KOTLA TO KERALA, THE SEASON’S 5 BIG MATCHES

WHAT Delhi vs Mumbai (Elite A)WHEN November 23-26WHERE Ferozeshah Kotla, DelhiWHY: The season kicks off with these two former heavyweights e...

WHAT Delhi vs Mumbai (Elite A)
WHEN November 23-26
WHERE Ferozeshah Kotla, Delhi
WHY: The season kicks off with these two former heavyweights enacting their age-old rivalry, though they are now the two minnows in their group. They are both shadows of their past, losing key players — and captains — in the close season. Delhi will be itching for revenge after Mumbai stopped them from entering the semis last year and have prepared a fast Ferozeshah Kotla track for their quicks.

WHAT Uttar Pradesh vs Punjab (Elite B)
WHEN December 17-20
WHERE Green Park, Kanpur
WHY UP are the new big thing in Indian cricket with five of their players representing the country at various levels. They are also the reigning Ranji ODI champs, and Punjab last year’s Ranji runners-up. The two biggest stars — Mohammed Kaif and Harbhajan Singh — are likely to be absent but there’ll be enough of GenNext: Suresh Raina, Ravikant Shukla, and Piyush Chawla pitted against VRV Singh, Gagandeep Singh and India under-19 leggie Rahul Sharma

WHAT Railways vs Delhi (Elite A)
WHEN December 25-28
WHERE Karnail Singh Stadium, Delhi
WHY This local derby gets added attraction because the international calendar takes a break so the top stars should be present. For Delhi this means the return of Gautam Gambhir and possibly de jure skipper Virender Sehwag. They will have their work cut out on a wicket that needs buckets of patience and front-foot batting. And Railways will field their stars, Murali Kartik and JP Yadav

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WHAT Baroda vs Punjab (Elite B)
WHEN December 25-28
WHERE Vadodara
WHY If the stars do play, then there’s be a galaxy on the field. Baroda have Zaheer, Irfan, his elder brother Yusuf Pathan and the veteran Jacob Martin. And they take on Punjab, whose attack (see above) will be led by Harbhajan Singh

WHAT Kerala vs Jharkhand (Plate B)
WHEN December 25-28
WHERE Kerala
WHY Because it’s an intriguing battle between the two latest finds of Indian cricket. Mahendra Singh Dhoni will look to impress the selectors for a place in the Test team but first he will must negotiate the fiery pace of Sreesanth. Not to forget the other star cast: Vijay Bharadwaj and veteran Manoj Jogelkar will be the professional face of Jharkhand while S. Ramesh (remember him?) and Tinu Yohannan will add weight to Kerala

9 men killed in Chennai construction site had left Assam to build a better life

India2 hr ago

Nine young men from the Dimasa tribe, working at a construction site in Tamil Nadu, were killed when a concrete arch they were working on collapsed. The brothers Provit and Sorbojit Thaosen were among the victims, along with four others from their village. The incident highlights the lack of employment opportunities and low wages that force many from their villages to work as migrant workers.

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