Catherine Pulsifer said “Your outlook determines your output”, the result you get ultimately depends on your approach.
Irani trophy, Day 5: Rest of India beat the listless Rajasthan
Rajasthan for their defensive approach throughout the match got the result what they deserve. We have to say Rajasthan batsmen gifted the match rather than Rest of India earned the victory. In the end, Rest of India (ROI) disciplined effort saw them lift the Irani trophy for sixth time on a row now after dismissing Rajasthan for just 213 runs in the 4th innings.
When the match started today, everyone knew there are only two results possible and in the end ultimately ROI is going to lift the trophy on the basis of first innings lead. Scoring 590 runs on the last day of the test match in India is nothing but an impossible task and so the only option for Rajasthan is play for draw. They began the day well with Saxena and Chopra negotiating the ROI seam bowling but yet again Ojha got the breakthrough in his first over of the spell. Chopra fell to Ojha and thereafter wickets started to tumble regularly for Rajasthan.
Most of the Rajasthan got settled in and thrown away their wicket. Except Khatri who scored a flawless half century, all other Rajasthan batsmen lacked application required to negotiate the disciplined ROI bowling on a pitch which is still good for batting. Chopra (26 runs) fell pushing for cover drive rather waiting for ball to turn and playing it late, Bist (18 runs) fell trying to sweep the fuller length ball which again not needed at the situation, Menaria (21 runs) fell cutting a wide delivery and Parida (37 runs) miscues the shot when trying to clear the rope which is uncalled for in the circumstances.
But have to acknowledge the fact that ROI bowlers really gave nothing away from the morning. They didn’t tried too many things, just stuck to their basics, made the batsmen to play by bowling wicket to wicket line and to top it off, Patel lead the team very well on the field. Patel understood that each of his bowlers are in reckoning for national team and the good performance in the match will only add more value to their chances. He gave equal opportunity to all the bowlers. He continued with Varon Aaron till he got the wicket so his confidence won’t go down and he did same for Rahul Sharma. Both Vinay and Umesh looked tired from the outset of the morning and rightly so, he gave short spells and rested them well.
The star of the match is surely Shikhar Dhawan even though Ojha got 9 wickets in the match. But the batting of Dhawan is what set the tone for ROI domination in the match with his aggressive stroke making for which Rajasthan bowlers had no clue in both the innings.
Score:
Rest of India 663 (Dhawan 177) and 354 for 2 dec (Dhawan 155) beat Rajasthan 400 (Bist 93, Ojha 5-86) and 213 (Khatri 53, Ojha 4-60) by 404 runs.
Is Duncan Fletcher watched the match on TV? I hope so.
Tags: Cricket, Domestic Cricket, India, Irani Cup, Irani Trophy, Parthiv Patel, Rajasthan, Rest Of India, ROI
