Of the seven Ranji Trophy Super League encounters last week, five ended in dreary draws on flat batting tracks. Our correspondent explores the reasons behind the yawn-inducing games
ASHISH Nehra wasn’t a very happy man after Delhi’s Ranji Trophy opener. “Tracks like these send out the wrong impression about bowlers. For someone who did not see me bowl, or has no clue about this pitch, figures of two for 101 would suggest I did badly. I don’t want pitches that favour bowlers out and out, but at least give something to keep us in the game,” the former India pacer says.

Nehra’s anguish is understandable, and the problem is one that’s spreading across the country like a disease.
Of the seven Ranji Trophy Super League encounters played last week, only two ended in outright victories. Of those two, the first was Mumbai’s 237-run win over newly-promoted Rajasthan on a Cricket Club of India pitch that does put the occasional smile on bowlers’ faces.

The other was Gujarat’s whopping innings and 227-run win over a Saurashtra side that buckled more under the pressure of a 581-run mountain than any trickery courtesy the 22-yard strip.
In Maharashtra, M Vijay’s double hundred took Tamil Nadu to an imposing 648 for three declared, and pitch-forked the batsman into a surprise Test debut.

In Delhi’s home match against Punjab, captain Aakash Chopra must’ve been scratching his head as the visitors plundered their way to 391 after being put in to bat on a pitch that had a deceptive tinge of green to it. His worries didn’t last long though, as the former India opener, in the company of some now-established domestic stars, got past that total in a canter. The match ended in a draw so dull that the players in the middle kept looking at their watches, willing time to fly by so they could retire into the dressing rooms.

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