Dravid does a top job, but is not the only one

Dravid, given his status as one of India’s best match-winners ever and with his rich international experience, now has today’s innings to back his claim for a national team recall. And for all practical purposes, it may happen sooner than later.

However, the selectors now face the dilemma of having to look for a similar situation for India ‘A’ cricketers Suresh Raina and Manoj Tiwary, who have also cracked double centuries in their respective Ranji encounters.

On Thursday evening, while Dilip Vengsarkar and Co will decide on who to name as India’s next Test captain—considering Tendulkar’s no to the job — they will also have to consider these batsmen (Dravid, Raina and Tiwary—all riding on double hundreds) for the next three matches against Pakistan.

“That’s true. They all have scored double centuries so the selection meeting will definitely keep all three men in mind. Dravid is a vastly experienced player but it doesn’t mean the other two can be ignored. Only when all the selectors meet can we discuss on this issue,” south zone selector Venkatapathy Raju told The Indian Express.

Dravid’s 214 came off 330 balls, studded with 21 boundaries and five sixes. Between 191 and 200, he survived thrice, once when Mumbai all-rounder Abhishek Nayar dropped a sitter off his own bowling, a run-out attempt by Amol Muzumdar and later a caught behind appeal off Iqbal Abdulla’s bowling.

However, for a batsman who has scored double centuries in Australia, England, Pakistan and New Zealand, a similar feat in a Ranji Trophy game made no difference except that “the pressure was less.” But by Dravid’s own admission, “it was good be among runs once again. It didn’t really matter what the crowd was like (too less) nor was it difficult to motivate yourself. External factors have no bearing on the game.”

Dravid batted against Mumbai in their own backyard against an attack that consisted of Ajit Agarkar, Ramesh Powar and the talented young left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla among others. “They were highly impressive, especially Agarkar bowled well in a couple of spells,” Dravid said. Resuming on an unbeaten 77, Dravid scored 137 off 152 balls on the last day, lacing his innings with 11 fours and three sixes.

Meanwhile, Tiwary’s innings of 203 came off 283 balls against Hyderabad, consisting of 28 fours and two sixes. Raina struck 203 too, off 217 balls, with 27 boundaries and two sixes, the fastest of them all at a strike rate of 93.54.

Performances till now in Ranji Trophy

on return path

•Rahul Dravid (Karnataka) scored 214 runs against Mumbai at the Wankhede Stadium

•Manoj Tiwary (Bengal) scored 203 runs against Hyderabad at the Eden Gardens

•Suresh Raina (Uttar Pradesh) scored 203 against Orissa at Barabati Stadium

ON the fringe

•Left arm spinner Pragyan Ojha (Hyderabad) finished with innings figures of 4/151 against Bengal at the Eden Gardens

•Left arm spinner Ramesh Powar (Mumbai) took 5/69 in the first innings against Karnataka. However, he got only one in the second.

•S Badrinath (Tamil Nadu) scored a 72 before he retired hurt against Maharashtra at the MA Chidambaram Stadium

The Others

•Right arm medium pacer Pankaj Singh finished with match figures of 10/153 taking five wickets in each innings against Delhi at the Ferozeshah Kotla

•Cheteshwar Pujara (Saurashtra) scored 109 and 64 against Himachal Pradesh at the HPCA Stadium

Those who need to improve

•Ajit Agarkar (Mumbai) took only four wickets in the match against Karnataka at the Wankhede Stadium. He conceded 25 runs in the first innings spell in 16 overs but was slightly more expensive in the second as he gave away 50 in the same number of overs.

•Ranadeb Bose (Bengal) could only manage one wicket against Hyderabad at the Eden, giving away 83 runs in just 19 overs.

•Munaf Patel (Maharastra) took only two wickets against Tamil Nadu. However, he was economical as he gave away just 29 runs in 22 overs at the MA Chidambaram Stadium .