-day tri-series, India A haven’t missed home much.The pitch at the LC de Villiers Oval in Pretoria has been so flat the South Africa A captain Justin Ontong has been left hoping for some grass on the wickets for the unofficial Tests. Given that one of them will be played on the same ground, Ontong might as well put in a prayer along with hoping.India A have not experienced what the senior team management might have wanted them to, but they have done what they usually do on such pitches back home. The batsmen have prospered, the bowlers have suffered. In their defence, the other sides have fared similarly.Barring the opening match, the side batting first has scored big and won, although the biggest margin has been only 39 runs. India A have made 291 and 285 and still lost, both times to Australia A. They have also shown off their batting firepower as they often do in one-dayers in benign conditions, plundering 309 in 38 overs against South Africa A. Shikhar Dhawan’s astonishing 248 helped them to 433 against the same opposition.However, it is Australia A, and not the hosts, who await India A in the final. They are the only side to chase successfully in this series. They then went ahead and defended successfully from a seemingly lost cause as India A choked.Just like their opponents in the final, Australia A have several international players, who will be eyeing selection for the limited-overs leg of the senior side’s dismal England tour. “Hopefully some of the performances coming off the back of this tour have got some guys in there,” Aaron Finch, the Australia A captain, said. “Some of the guys definitely have their fingers crossed.” Unlike India A, they can claim their workout in South Africa has been ideal, and timely.In the spotlightSuresh Raina has been India A’s most economical bowler. While all the batsmen are internationals, India A have come with an inexperienced bowling attack. The spinners are yet to play for the senior side, as are two of the fast bowlers. Mohammed Shami and Jaydev Unadkat are raw in international cricket. All of them have been expensive, but Ishwar Pandey came in for praise from the coach Lalchand Rajput in his only match of the series. Rajput said Pandey came back strongly after an expensive opening spell against South Africa A to bowl several yorkers at the death and pick up four wickets. India A will need plenty more of them.Glenn Maxwell has taken a liking to the Indians this series. He savaged them for an unbeaten 145 off 79 at No. 7 to launch Australia A from 152 for 8 to 298 for 8. That earned him a promotion to No. 4, from where he hit 93 off 56. What does he have in store for India A in the final?Quotes”There has been a run fest for the batters on this pitch and a hard time for the medium-pacers. We have a team of pretty aggressive players and we’re all very experienced in one-day cricket, we’re very confident of our abilities and it’s been good that we haven’t quite played our best cricket and yet we’ve won three matches so far.”

Brendan Nash’s best one-day performance for Kent proved decisive as they squeezed past Warwickshire with a frantic one-run victory at Edgbaston.

06-May-2013
ScorecardIan Bell made a fluent 35•Getty ImagesBrendan Nash’s best one-day performance for Kent proved decisive as they squeezed past Warwickshire with a frantic one-run victory at Edgbaston.Nash, the former West Indies batsman, made an unbeaten 98 that lifted his side to 239 for 9. Warwickshire slumped to 185 for 8 in reply with 55 wanted from six overs but Jeetan Patel ensured a fluctuating contest went down to the wirePatel set about the bowlers with two sixes and six fours in a whirlwind 27-ball innings that threatened to pull off a dramatic rescue act for Warwickshire. It eventually came down to the last ball and two runs needed, but Patel’s heroics in making 50, his best one-day score, came to nothing when we was run out by Adam Ball.Kent were well in charge when the spin bowling of James Tredwell and his 21-year-old partner Adam Riley knocked Warwickshire off course. Riley crucially dismissed William Porterfield lbw for 47, and Tredwell captured the prized wicket when Varun Chopra was well caught at mid-off after making 67 in his build-up for England Lions duty later in the week.While Chopra played a measured innings, it was a mixed day for Warwickshire’s other England candidates, either those in the Test team or others pushing for selection. Ian Bell looked in imperious form in making 35, driving successive sixes off Mark Davies over long-on, but failed to clear midwicket off Matt Coles. Jonathan Trott made only 3 before nicking a catch off Davies.This came on top of a testing time for Chris Woakes and Chris Wright. The new-ball bowlers, who will be with Chopra in the Lions squad to meet New Zealand at Grace Road on Thursday, conceded 101 runs between them, although Woakes did pick up a couple of wickets.Kent may have promised more than they delivered after losing the toss. Rob Key made a brisk start with 44 until pulling offspinner Patel to midwicket, and as much as Nash kept the board ticking over, he struck only seven boundaries from 106 deliveries.Others attempted to be more destructive, notably Adam Ball with five fours in a rapid 28 and Coles with successive sixes off Woakes in reaching 20 from 11 balls.That Kent were unable kick on in the middle overs of their innings was mostly due to Darren Maddy on his first appearance of the season. Maddy, 39 later this month, took two wickets in five balls and held three catches, the first of these removing Key after a stand of 85 with Nash.

