talking UP cricket for a change

Uttar Pradesh, or Ulta Pradesh, never had it so good in domestic cricket.

Earlier this month, we won the Ranji trophy for the first time in its 72 year history. And the man of the hour? Our captain, Tha Mohammad Kaif. Our boy from Allahabad won the trophy on our home ground, the KD Singh Babu stadium in Lucknow, in front of our home crowd and then rushed to Pakistan to play for the Blue Caps.

Having lived in Lucknow for very many years, and seen it from a lot of different angles. I've been to KD Singh Babu stadium, right in the center of the city, but I was never able to witness anything of a scale as this victory, from what i read in the papers. I've also been to the GGS Sports College, home of the Dhyanchand National hockey stadium. In fact, their principal put me on a workout regimen that I couldnt walk the next three days. But the most endearing part of that place? Everyone was supposed to wish elders with 'Jai Hind.'

The whole place was abuzz with the news that UP was on its way to win its first Ranji, and that brought a huge crowd on the final day of the game. We were playing powerhouses Bengal, but playing underdogs is something UP was used to.
Heck we beat Mumbai at Wankhade in the semis! thats something, aint it?

This should do wonders for the status of domestic cricket in UP and hopefully in India, when the prestigious trophies are won by underdogs. Its the biggest paradox that while we may be the powerhouse in international cricket, plush with funds and eyeballs, our domestic cricket cries for both.

And now look, we have 4 players in the national squad. Its unheard of, but its finally happened. I was reading an article about how players from the hinterlands have totally changed the personality of the game. Our main man from Ranchi, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, is an icon now. Kaif's from Allahabad. Rudra Pratap Singh is from RaeBareilly in UP. For those not in the know, that was Rajiv Gandhi's parliamentary constituency and now sends Sonia Gandhi to the Lok Sabha.

Time to celebrate as UP hits a four

It’s raining cricket, and history, in the State. For the first time ever, four cricketers from Uttar Pradesh have made it to Team India — State Ranji skipper Mohammad Kaif, left-arm paceman Rudra Pratap Singh, all-rounder Suresh Raina and young leg-spinner Piyush Chawla.

‘‘There sure is a little pressure as this is my debut in international cricket, but I feel I would have the advantage of playing in Indian conditions,’’ Chawla told Newsline over telephone on his way to Gwalior for the Deodhar Trophy. The 15-member squad for the first Test against England at Nagpur was announced by chief selector Kiran More in Vadodara today.

It wasn’t completely unexpected though, going by Chawla’s performances in UP’s recent historic Ranji triumph and the more recent Under-19 World Cup. ‘‘My performance in the Under-19 World Cup final in Sri Lanka (against Pakistan, in which he claimed 4 wickets conceding 8 runs) has boosted my confidence, though I still feel sad about not winning that match.’’

And talking of ‘‘joy’’, it was a double whammy for the Guru Govind Singh Sports College here, where Raina and R P Singh learnt the finer nuances of the game. Their coaches at the college, S P Krishan and Deepak Sharma respectively, made no effort to hide their elation.

‘‘Yes, it’s a double joy for us, but more than that it is a golden period for UP cricket, what with four of our boys making it to the ultimate team!’’

____________________________________________________________________

Kaif's UP are lords of Ranji

February 2, 2006 will always be remembered in the annals of Uttar Pradesh's cricket history. They won their maiden Ranji Trophy in the 72nd year of the National championship. Their inspirational skipper, Mohammad Kaif made it doubly memorable by getting a century following his 92 in the first essay.

The joy and the celebrations of such intensity have rarely been witnessed at the Babu stadium. There was an air of expectancy right from the morning as Kaif and Suresh Raina began batting on the final day. The two lasted long enough to shut the door on Bengal. Though UP were ultimately all out shortly before the tea interval, Bengal had to get an improbable 357 in just 43 overs.

The 14-run lead that UP managed on the fourth morning proved decisive in the end. That enabled them to lift the trophy for the first time in their fourth attempt, becoming the 14th team to etch their name on the silverware. Kaif, the able captain, ensured that there was no slip-up this time. He also became only the second UP player to hit a century in the final, following Pheroze Palia, UP’s first-ever Test player, who made 216 in the 1939-40 final at Pune.