Meet Chhattisgarh in their second Ranji Trophy match at VCA Jamtha Stadium
By Paritosh Pramanik
CONFIDENCE adorned the faces of Vidarbha players as they slugged it out at the nets ahead of their second Ranji Trophy match against Chhattisgarh, on Monday morning. A cracking start to the season has given their campaign a fillip but they surely would be wary of complacency when they enter the VCA Jamtha field on Tuesday.
The net session and an extended session for spinners Akshay Wakhare and Karn Sharma gave many clues. However, Vidarbha captain Faiz Fazal refused to read much into the ‘exclusive session’.
In the middle, a grass cutter was pressed into service as Vidarbha players and coach ‘inspected’ the 22-yard strip very closely. On the face of it, a spin friendly track awaits Chhattisgarh at Jamtha.
“Nothing should be read into Akshay and Karn’s separate bowling session. They both wanted to bowl and it is an old practice so,” Fazal told ‘The Hitavada’ after the session.
With a huge innings and 117 runs win under their belt, Vidarbha are the favourites on paper. If that win over Punjab was not enough, the home team has got a boost in the form of India pacer Yadav and leg-spinner Sharma. The duo’s availability has given the captain and coach a problem of plenty to choose the best XI.
“It is a good healthy competition. Every player has performed to his ability in the last game and with inclusion of the two premier bowlers in the squad our attack has got more teeth,” said Fazal.
Rajneesh Gurbani is set to make way for Umesh while Apoorv Wankhade might be rested for Karn.
Vidarbha have also included left-arm pacer Shrikant Wagh in the 16-member squad. Wagh is coming back from an injury and bowled in the nets under the watchful eyes of Subroto Banerjee.
Chhattisgarh will have to deal with one of the finest Vidarbha bowling attacks. Siddhesh Neral and Lalit Yadav have showed what they are capable of, bundling Punjab out for a paltry 161 in first innings. Wakhare and Karnewar, too, spun a web sharing all 10 second innings wicket. With the inclusion of Umesh and Karn, Vidarbha’s bowling will be firing on all cylinders.
The big win last week has also showed Vidarbha’s batting prowess. Fazal looked in touch while centurion R Sanjay would be eager to take the form ahead. Another centurion of the last game Ganesh Satish would also like to continue his touch.
The top and middle-order is solid with veteran Wasim Jaffer, Jitesh Sharma and all-rounder Akshay Karnewar holding places.
On the other hand, for Mohd Kaif’s team, it will be tough to get back into the groove after their innings and 160 runs defeat to Bengal.
Chhattisgarh’s batting failed miserably against Bengal with only Ashutosh Saxena posting a half century. Though Abhishek Chouhan hit a fine 115 in the second innings, it was not enough to save his side from a humiliating defeat.
“We are not taking any team lightly be it Chhattisgarh or any other team. The standard of Ranji Trophy and First Class matches has improved a lot. There is no easy team in the tournament. We will give 100 per cent in every match,” Fazal sounded caution.
“We have set our sights much higher as a team and also as individuals. For that we will have to perform to the best of our abilities throughout the season,” Fazal concluded.
Teams (From)
Vidarbha: Faiz Fazal (C), Ganesh Satish, Wasim Jaffer, Karn Sharma, Apoorv Wankhade, Umesh Yadav, Akshay Wakhare, Siddhesh Wath, Jitesh Sharma, Ramaswamy Sanjay, Rajneesh Gurbani, Lalit Yadav, Aditya Sarwate, Akshay Karnewar, Siddhesh Neral, Shrikant Wagh.
Chhattisgarh: Mohd Kaif (C), Sahil Gupta, Rishabh Tiwari, Amandeep Khare, Abhimanyu Chauhan, Ashutosh Singh, Manoj Singh (wk), Jatin Saxena, Sumit Ruikar, Shubham Singh, Shubham Agarwal, Pankaj Rao, Mohd Shahnawaz Hussain, Vishal Kushwaha, Saurabh Khairwar, Prateek Raj.
