FIrst-Class Matches India 2005/06 and 2006/07

India in 2005/06 For India, the busy Test programme of 2005/06 was a story of a highly encouraging start that fell away substantially in the later stages. Two Tests in Zimbabwe in September 2005 resulted, predictably, in a 2-0 victory for the visiting side; indeed, the only surprise was that in the second match, Zimbabwe avoided its customary innings defeat and succumbed by ‘only’ ten wickets. Three home Tests followed against somewhat more formidable opposition in the form of Sri Lanka, in which India recorded convincing wins in the second and third Tests after the first had been ruined by Cyclone Baaz. India’s next assignment was the daunting one of a visit to Pakistan, making this the third consecutive season in which the sides had met in the Test arena. But after winning 2-1 in Pakistan in 2003/04 and drawing 1-1 at home in 2004/05, on this occasion run-drenched draws in the first two Tests were followed by a huge 341-run Pakistan win in the third – and this after the home team had been reduced to 0-3 by Irfan Pathan’s remarkable hat-trick off the last three balls of the first over of the match. India’s final Test commitment of 2005/06 was what proved to be a thoroughly well-contested home rubber against England, in which the visiting side displayed grit and determination to fight back to square the series in the final Test following a drawn first game and India’s convincing win in the second. As if the eleven Tests played so far were not sufficient, during the ‘off’ season of 2006 India played four Tests in the West Indies. After a desperate finish in the first, where the home side just held out with their last two men together, a combination of bad weather and flat pitches meant that the second and third were also drawn. But in the final Test, a low-scoring affair on a pitch with plenty for the bowlers, the peerless batting technique of Rahul Dravid shone through and his masterly scores of 81 and 68 were decisive in achieving a 49-run victory for his side. India’s domestic first-class season opened with the Irani Cup, in which the defending Ranji champions, Railways, belied their unglamorous image with a thumping nine-wicket win over a somewhat experimental Rest of India side. But this was as good as it got for Railways, an unfashionable side whose Ranji success the previous season had given much pleasure to neutral observers; a year later, cricketing gravity had reasserted itself and Railways were relegated to the Plate. The final of the Duleep Trophy proved to be a low-scoring affair in which West Zone prevailed over East Zone by five wickets, both finalists having recorded two wins out of two in their Group matches. This season’s guest side, the Zimbabwe Cricket Union President’s XI, was completely outclassed and lost both its Group matches by an innings. In Ranji Trophy Elite Group A, with one round to go Mumbai were apparently sitting pretty with two outright wins bolstered by as many as four winning draws and with only bottom-placed Maharashtra still to play. But while Mumbai lost a low-scoring game to Maharashtra, and with second-placed Karnataka also losing to Gujarat, Bengal achieved a testing 305-run target to snatch the second qualifying spot. Thus the final Group A table bore a much more even appearance than had seemed likely, with Mumbai, with only two outright wins, indebted to those four winning draws for its place at the top. Group B, by contrast, had a very clear winner in the form of Baroda, who won half their group matches and recorded winning draws in the rest. At the opposite extreme were Services, who had been promoted from the Plate in distinctly fortunate circumstances the previous season. A dismal record of two outright defeats and four losing draws sent them straight back whence they came. 7