NKP Salve Challenger Trophy 2007-08
Schedule
Preamble on the Spirit of Cricket
"Cricket is a game that owes much of its unique appeal to the fact that it should be played not only within its Laws but also within the Spirit of the Game. Any action which is seen to abuse this Spirit causes injury to the game itself."NKP Salve Challenger one-day cricket tournament 2006-07
NPK Salve Challenger Trophy 2006-07 News
India Blue thrash India Green by 266 runs
OCt 3, 2006
India Blue rode on a batting masterclass by Sachin Tendulkar to thrash the Greens by a massive 268 runs and assure themselves of a place in the final of the Challenger Trophy.
The story of the day was Tendulkar. Tendulkar set the Blues up for a massive total, blazing his way to a 100-ball 139, while Irfan Pathan, Rahul Dravid and Mahendra Singh Dhoni all chipped in with half-centuries in quick time. Chasing an improbable 382, the Greens were never in the hunt and crumbled to a measly 113 in less than 27 overs, in the process handing India Blue victory with the all-important bonus point. The Blues got 236 runs in boundaries alone (35 fours and 16 sixes), far more than the opposition managed in all.
NPK Salve Challenger Trophy 2006 : India Blue 381 for 6 beat India Green 115 all out by 266 runs
Gautam Gambhirs ton revives India red
Oct 2, 2006
Fringe players Gautam Gambhir (110) and V. Venugopal Rao (67) asserted themselves well as India Red piled up 280 all out in the allotted 50 overs against India Blues in their first round-robin tie in the Challengers Series cricket tournament for the NKP Salve Trophy here at the MA Chidambaram Stadium this evening.
Excepting the lone centurion Gambhir and Rao, the other Indian Red players did not stay long enough on a pitch that was not offering much help to both the seamers and spinners. While Gambhir and Rao added 145 runs between them, eight other batsmen could muster only 135 runs (including 12 extras), while for the Blues Irfan Pathan came good claiming 3/55 in his quota of ten overs in two spells and Munaf Patel took three for 49. Ajit Agarkar, more impressive maintaining a good line and length, had 2/57.
NPK Salve Challenger Trophy 2006 : India Red 280 all out beat India Blue 259 all out by 21 runs
Ganguly, Laxman selected for Challenger Trophy
Sep 26, 2006
Ganguly and V.V.S. Laxman were yesterday named in the India B team for the Challenger Trophy limited overs cricket tournament to be held in Chennai from October 1 to 4.
Paceman Zaheer Khan, who has been out of the national team since the tour of Pakistan, has been selected in the India A squad announced by BCCI Secretary Niranjan Shah after a meeting of the national selection committee. Two other India pacemen, Ashish Nehra and Laxmipathy Balaji, also returned to domestic cricket by being selected in the India B squad. However, leg-spinner Anil Kumble, who has been left out of the Champions Trophy, does not figure in either of the three teams. Tanmay Srivastavs consistent show for the India under-19 squad this year has earned him his spurs for rubbing shoulders with the stars of Indian cricket, according to More. While Rahul Dravid will lead the India Seniors, Venugopala Rao will skipper India A and Mohammad Kaif will captain India B. The Teams for Challenger Trophy: India Seniors: Rahul Dravid (Captain), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Mongia, Wasim Jaffer, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Wicket Keeper), Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Ajit Agarkar, Munaf Patel, Rudra Pratap Singh and Ravindra Jadeja.
India A: Venugopal Rao (Captain), Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, Subramaniam Badrinath, Rohit Sharma, Tejinder Pal Singh, Dinesh Kaarthick (Wicket Keeper), Vikram Rajvir Singh, Shantakumaran Sreesanth, Ramesh Powar, Zaheer Khan, Murali Kartik and C Raghu.
India B: Mohd Kaif (Captain), Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Hemang Badani, Suresh Raina, Tanmay Srivastav, Piyush Chawla, Parthiv Patel (Wicket Keeper), Sourasish Lahiri, Ashish Nehra, Laxmipathy Balaji, Praveen Kumar and Reetinder Singh Sodhi.
Ganguly, Kumble likely for Challenger trophy
Sep 25, 2006
Sourav Ganguly , Anil Kumble and VVS Laxman are expected to be named in one of the three squads to be selected in Mumbai on Tuesday for the N K P Salve Challenger Trophy limited overs tournament.
The trio was among the 30-strong probables' list announced for the ICC Champions Trophy on August 9 but failed to make the final 14-member list. The probables list contains all the 15 members of the national squad led by Rahul Dravid which failed to reach the final of the DLF Cup in Malaysia plus Zaheer Khan, Venugupal Rao, Robin Uthappa, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Kartik and Piyush Chawla. Players out of action for long due to injury -- Ashish Nehra, Laxmipathy Balaji and Murali Kartik -- should also make it to the list of 36 players (each team comprising 12 each), along with three others, as per indications
It will be the outgoing national selection committee's last job before it's reconstituted in the BCCI AGM, scheduled in Mumbai on September 27 and 28. Selection panel chief Kiran More and co-selector V B Chandrasekhar are expected to give way to Dilip Vengsarkar and Venkatapathy Raju in the next panel.