It says much for the enduring appeal of 50-over cricket that, despite looking the second-best team for much of the day, India still left Edgbaston celebrating an exhilarating victory with six deliveries to spare

George Dobell in Birmingham01-Jun-2013
ScorecardVirat Kohli appeared completely at ease with the conditions as he dominated the Sri Lankan bowling•AFPIt says much for the enduring appeal of 50-over cricket that, despite looking the second-best team for much of the day, India still left Edgbaston celebrating an exhilarating victory with six deliveries to spare.If it was a stand of 186 in 140 balls between Virat Kohli and Dinesh Karthik that provided most obvious cause for Indian joy, as it helped them fight back in a match that had appeared to be sliding inexorably towards Sri Lanka, perhaps it was more subtle factors that will be of long-term relevance.Even if India had lost this game, they might have been justified in leaving Edgbaston in good spirits, for this match did provide hints that some of the pre-conceptions about this tournament may be misplaced.India, despite their No.1 ranking, are not among the favourites for the Champions Trophy. That is due, in part, to the suspicion that, in English, early-season conditions and with two new balls, they may lack the specialists to cope. Not only, it is argued, will they lack the batting techniques to negate the rising, swinging ball, but they might lack the bowling firepower – the admirable Bhuvneshwar Kumar aside – to hurt sides in reply.But, on the evidence of this game, conditions may not be so alien. Despite awful weather in Birmingham for almost as long as anyone can remember, this was an excellent batting surface. And while two new balls were used, the early indications are that the kookaburra-turf ball in operation hardly swings. Indeed, it just means that batsmen still have a hard ball to hit later in the innings. In such circumstances, India, utilising their spinners and powerful batsmen, may be far more at home than has been anticipated. There was not a single maiden all day.Certainly Kohli and Karthik, celebrating his 28th birthday in some style, looked at home as they accelerated towards victory. While few of the Sri Lankan bowlers will reflect with much pleasure on this performance – Jeevan Mendis conceded 31 in his three overs – there were times when the India pair allowed so little margin for error that it looked almost impossible to contain them.Kohli, initially at least, picked up runs with stealth and quick running – at one stage, he scored 20 singles in succession and managed an all-run four on this far from huge ground. Karthik was more aggressive, his century came in just 79 balls and included an array of boundaries flicked, driven and bludgeoned through the leg-side.It would be foolish to read too much into this result. It was not an ODI and the teams agreed to play 15 men aside. What is more, while Sri Lanka decided to retire their top two batsmen just as they might have been expected to accelerate, India allowed their two top-scorers to win the game. Sri Lanka were also without Lasith Malinga who arrived late and was suffering from jet-lag. No one will remember this match in a few weeks.And, for much of the game, Sri Lanka looked the better side. Kusal Perera and Tillakaratne Dilshan batted with some class to post 160 for Sri Lanka’s first wicket in 26 overs, before Dinesh Chandimal and Kumar Sangakkara, back on the ground that he briefly made his home, also impressed.India’s bowling was loose and their fielding lethargic. While it is true they have not played ODI cricket since January, the rustiness of some of the bowling was alarming and will need to be rectified quickly if they are to progress.The top-order batting was underwhelming, too. When Kohli and Karthik came together, at 110 for 4 in the 21st over, their cause looked close to hopeless. But Kohli was calm – his century occupied 95 balls and included only seven fours and a six – and his acceleration afterwards oozed class and suggested he had simply been playing with the bowling previously.Karthik, if anything, was even more impressive, if not quite as pleasing on the eye. The pair set up a platform to help India score 208 runs from the final 24 overs and 130 from the final 14. Sri Lanka’s bowling wilted in the face of the assault.It is also worth noting the attendance at this match. While several other venues in England and Wales struggle to sell respectable numbers of tickets for games involving England – tickets are still available for the Champions Trophy match between England and New Zealand in Cardiff, and attendance for the second Test between England and New Zealand at Leeds was bitterly disappointing – more than 5,500 people paid £20 a head and watched this game at Edgbaston. If anyone needed any reminder of the financial muscle of Indian cricket – and they really shouldn’t have done – it was provided here.

