The Rajasthan team poses with the Ranji trophy © ESPNcricinfo

While the feeling is yet to sink in completely, the big question has already popped up – What was it that catapulted “Team Rajasthan”, bottom till the previous year, lost in the abyss of oblivion, straight up to the topmost honour of bagging the Ranji Trophy? After all, creating history isn’t expected of underdogs. Perhaps, that’s exactly what worked in our favour -- the surprise element, and our reputation.

Even though the professionals came in handy, it was the local talent in Deepak Chahar, Ashok Menaria, Pankaj Singh and Vivek Yadav, that came to the fore and made all the difference. Yet, Rajasthan’s resurrection wasn’t just about a bunch of young lads with fire in their belly. The dream was in the making for the past two years.

The regime change under Sanjay Dixit brought in path-breaking changes that were meticulously conceived and executed with cricket as the top most priority. Cricket think tank, Tarak Sinha, whose Sonnet Cricket Club has produced more Test and first-class cricketers than the number of cricket academies thriving in the capital, was then roped in to head the academy. While his technical fluency helped the game grow, his guidance helped the academy find its long lost perspective.

Instead of doing anything fancy, Rajasthan went only as far as Mumbai for inspiration and adopted the system which worked wonders for them i.e. organizing days’ matches at all age-group levels, among other steps. While most states were busy promoting their domestic T20 leagues, Rajasthan quietly put their house in order to prepare the kids for the longer format. It doesn’t come as a surprise that Rajasthan’s Under-16 team has also reached the semi-finals - another first in their history.

The emergence of Chahar and Menaria isn’t a mere coincidence either. Chahar was ignored by Greg Chappell and it was Sinha who brought him back into the fold. Menaria’s season was as good as over after his groin injury, but RCA didn’t leave any stone unturned to get him up and running in double-quick time.
Batting professionals in Hrishikesh Kanitkar, Rashmi Ranjan Parida, and myself, were then brought in, much to everyone’s surprise. But they had everything sorted well in advance, for batting was the real bane. Fortunately, everything fell in to place just right.

And it wasn’t just the cricket we played in the last two-and-a-half months which brought us here, for we had spent both quality and quantity time in the off-season to get rid of the chinks in our armoury. Rajasthan had identified both its personnel and their roles way back in August while most teams were not even thinking about the season yet. You would be surprised that the squad which defeated Vadodara in the Ranji finals is almost identical to the one which played in the Buchi Babu tournament in August. This shows consistency in the selection process which not only provides continuity but also stability. Due credit should be given to president C P Joshi, who allowed things to run its course and never interfered.

In the end though, it was the dressing room that made all the difference. This is one of the happiest I’ve ever been a part of, with players not only looking after each other but also feeling genuinely happy in each other’s success. The camaraderie, the self belief which grew with every game and the deep desire to make it happen sealed the deal in Rajasthan’s favour. The season which could have well finished in five games has lasted twice as many.

S Badrinath kept Tamil Nadu in the hunt, but the batsmen around him were too impatient © Getty Images

Was it Rajasthan’s deep desire to win the semi-final against Tamil Nadu that turned the tables, or was it the latter’s lack of caution that cost them the game? While the analysis is on, here’s how the story unfolded on the pitch.

Tamil Nadu won an all important toss against us, Rajasthan, and were obviously gung-ho about their prospects of storming into the finals. After all, it was overcast, the track wore a black look (a sign of moisture underneath) and they had come prepared for exactly this. They had five quick bowlers in the squad, out of which four played in the final XI. As most teams would in their place, Tamil Nadu thought all they needed to do was to bowl the ball and the conditions would take care of the rest. Unfortunately for them, that’s where they faltered.

Once they didn’t get the expected initial breakthrough, they believed it was actually a flat track, which of course it was not. They had two choices at that point: the first, albeit the tough one, was to put their heart and soul into their bowling effort; the second, the easier one, was to go on the defensive with field placements which would not challenge the bowlers enough. Fortunately for us, they chose the latter and had fielders manning the boundaries as a cover for loose deliveries. We, on the contrary, being the smaller team, knew that the only way to win against Tamil Nadu was to bat them out of the game. And that needed application right from Nos. 1 to 11. We were prepared to grind it out the hard way and it worked for us.

