Irani Trophy, Mumbai vs RoI, 6-10 October

Parthiv has been on fire with the bat.

Parthiv scores his 150 with 25 fours.

ROI 292/4

This is actually a very good recovery keeping in mind how their top order had fallen like a pack of cards and badri was robbed by a very poor decision.

Then RoI is playing with 5 bowlers and this is the last recognised batting pair because the bowlers are just bad with the bat.

Powar was just terrible while bowling and was serving pure garbage all the time. This young SLA bowler Abdullah doesn't turn the ball even a centimeter. But then he is only 17 and has time to develop.

Fielding was not good from either side. And pitch is flat and slow. So I don't know how much will it help the spinners even when it starts to turn.

Tomorrow should be an interesting day for both teams!

I saw Badrinath for the first time and I must say I was quite pleased to see his brief stint at the crease. Shame about him being robbed by umpire when it appeared that he was looking good for a big one.

Even though Parthiv played very well (did anyone notice he has become quite strong on the on side as well), I doubt he'll get a chance anytime soon for Indian team in either form of the game.

And whatever I've heard about his WKing, its still......

Tiwary also has a real touch of class about him. And I don't know about Parthiv, SG. Could make it as an opener in tests.

Yep, for all the runs Karthik made in Eng tests, he was still very streaky. And I'm not sure very sure about Jaffer's technique in overseas tests. So I think Indian opening issue in tests is still not a closed chapter.

Tiwary also has a real touch of class about him.

Yep, have heard some good things about his batting.

Hope, he is given a chance against Pak in ODIs.

Tiwary really getting a move on. 81 off 121 balls. Hit Rajesh Verma for a six.

330/4

41/0

RoI scored 472. Tiwary also hit a hundred. Interestingly Munaf Patel got 31 runs as well.

Mumbai - 98/6 at stumps Day 3.

Munaf Patel - 6-2-19-3, to go with his 31 runs and a run-out.

Munaf Patel - 6-2-19-3, to go with his 31 runs and a run-out

The next Jonty Rhodes?

Henry wrote:

Munaf Patel - 6-2-19-3, to go with his 31 runs and a run-out

The next Jonty Rhodes?

The next Imran Khan, but a better bowler.

Mumbai sent packing for a paltry 100 odd by ROI. Come on ROI teach them how to win in style.

Superb comeback by RoI.

Munaf took 5/25 in a devastating spell of fast bowling.

Hope he stays fit. Next few months are so critical in India's cricket.

Parthiv tonking Mumbai bowlers,

RoI: 0/39 in 6.3 overs chasing 98 to win.

Chopra dismissed for 7, thus ending his horror match in which he scored 7 runs in 2 innings.

Don't know what the hell were selectors thinking when they awarded him a contract of Rs.15Lakhs per annum?

Instead of spending such a huge amount on an absolutely useless bat like Chopra is, BCCI could've used that in nurturing other budding talents.

Munaf again showing how good he is when he's really going.

And Parthiv scores a 50 off 48 balls.

Has Parthiv genuinely turned himself into a specialist batting option for India? Or is he just going through an amazing purple patch?

Parthiv has now scored 5 tons in his last 5 FC matches.

Henry wrote:Has Parthiv genuinely turned himself into a specialist batting option for India? Or is he just going through an amazing purple patch?

Don't think he has added shots in his armoury. He has become a bit more powerful that he was 3 years back when he was finally dropped from Indian team. This way shots go to boundary regulary. But he still scores only in the square area. He was mentally quite tough since the beginning and his fitness has improved certainly. Because after keeping wickets for 100 overs, he came on to bat straigthaway and scored 179.

He can still improve by scoring few more shots in the V region. Unfortunately I couldn't see his keeping because it was his keeping which had made him lose his India cap. His batting was never under question!