Alisha Lehmann is enjoying time away with the Swiss national team and has been showing off her skills in an impressive ball-juggling act.

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Forward away on international dutyLooking to reach half-century of capsBig games to come back in EnglandWHAT HAPPENED?

The Aston Villa forward is taking a break from WSL duty as she prepares for an international friendly double-header with Poland. The 25-year-old has earned 48 caps for her country, meaning that she could hit a notable landmark over the course of the next week.

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If Lehmann were to figure in both meetings with Poland, then she would reach a half-century of appearances for Switzerland. She is doing her best to catch the eye of national team coach Pia Sundhage during pre-match training sessions.

DID YOU KNOW?

While being focused on ensuring that the Swiss squad are in the best possible shape as a collective for the immediate challenges to come, Lehmann has been displaying her personal skill set during a showboating routine that saw her keep the ball off the ground using her heel, neck and feet.

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WHAT NEXT FOR LEHMANN?

Lehmann, who has rekindled her relationship with fellow Villa star Douglas Luiz, will be hoping to impress for her country before returning to England for crucial outings for Villa at the start of March that will see them face Liverpool in the WSL and Arsenal in the League Cup semi-finals.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board has sought the help of the Indian board to develop cricket in the country

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Feb-2013The Afghanistan Cricket Board has sought the help of the Indian board to develop cricket in the country. Officials from the ACB met BCCI representatives in Mumbai on Sunday to discuss how the Indian board could support Afghanistan cricket.”We had a good meeting with BCCI honorary secretary (Sanjay Jagdale) and general manager for game development (Ratnakar Shetty),” Shahzada Masoud, the ACB chairman, said. “It’s in the initial stage. We want to build up good relations with BCCI. We want help to develop technical staff, coaches, umpires, scorers and video analysts.”Also present at the meeting held at the Cricket Club of India was ACB’s high performance programme manager, Basheer Stanekzai. “We are preparing a new Under-19 team as the last World Cup team is over-aged.” he said. “We have selected a 20-member squad. We are working on it and preparing for the ACC (Asian Cricket Council) Under-19 Cup to be held in Malaysia from May 1 to 12. That’s the qualification round for the next U-19 World Cup. We need good coaches, especially in terms of batting.”The meeting comes a week after Afghanistan coach Kabir Khan called on the BCCI to do more to help Afghanistan cricket, highlighting England’s support for their neighbouring Associate nations.

Dale Steyn has admitted to a win-at-all-costs attitude on the tour of England, knowing that victory will end years of being second-best and give South Africa the No. 1 Test ranking.

