Mongia has score to settle

Dinesh Mongia has an interesting tale to tell about his stint in Lancashire last season. 8216;8216;They didn8217;t know just who I was,...

Dinesh Mongia has an interesting tale to tell about his stint in Lancashire last season. 8216;8216;They didn8217;t know just who I was,8217;8217; he says with a laugh. By the end of the season, though, they did. Mongia8217;s performances ensured that.

The Punjab Ranji captain has carried that form with bat and ball into this season and into the current Challenger Trophy. His 3-47 for India A on Wednesday helped his team run home easy victors over India B by a whopping 90 runs, and to the final against Seniors tomorrow. This was after India A skipper Rahul Dravid had slammed 115 runs off 139 balls.

The two Challenger matches have seen Mongia scalping 7 wickets and score 59 runs, and inevitably prompted the question: what about a comeback to team India? 8216;8216;Why not, I8217;ve worked very hard on my bowling, I have got some wickets8230;8217;8217;

Mongia8217;s tight left-arm spin is more suited to one-day cricket and his time in the English county circuit in 2004 has also helped him in this regard. 8216;8216;What I learnt over there England was that there are bigger professionals than me over there. They never get hassled or brood over one bad day. They just carry on with their game the next day.8217;8217;

What has he done different this Indian season? 8216;8216;Just been more relaxed and taking things as they come. No pressures, no hassles, just enjoying my cricket.8217;8217;

Though he was part of the one-day team that toured Bangladesh in December 2004, Mongia isn8217;t sure of a place against Pakistan. 8216;8216;I know it8217;s very difficult. But I8217;ve done well in Deodhar and Ranji and now Challenger. Though I8217;m not satisfied with the amount of runs I8217;ve scored8217;8217;, he says with a shrug.

So what did he do wrong the last time he was dropped? 8216;8216;Just check the records the last full tournament I played 2002-03 Bangladesh TVS Cup, I averaged 52 batting at No 7. There was Sanjay Bangar, Abhijit Kale and even Gautam Gambhir making his debut, yet I scored more. So you can check the facts and figures.8217;8217;

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Maybe that8217;s something the selectors need to do as well. Maybe Mongia will give them another reminder tomorrow.

SCOREBOARD

	nbsp;	India A: Jadhav run out 2; Parab c Gavaskar b Sehwag 32; Mongia c Gambhir b Nehra 8; Dravid c Joginder Sharma b Nehra 115; Kaif c Gambhir b Sehwag 63; Kaarthick c and b Gavaskar 17; Yusuf Pathan c Gavaskar b Joginder Sharma 9; Zaheer Khan c Rayudu b Bhandari 4; M Kartik 14 n.o, R P Singh c Laxman b Nehra 14; S S Paul 0 n.o, Extras b 2, lb 3, w 9, nb 2: 16; Total for 9 wkts, in 50 overs: 294 Fall of wickets: 1-13, 2-35, 3-73, 4-197, 5-231, 6-259, 7-259, 8-265, 9-292 Bowling: Nehra 10-0-43-3, Bhandari 9-0-49-1, Joginder Sharma 10-0-56-1, Sehwag 9-0-59-2, Powar 7-0-50-0, Gavaskar 5-0-32-1. India B: Gambhir c Kaarthick b R P Singh 3; Uttappa lbw M Kartik 66; VVS Laxman c M Kartik b Paul 27; Sehwag c Jadhav b Mongia 26; Rayudu C RP Singh b Mongia 36; Gavaskar lbw M Kartik 1; P Patel run out 8; R Powar c and b Mongia 3; Joginder Sharma 4 n.o, Nehra c Mongia b Yusuf Pathan 0; Bhandari c Mongia b M Kartik 10; Extras b 2, lb 2, w 10, nb 6: 20; Total all out in 36.5 overs: 204 Fall of wickets: 1-22, 2-98, 3-129, 4-143, 5-152, 6-172, 7-178, 8-191, 9-193 Bowling: Zaheer 6-0-45-0, RP Singh 6-0-38-1, Paul 4-0-32-1, Mongia 10-0-47-3, Kartik 5.5-1-26-3, Pathan 5-0-12-1.	nbsp;