But batting can only set up a game; it’s the bowlers who win it for the team. When our turn came to bowl, our hunger to win the game came to the fore. The track had, as expected, eased out considerably in two days and was a good one to bat on by then. Tamil Nadu had a good batting line-up and we had to split 160 overs between four bowlers, for we didn’t play the extra bowler. And what made it even more challenging was the fact that three out of our four bowlers were seam bowlers, which meant pushing the limits, both physically and mentally.

Our bowlers bowled their hearts out but that’s not exceptional. ‘You must go that extra yard if you want to play the finals’, one may argue. While I concede the claim, one can still push humans only so much. The game hung in the balance for a long time, largely thanks to S Badrinath’s stupendous knock. But as the end came closer, the real character of individuals also came to the fore. At one end Badri remained unflustered and was prepared to go all the way, while the others around him got too impatient and went for broke.

The match, would you believe, was decided in the 10-over spell after tea on the fourth day. As a batting unit, you’re almost sure that the bowlers will throw in the towel after 130 overs of hard grind and bowl a few loose deliveries. But when they got none of it for 10 consecutive overs, they had to do something different and that’s when we kicked in.

This aspect of four-day cricket excites me the most - you have to win so many mini-battles within the big battle to succeed. Often it’s not one ball or a wicket which changes the complexion of the game but the sustained effort of one team over a long period of time.

Now that we, Rajasthan, have crossed that hurdle. We would, once again, give our heart and soul to play with all we have against Baroda in the final.

The third day, in my opinion, is usually the most important day of a four or five day game. And tomorrow is not going to disappoint the theorist in me, or so I hope. The match is ‘evenly’ poised -- I need to be objective while writing about a game I’m involved in, right? But is it not obvious to believe that we are slightly ahead of Tamil Nadu at this juncture, after all being objective is one thing and being totally detached is quite another!!

We have already batted and they still have to. We have runs on the board, quite a lot of them, and now they need to chase them down. They may not have to deal with the first day’s fresh wicket with moisture, but then they will have to fight with tired limbs to go past whatever total we post. If days two and three are the best days to bat on this track, day four might spring a surprise or two.

This has been a classic cat and mouse game so far. The moment one side goes on the offensive, even slightly, the other team pulls down the shutters and plays defensively. For instance, whenever Tamil Nadu’s four-pronged seam attack bowled aggressively to take wickets, we played with extra caution in order to deny them a look in. And the moment we tried to up the ante, Tamil Nadu deployed defensive field with a defensive line of attack. It didn’t make for entertaining cricket but, unfortunately, it isn’t about entertainment when a place in the Ranji Trophy finals is at stake.

This strategy may have something to do with past experiences. Rajasthan faced a similar situation against Maharashtra in the semi-finals of the Plate Division. We played it safe for the longest possible time after being put into the bat and then piled on a mountain of runs to put pressure on them. And it turned out just fine. Tamil Nadu, fresh from their victory against Haryana, must be expecting a similar fate in this game too. They played four front line seam bowlers to exploit the conditions after putting us to bat. And as soon as they realized that wickets weren’t easy to come by, they went on the defensive, yet bowling tight lines. They must be entertaining the thoughts that this game might also be decided on the basis of run-rate and not on first-innings lead. While the past can teach you a thing or two, it can also blur your judgment.

Both teams, at this juncture, must be thinking that they have played their cards right so far. We’re hoping to bat for some more time tomorrow and add a few vital runs before letting our bowlers to have a go at their batsmen. We know that they have a very experienced batting line-up but chasing over 500 on a wearing pitch in a semi-final game, after fielding for over two days, will test their depth and resolve.