Firdose Moonda13-Jul-2012Dale Steyn has admitted to a win-at-all-costs attitude on the tour of England, knowing that victory will end years of being second-best and give South Africa the No. 1 Test ranking.South Africa have been top of the ICC Test rankings only briefly in the past, for four months back in 2008, but have hovered close by since then. With an unbeaten record away from home since 2006, Steyn believes it is time for the team to stamp their authority.”We don’t care how the series goes, as long as we win,” Steyn said in Canterbury, where South Africa are facing Kent in their final warm-up before the first Test at The Oval. “It doesn’t need to be pretty, it doesn’t need to be beautiful with guys scoring hundreds and guys taking five-fors. We just want to get the job done.”The contest between the two bowling attacks has been the most anticipated match-up of the series and while he would not draw a comparison, Steyn called South Africa’s current pack “fantastic.”Graeme Smith, the Test captain, has also hailed the unit as one of the best he has worked with and attributed consistency in selection to their fine performances of late. “We’ve got experience and the guys know how to bowl in different conditions,” Steyn said. “It’s also been the same group of guys for quite a while and there’s a lot of trust between us.”Although Steyn is often referred to as the kingpin of the attack, he denied that there is any hierarchy among the bowlers in contrast to England where Jimmy Anderson is widely perceived to be the guiding force in the group. He expresses the belief that the likes of Morne Morkel, Lopsy Tsotsobe, Vernon Philander and the leg spinner Imran Tahir share equal responsibility.”There’s nobody that leads the attack. If you are looking for a leader, you’re always looking for the guys that have been around the longest but when it comes to bowling, any of us are capable of doing the job,” Steyn said. “It’s not like we are looking at a leader to stand up and take five wickets for us on the day. Whether its Morne or Lopsy or Imran, all of them are capable of bowling teams out by themselves.”Despite that confidence in his team mates, Steyn remains the go-to man when Smith needs wickets because of his superior speed.”There are times when my team needs me to bowl really fast and make something happen. You need those types of players who can break an end open for you,” Steyn said. “That’s something that I’ve got in my arsenal that Graeme treasures. When we need a wicket, he tends to throw the ball to me because I can make it happen with pace.”It showed in the tour match against Kent, when Smith brought Steyn on to break an opening stand which had grown to 81. Steyn had an appeal in his first over and got a wicket in his second. But Steyn knows that with that expectation there is responsibility as well. “I also need to be bowling in the right areas. You can’t bowl at 150 and be bowling it all over the show, that’s not going to help.” Even though wicket-taking is always on his mind, Steyn said he has no preference for which scalps he picks up and has not identified any of the England batsman specifically as a prized scalp.”I’ve seen South Africa on previous tours where I haven’t played for them in Australia and Glenn McGrath and Mike Hussey put on 150-run partnership and the value of that tenth wicket means a lot more than the ninth one,” he said. “It just shows you that you can’t put too much emphasis on one particular person, you have to worry about everything.”He also does not mind if the spoils are shared as long as the team benefits. “Even if I only take one wicket in the whole series, as long as we win, I will still be on the balcony with a big smile on my face and I will be stoked,” he said.This South African squad sound a focused bunch with common purpose. But, Steyn said, they also have a bigger picture in mind. Mark Boucher’s serious eye injury which forced him to retire on Tuesday still hangs heavily on everyone.”Everyone is going on and on about being the No. 1 Test side in the world but when one of my friends possibly loses an eye and his whole life is about to change that means so much more to me than any cricket game that I will ever play,” he said. “Having said that, I am here to play cricket so I have to focus on that. Reality struck down hard when that happened and it just put things into perspective.”The team have not specifically adopted a “do it for Mark” strategy, according to Steyn, but will try to pay tribute to the veteran wicket-keeper in the best way they can. “We wanted to win this series before the incident. However, it does add a little extra inspiration or motivation because Mark would have wanted to stand on that podium.”

