Away from all the limelight and razzmatazz of international cricket, the Ranji Trophy is busy blazing its own trail. Mumbai continue to live up to their reputation of dominating from the word go and Saurashtra are keeping up the momentum with Cheteshwar Pujara getting among the runs. Services and Jharkhand have faded out after their impressive runs last season whereas Delhi have been a conundrum, unable to bridge potential and performance.
With the league phase of the tournament reaching the halfway stage, it has sprung up surprises not just for the stellar powerhouses but even for the underdogs. Two teams which have gained the most out of it are Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, who have scratched and clawed their way to the top of Group C, ahead of more fancied units like Maharashtra and Hyderabad.
Himachal Pradesh don't boast a rich historic cricket background unlike Mumbai and Saurashtra, thus an arduous season awaited them and the beginning wasn't quite ideal. Their first encounter against Goa was marred by political slugfest when the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala was taken over by the state government. But as fate would have it, they were set to embark on a path whose outcome would turn out to be completely opposite to what many might have thought.
With 23 points from five matches Himachal Pradesh sit atop of Group C, with much of their success owing to the captain Rishi Dhawan's growing reputation as an allrounder. The Mandi-born player has scalped 39 wickets at 14.84 and scored 311 runs 51.83 and is hopeful of a call-up from the national selectors as he continues to execute his basic plans.
"It is always about bowling on the fourth stump and aiming for the top of off-stump. But that isn't that simple. Because if you get it slightly wrong, the ball can disappear beyond the boundary," Dhawan recently told the Indian Express. "A lot of people think that when you are playing in the lower group, things are easy. But if you look at domestic cricket, it's not that simple. I have definitely been disappointed with not getting picked for a higher level, but then I can't stop performing and I need to be patient."
Such character might as well have a lot to do with his stint with Mumbai Indians, where he nurtured under the guidance of Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble and Ricky Ponting.
Jammu and Kashmir have scripted the second success story of the season. If last year's disastrous outing wasn't enough to dent the team's confidence coming into this season, then pre-season jitters with the resignation of the coach Bishan Singh Bedi didn't leave much room for optimism. Bedi's appointment was considered to be a high point in J&K cricket mainly due to his knack of spotting talent. In fact, the rise of Parvez Rasool was the high point of Bedi's tenure.
A series of sour events and off-field allegories such as Bedi favouring Jammu players worsened the situation. But if their performance is to be examined, the side has done more than just a commendable job overcoming those setbacks. As many as three bowlers are in the leading wicket-takers' list and two have made it to the leading run-scorers' chart.
Rasool, who scored 594 runs at 54 runs an innings with two centuries in 2012-13, has played a key role this season with 314 runs in five matches. Belonging to a cricket family from the town of Bij Behara, Rasool's hard work was never in question. From representing the state at the Under-14 level, to making it big on the cricketing radar, Rasool has come a long way.
But J&K's rise is more than just a one-man show. One of the three who has bagged a spot in the leading wicket-takers' list is Mohammed Mudhasir, unheard of until a few weeks ago. For someone who made his debut in 2008, Mudhasir played the last two seasons for Srinagar Shahjahans in the Kashmir Premier League. Mudhasir allowed the early hitch to get the better of him and on his father's advice, he focussed on studies. But once again, it was Bedi who was on the prowl and provided Mudhasir with a second wind. Batsman Ian Dev Singh, named after two of cricket's greatest allrounders, Ian Botham and Kapil Dev, fell two short of a hundred against Kerala.
It will be interesting to see how these teams fare in the rest of the season. With tougher oppositions lined up, to sustain the ongoing form will be the key challenge. Given the heart-wrenching efforts they have put forward, this can be an eye-opener for some of the complacent sides banking on big names and past reputations to climb up the rankings.
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