For them, it’ll be about batting session after session without committing mistakes and also maintaining a healthy run-rate, while for us, it will be pitching the ball in the right areas and asking questions throughout. We have learnt a trick or two from Dinesh Karthik, who employed an in-out field most of the time. We also now know the preferred areas of scoring on this pitch, and where exactly to bowl in order to get the most out of this surface. But it doesn’t mean that our task is going to be easy, for they do have both quality and experience in their batting to overcome a huge total and bat for long hours.

It’s tough, at this moment, to predict what my next post about the match would be, but one thing is for sure that the third day of this match promises to produce an intriguing day of cricket.

Pankaj Singh took six wickets in Mumbai's first innings © ESPNcricinfo

It was a classic David v Goliath battle. After all we, Rajasthan, had finished at the bottom of the table in the Plate division last year and Mumbai had won the coveted Ranji Trophy more times than anyone else. Yes, we did turn things around a bit this season but how far do these teams from Plate division go in the men’s world? Not too far!!

That’s exactly what Mumbai thought while taking us on in what was deemed to be an easy quarter-final en route to their eventual destination - a place in the finals and perhaps the trophy in their hands one more time. They certainly had enough ammunition to ensure a safe and easy passage. All their batsmen were in top form coming into the knock-outs and their bowlers were doing enough to keep them on track. We, on the other hand, had done everything right so far to earn that all important promotion to the Elite division. For most teams who make the cut, the journey beyond promotion is considered a bonus. What makes their progress even tougher is that they invariably play one of the finalists from last season, which in reality means the toughest match of the season.

We found ourselves in a similar situation and managed to keep the temptation of providing an under-prepared wicket for the match against the defending champions at bay. If you’re up against much stronger opposition, it’s advisable to leave a lot in the track to bridge the gap as the better team will rout lesser opposition on an even surface nine out of 10 times. Another reason for not going for an under-prepared track was that our strength lies in our batting and we wanted to back it to score whatever Mumbai would score. The second hurdle was the decision to bat or bowl first. While the track was dry and a good one to bat on day one, we would have opted to bowl first in order to extract anything the track had to offer. It goes without saying that we needed all the help we could get to stall such an experienced and talented batting line-up. But Mumbai captain Wasim Jaffer won the toss and made the decision for us by electing to bat first.

But what followed after that left everyone gobsmacked. Three things were consistent throughout the day: 1. The track played true and along expected lines; 2. We bowled with a lot of discipline and 3. Mumbai batsmen continued to play airy-fairy shots as if we were not competing but only participating in the contest. The Mumbai batting, which is known for its khadoos (never-say-die) attitude, was the last thing on show. What we witnessed was flamboyance bordering on carelessness and far too many shots in too short a time. Pankaj [Singh], [Deepak] Chahar, [Sumit] Mathur and [Vivek] Yadav did the basics right, pitched the ball in the right areas and the batsmen obliged.

The team which wasn’t considered even a patch on their opposition was suddenly in the driver’s seat and calling the shots. The batting line-up which bats right down to number nine was bowled out for a paltry total of 252 and now, all we needed to do was to bat sensibly and we did just that.

Everyone, at one point or the other, has been humiliated by Mumbai in their career. Such is the strength of the team that they invariably end up on the winning side rubbing more salt into old wounds. And that brings out the best in players to get the record straight, even if it’s once in a while. And that’s why every win against them feels a lot sweeter too. Well, it’s not often that you have the champions on the mat and the moment is worth a lot more than just a result going your way.

Pankaj Singh's 31 wickets have helped Rajasthan top their group in this year's Ranji Trophy Plate League © Getty Images

The two semi-finals in the Ranji Trophy Plate League are going to be crucial, with the big promotion to the elite group at stake. Four teams from the Plate League – Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra and Maharashtra - after having played some tough cricket for over a month and a half, and finishing in the top two in their respective groups, are now set to lock horns in their most important fixtures of the year. Will they continue to be the poor cousins of the elite teams? or get upgraded and play the quarter-finals of the Ranji Trophy? It all depends on these two Plate League knockout matches.