Pat Cummins has added to Australia’s myriad injury troubles by revealing he has carried a tender left heel home from his momentous debut in South Africa

Daniel Brettig24-Nov-2011Pat Cummins has added to Australia’s myriad injury troubles by revealing he carried a tender left heel home from his momentous debut in South Africa. ESPNcricinfo understands he is now in extreme doubt for the first Test against New Zealand in Brisbane.Unsurprisingly for an 18-year-old, Cummins showed some signs of fatigue during the second innings of the Johannesburg Test, and even though he recovered to claim a startling 6-79 and then strike the winning runs, the admission that he has a sore heel – a particularly stubborn ailment – has further complicated Australia’s selection planning for the Gabba.Still blissful following the dramatic victory at the Wanderers, Cummins wore the magenta of the Sydney Sixers at the SCG to mark 20 days until the start of the Twenty20 Big Bash League, but it was his fitness ahead of next week’s first Test against New Zealand at the Gabba that was the most pointed topic of discussion.”I pulled up a little bit sore after the game the other day, and hopefully I should be right to go but we’ll see what happens,” Cummins said. “My heel’s a little bit sore but it’s nothing too dramatic, and it is not going to leave me out … nothing too serious. There’s not really much you can do, you just keep icing it up. It isn’t going to be too much of a problem.”I don’t think they will [pick me] if I’m not fit to play. Every game for Australia is a massive thrill, and if you get the opportunity you want to be 100% to go. There’s new selectors and they sit down [soon] to talk, but I’m not sure of what’s going to happen and there’s a few other fast bowlers in a bit of doubt, so hopefully everyone’s fit and it’s a long summer ahead so there’s plenty of games to go.”Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson, Shaun Marsh and Ryan Harris were already in various states of doubt for the match, and the newly-formed selection panel led by national selector John Inverarity is now likely to name its squad on Saturday or Sunday having taken further time to settle on a team.Of all the players at the selectors’ disposal, Cummins is perhaps the most outstanding prospect for the future but also the cricketer in need of the most careful management, so as to not let his fire burn out too early.”With any player they’ve got to be well managed and being a bit younger it is probably even more important,” Cummins said. “So it is great that they’re trying to look after me and all the young guys and we’ll see what happens.”I’m still fairly young, and a few people have told me that while you’re young you’re looked after a bit better. Hopefully that’s the case, but I don’t feel too much expectation or pressure going into the games and try to keep it relaxed and don’t take it for granted.”Though the youngest member of the Australian side, Cummins bowled like the most senior member of the attack in Johannesburg, adapting to the wide variety of scenarios and batsmen he faced. This was demonstrated best by a sustained and hostile spell to claim the critical wicket of Jacques Kallis early in the second innings.”Test cricket and Sheffield Shield cricket you’ve really got to temper your bowling,” Cummins said. “If you try to go 100 per cent the whole time you’re going to fall over, so it is all about trying to play to the conditions and try to do what you think is most effective. [Doing what the batsman likes least] is always the aim.”Kallis is a great player and someone I’ve probably looked up to coming through, he’s a great competitor, over 12,000 Test runs and however many wickets he’s got, to be able to just [compete with] him is unreal and to tear in and try to get his head off is a big thrill as well.”

Leicestershire have announced the signing of Scotland allrounder Richie Berrington on a one-month loan deal

ESPNcricinfo staff02-May-2012Leicestershire have announced the signing of Scotland allrounder Richie Berrington on a one-month loan deal.Berrington has been brought in to add depth to a squad that has seen early season injuries to Will Jefferson, Nathan Buck, Matthew Hoggard and Paul Dixey. The 25-year-old scored 261 runs and took seven wickets for Scotland in the recent ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier and will still be available for the Saltires in their CB40 campaign during the arrangement.Berrington, who was born in South Africa, averages 29.94 in first-class cricket, with one century, and has taken 18 wickets. The loan arrangement with Leicestershire will be reviewed at the end of the first month.