NKP Salve Challenger one-day cricket tournament 2004-05 
2004-05 Challenger Series
February 7-10, 2005
In 1994-95, the Board of Control for Cricket in India introduced the Challenger series, an annual day-night one-day tournament, keeping in view India's one-day international commitments. The India Senior and India A & B teams are the participants. From 1998-99 the tournament was known as the NKP Salve Challenger Trophy, named after former Board of Control for Cricket in India president NKP Salve - the man who brought the World Cup to the sub-continent in 1987.
2005 Challenger Trophy Schedule:
Feb 7: India Seniors v India AFeb 8: India Seniors v India B
Feb 9: India A v India B
Feb 10: Final. 2005 Challenger Trophy Results: Match one (Feb 7) - India 'A' beat India Seniors by six wickets. Dravid (45 from 44 balls, 3 boundaries and a six) and Kaif (49 from 32 balls, 5 boundaries and a six) featured in an unbroken 82-run stand for the fifth wicket to steer India 'A' past the Seniors' huge total of 280 for 9, with just two balls to spare. India 'A' added 78 runs in the last 10 overs and 47 off the last five to overhaul the target in a closely-contested encounter.
Electing to bat, India Seniors were reduced to 52 for 3 by the 11th over, with Zaheer picking three wickets for 22 runs in his first spell. Captain Sourav Ganguly was caught by Yusuf Pathan in the slips off Zaheer after scoring 10.
For India Seniors, left-arm spinner Dinesh Mongia emerged the most successful bowler, claiming 4 for 48 in his 10 overs. Match two (Feb 8) - India 'B' lost to India Seniors by eight-wickets. Left-handed Dhawan and right-handed Dhoni combined forces in splendid fashion in a 187-run stand, rattling up runs at over seven an over and making light of a stiff asking rate of 5.52 set by India 'B', who had piled 275 all out in 50 overs after choosing to bat first.
Dhawan compiled a stroke-filled 126 off 124 balls, while 23-year-old Dhoni set the Wankhede stadium alight with his audacious stroke-play. His swashbuckling knock of 102 included 10 fours and four sixes and came off only 96 balls.
For India 'B', V V S Laxman scored 67 and Sridharan Sriram a splendid 52. Match three (Feb 9) - The Punjab Ranji captain, Dinesh Mongia's 3-47 for India 'A' on Wednesday helped his team run home easy victors over India 'B' by a whopping 90 runs, and to the final against Seniors tomorrow. India 'A' skipper Rahul Dravid slammed 115 runs off 139 balls. India 'A' scored 294 for 9 wkts, in 50 overs while India 'B' were all out in 36.5 overs for 204.
For India 'B', Uttappa top scored with 66 followed by Rayudu (36). VVS Laxman (27) and Sehwag (26) both fell before they could make any significant contributions.
Dravid's India 'A' lift Challenger Trophy
The Finals (Feb 10) - Skipper Rahul Dravid guided India 'A' to the NKP Salve Challenger one-day cricket tournament title with an unbeaten 72 in the summit clash against India Seniors at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai on Thursday. Set 212 to win by Sourav Ganguly's India Seniors, who were skittled out for 211 in 47.2 overs after electing to bat first, India 'A' won the match by six wickets with eight balls to spare. Dravid's 72 came off 101 balls and included six fours. He was involved in two crucial stands worth 101 runs with opener Dheeraj Jadav, who scored a patient 58, and an unbroken 73 runs for the fifth wicket with Mohammed Kaif, who remained unconquered on 42. Dravid and Jadav joined forces when India 'A' were in dire straits at 38 for three in the 12th over following a fiery opening spell by Laxmipathy Balaji during which he pegged back opener Satyajit Parab and one-down Dinesh Kaarthik cheaply. Earlier, left-handers Ganguly and Niraj Patel batted fluently to notch individual half centuries, but India Seniors never recovered fully from a poor start. Ganguly won the opening battle in his skirmish with India 'A' captain Rahul Dravid by winning the toss, but thereafter was forced to see wickets tumble at the other end as India Seniors were bowled out in the 48th over.The winners received Rs 500,000 while the runners-up got Rs 250,000.Teams for Challenger Series: India Seniors: Sourav Ganguly (Captain), M S Dhoni (wicket-keeper), Yuvraj Singh, S. Raina, Venugopal Rao, Neeraj Patel, Anil Kumble, Irfan Pathan, L Balaji, Gagandeep Singh, Rajesh Powar and Shikhar Dhawan.
India A: Rahul Dravid (Captain), Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), S S Parab, Dheeraj Jadhav, Mohammad Kaif, Dinesh Mongia, Murali Kartik, Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan, R P Singh, Yusuf Pathan and Robin Uthappa.
India B: Virender Sehwag (Captain), Parthiv Patel (wicket-keeper), Gautam Gambhir, V V S Laxman, S Sriram, Rohan Gavaskar, Romesh Powar, Joginder Sharma, Ashish Nehra, S S Paul, Amit Bhandari and A T Rayudu