But is it fair to have so much riding on one game of cricket? Isn’t beating the fellow teams and topping the league good enough for a promotion? The twelve teams that make up the Plate division get split into two groups of six, and play five matches each over the season. Topping their group, therefore, cannot be a case of good luck, but consistent performance. Unfortunately, that is not considered an achievement enough, and the teams are asked to go an extra step to claim a spot. The team standing first in a given group is asked to play the runners-up of the other group, which means a second-placed team has as much chance of reaching the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals as a first-placed team. Is this justified?

In some cases, the second-placed team even ends up getting the home advantage. This year, Rajasthan, after topping their group, will play a game against Maharashtra in Nasik, their home turf. Clearly, the latter will have an upper-hand, which may not be the right thing in ideal circumstances. Are we rewarding mediocrity?

Delhi would have struggled to win the Ranji Trophy in 2007 had they played the finals against Uttar Pradesh at Kanpur or Lucknow, for their poor spin attack was no secret. UP, without doubt, would have opted for a rank turner and it may have been enough to see them through. But the final in Mumbai, a neutral venue, ensured a brilliant wicket for cricket that allowed the better team to win, albeit over five days. And that’s a crucial point: a five-day game is in my opinion a must for all knockout matches. Most four-day games are decided on the basis of first-innings lead, which may be fine in the league phase, but is grossly unfair in a knockout match. In fact, in the 2007 final, Delhi had conceded the first innings lead, but had enough time to bounce back and win the finals because it was a five-day game. Had it been a four-day affair, they would never have won the trophy.

Reaching the elite group is a tough task, and teams must toil to get a spot. But the argument here is not about the severity of the challenges posed, but their rationality.

Not many people remember that VVS Laxman and Gautam Gambhir have not been members of India's World Cup teams © AFP

What do the words ‘World Cup 2003’ bring to mind? Perhaps, Sachin Tendulkar’s inimitable knock against Pakistan, Ashish Nehra’s superb 6-for against England, and may be the unfortunate loss in the finals too. Alas! Not many of us, unless we are die hard VVS Laxman fans, will remember that he so unjustifiably missed the bus to South Africa. Just like Gautam Gambhir for the 2007 World Cup. Of course, there would never be a mention of Laxman and Gambhir when talking these mega events, but for odd posts like these, that are in a mood to pay homage to the ‘drop-outs’, who in all sincerity, deserved a place.

Seeing someone getting dumped by the team is an ugly sight, however justified the exclusion may be. If he happens to be a key playerer and, more importantly, a popular player amongst his peers, the emotions are almost certain to run high. There will always be a few in the team who would either be not in the position to show their emotions, or simply not care much. Then there’ll be few who would voice their opinion, hurt and perhaps anger in muffled voices. They don’t have the clout or reputation in the team to be too loud, or run the danger of getting singled out. And finally, there’ll be a handful, may be not more than a couple of guys who will be in a position to influence and may also try to exercise that sway, albeit to no avail. The evening would be soiled by the discussions revolving around the merits of the decision and its repercussions.

But what happens the morning after is in complete contrast and shows how trivial a person’s presence is in the bigger picture. The day would start with the same nervousness that engulfs the atmosphere on the morning of a match. The only conversation would be the exchange of pleasantries and greetings. It will be business as usual with the focus completely on the match. Nobody, at least that’s how it appears, seems to be missing the guy dropped, for whom everyone felt so dearly. And once the match starts, rest assured that he would be a thing of the past, if he wasn’t already. The only time he would be remembered again is if the guy who replaced him did poorly or the team missed him in the middle. It’s indeed a selfish world and sport is not beyond it. You may be playing a team sport, spending time as a family, but you would rarely be missed when you’re gone.

When someone gets dropped at the international level, it at least ignites a debate but domestic players get axed by the dozens in a season and yet go unnoticed. Chetanya Nanda from Delhi was shown the door after just one poor outing against Bengal in the first game of this season’s Ranji Trophy.

His absence from the longer format may have raised a few eyebrows within the team because he had been a regular member of Delhi’s playing XI for the last few years. He too may have been missed in the first few days, but as cricket does to everyone, it’s plausible that he isn’t even missed anymore. Such is life.