The Deccan Chargers bowlers strived to earn their side a maiden victory in this season of the IPL but, even on a slow pitch that turned, they did not have enough runs to defend

The Report by George Binoy22-Apr-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsGautam Gambhir held the first half of the chase together•AFPThe Deccan Chargers bowlers strived to earn their side a maiden victory in this season of the IPL but, even on a slow pitch that turned, they did not have enough runs to defend. The upshot was a fifth consecutive defeat for the home side while Kolkata Knight Riders drew level with the other top teams in the tournament with their fourth win. The finish, however, was far more tense and hard fought than was expected after Chargers had been limited to only 126.For the briefest of periods, Chargers looked like posting a stronger total. And then, though wickets did not fall in a heap, the scoring-rate began to splutter and the innings stuttered. The odd boundary would be followed by periods of low productivity, depriving Chargers of all momentum. The Knight Riders’ chase followed a similar pattern – at no stage did the batsmen consistently dominate the bowling. However, they kept the situation under control by staying abreast with the asking-rate, ensuring the pressure did not get too intense to handle.While Gautam Gambhir and Jacques Kallis were steering the chase, Knight Riders were in control. Then Gambhir mis-hit Anand Rajan to mid-off, leaving his team on 64 for 3 in 9.5 overs. Yusuf Pathan clouted one six off the spinner Ankit Sharma before trying to slog the next ball and getting bowled. Kallis, however, stayed calm and in the company of Manoj Tiwary took Knight Riders slowly but steadily towards their target.Things came to a head when Kumar Sangakkara brought back Dale Steyn for his final over, with 26 to defend off 24 balls. Kallis drove hard at the first ball, and edged past the keeper for four. The second, he edged to the keeper. Steyn, now pumped, bowled with hostility at Debabrata Das. He then got into a minor confrontation with Tiwary, who came towards the bowler to exchange words after playing to mid-off, and then had to scramble back as Kumar Sangakkara threw at the stumps but missed.The pressure built up in the 18th over – Knight Riders scored only 3 off four balls – and 17 were needed from 14 deliveries. Then Das lofted Veer Pratap Singh towards long-on, where Rajan ran in but misjudged the catch, costing his side a wicket and two runs. Chargers, whose coach Darren Lehmann had said they fielded like 14-year olds earlier in the week, had fluffed their last chance.The start in Cuttack had been delayed by a little more than an hour because of rain, but no overs were lost. Before the interruption, however, both captains had got what they wanted at the toss, with Sangakkara saying he would have batted after Gambhir chose to bowl. Sangakkara did not go on to have a good day, losing his middle stump to L Balaji after a scratchy 12 off 15 balls.Shikhar Dhawan, on the other hand, was spunky at the start. In the third over, he heaved Yusuf, who had opened the bowling with his offspin, over wide long-on for six. Little did Chargers know that it would be the innings’ only six, until Steyn hit one in the 20th over. Dhawan also pulled and drove Brett Lee powerfully for four, gathering five boundaries in his first 22 balls. Little did Dhawan know he would not hit another one in his next 28.Chargers had made 30 for 0 after four overs when the slowdown began, with Sunil Narine and Balaji operating with discipline. After Sangakkara fell, Dhawan and Parthiv Patel batted without dominating the bowling. Parthiv was eventually run out in the 12th over, but even Cameron White, who replaced Daniel Christian for this game, could not improve Chargers’ situation. He fell slogging Lee to deep square leg; Lee’s last two overs, the 15th and 17th, yielded only four runs.Dhawan had anchored the innings but he too was going nowhere, and his struggle ended when he mis-hit a full toss from Rajat Bhatia to deep midwicket. He was gone for a run-a-ball 50. He would say later that the pitch was hard to bat on. Knight Riders also found batting tough, but they were tough enough to get over the line.

Now that Rajasthan are in the final, Hrishikesh Kanitkar said that getting a second shot at the title was “a humbling thing” knowing “that there are many teams who have done it many times”

Sharda Ugra at the Bansi Lal Stadium12-Jan-2012Late on the second day of the Ranji Trophy semi-final in Rohtak, Rajasthan opener Vineet Saxena talked about his team’s careering path to the final, from the edge of elimination to a second straight final.Winning their last two league matches outright, one of them with bonus points, was the minimum that Rajasthan needed to do for a chance to enter the quarter-finals. Despite that, the ticket to the knock-out rounds would only come through with every last-round result from their group falling their way.When it actually happened and the defending champions made the quarters after having sneaked ahead of Saurashtra on the quotient, Saxena said with a smile, “We thought maybe God has something else planned for us.”Divine intervention aside, Rajasthan’s road to the Ranji final has largely been made up of steering clear of contemplating the end of the line. Hrishikesh Kanitkar, the Rajasthan captain, said that Rajasthan didn’t think about making it all the way. “We weren’t looking at the final because we didn’t start very well.”Now that they are in the final, Kanitkar said that getting a second shot at the title was “a humbling thing” because of what it has taken to get there and also knowing “that there are many teams who have done it many times.”As the wickets fell in the semi-final, even Kanitkar, a seasoned and calm-tempered cricketer rarely given to theatrics or over-the-top celebrations, was heard shouting encouragement at his bowlers.Amit Asawa, the Rajasthan coach, found himself trying to let it all sink in. “It is amazing,” he said, “I am out of words. Two years ago we were in the bottom of the Plate League and now we are in our second straight final.”The team had been preparing itself since July, Asawa, a former Rajasthan player, said. Defending the title would demand more of the players with the increased competition in the Elite League and the weight of last year’s performance on their shoulders. “We had heard all this in the air that we were tagged the champions but we didn’t keep the pressure of being champions,” Asawa said.The main priority, Asawa said, was to make their place in the Elite League secure. “We knew we were in the Elite League and we would be facing strong teams. We wanted to remain here so this has far more significance and has been tougher than what we did last year … for me Rajasthan cricket has grown in the last two years.”The team prepared for their new season with the players sharing time in the Rajasthan Cricket Association Academy in Jaipur and the older pros getting to understand their younger team-mates. “We were living together for a long time,” Kanitkar said. “We knew what turns someone on to get going, who to talk to, who to leave alone.”The performances of Rajasthan’s players in the semi-final, Asawa said, needed to be judged “by character in the context of the game.” By that count, he said, Saxena’s being the top scorer in both innings “was like him scoring 125. Similarly a lot of the younger players would have got a lot of confidence from the game, like Robin Bist and Puneet Yadav with the bat and of course, Rituraj Singh.”When asked for his assessment of the Lahli wicket, which offered sideways movement and assistance to the bowlers on all three days, Kanitkar grinned at first and replied, “You’re asking the wrong person – we have won, I like the wicket.”He then said that the track had shrunk the Ranji Trophy’s most precious commodity – the first-innings lead -to a respectable size. “The first-innings lead was not important – not when if it wasn’t a big one. A wicket like this gives you a chance to come back in the game, gives your bowlers a chance.” He then added, “I don’t know how I’d have answered the question had I been on the losing side … but I have to say it was a sporting wicket for both teams because it made you fight for every run.”After the on-field celebrations were done, Rajasthan walked off the field, waving stumps and fists. Their joy was made only audible as they walked into their dressing room behind the sight screen and away from the sight of their dejected hosts – the Haryana players and support staff, former players like Rajinder Goel watching from the sidelines, association officials, scorers, odd-jobs men, cleaners and cooks who had turned up to this venue 13 km outside Rohtak.In less than an hour after the final ball, the stadium was cleared of its chairs and tables and the boundary ropes were piled into coils to be put away. The door of the Haryana dressing room was sealed shut. The team were talking about their road and how it had ended. Rajasthan had by then had begun gathering into their bus, in one sense already on their way to the final, the venue of which all of them seemed to know was going to be Chennai.