By Paritosh Pramanik
CONFIDENCE adorned the faces of Vidarbha players as they slugged it out at the nets ahead of their second Ranji Trophy match against Chhattisgarh, on Monday morning. A cracking start to the season has given their campaign a fillip but they surely would be wary of complacency when they enter the VCA Jamtha field on Tuesday.
The net session and an extended session for spinners Akshay Wakhare and Karn Sharma gave many clues. However, Vidarbha captain Faiz Fazal refused to read much into the ‘exclusive session’.
In the middle, a grass cutter was pressed into service as Vidarbha players and coach ‘inspected’ the 22-yard strip very closely. On the face of it, a spin friendly track awaits Chhattisgarh at Jamtha.
“Nothing should be read into Akshay and Karn’s separate bowling session. They both wanted to bowl and it is an old practice so,” Fazal told ‘The Hitavada’ after the session.
With a huge innings and 117 runs win under their belt, Vidarbha are the favourites on paper. If that win over Punjab was not enough, the home team has got a boost in the form of India pacer Yadav and leg-spinner Sharma. The duo’s availability has given the captain and coach a problem of plenty to choose the best XI.
“It is a good healthy competition. Every player has performed to his ability in the last game and with inclusion of the two premier bowlers in the squad our attack has got more teeth,” said Fazal.
Rajneesh Gurbani is set to make way for Umesh while Apoorv Wankhade might be rested for Karn.
Vidarbha have also included left-arm pacer Shrikant Wagh in the 16-member squad. Wagh is coming back from an injury and bowled in the nets under the watchful eyes of Subroto Banerjee.
Chhattisgarh will have to deal with one of the finest Vidarbha bowling attacks. Siddhesh Neral and Lalit Yadav have showed what they are capable of, bundling Punjab out for a paltry 161 in first innings. Wakhare and Karnewar, too, spun a web sharing all 10 second innings wicket. With the inclusion of Umesh and Karn, Vidarbha’s bowling will be firing on all cylinders.
The big win last week has also showed Vidarbha’s batting prowess. Fazal looked in touch while centurion R Sanjay would be eager to take the form ahead. Another centurion of the last game Ganesh Satish would also like to continue his touch.
The top and middle-order is solid with veteran Wasim Jaffer, Jitesh Sharma and all-rounder Akshay Karnewar holding places.
On the other hand, for Mohd Kaif’s team, it will be tough to get back into the groove after their innings and 160 runs defeat to Bengal.
Chhattisgarh’s batting failed miserably against Bengal with only Ashutosh Saxena posting a half century. Though Abhishek Chouhan hit a fine 115 in the second innings, it was not enough to save his side from a humiliating defeat.
“We are not taking any team lightly be it Chhattisgarh or any other team. The standard of Ranji Trophy and First Class matches has improved a lot. There is no easy team in the tournament. We will give 100 per cent in every match,” Fazal sounded caution.
“We have set our sights much higher as a team and also as individuals. For that we will have to perform to the best of our abilities throughout the season,” Fazal concluded.
Teams (From)
Vidarbha: Faiz Fazal (C), Ganesh Satish, Wasim Jaffer, Karn Sharma, Apoorv Wankhade, Umesh Yadav, Akshay Wakhare, Siddhesh Wath, Jitesh Sharma, Ramaswamy Sanjay, Rajneesh Gurbani, Lalit Yadav, Aditya Sarwate, Akshay Karnewar, Siddhesh Neral, Shrikant Wagh.
Chhattisgarh: Mohd Kaif (C), Sahil Gupta, Rishabh Tiwari, Amandeep Khare, Abhimanyu Chauhan, Ashutosh Singh, Manoj Singh (wk), Jatin Saxena, Sumit Ruikar, Shubham Singh, Shubham Agarwal, Pankaj Rao, Mohd Shahnawaz Hussain, Vishal Kushwaha, Saurabh Khairwar, Prateek Raj.
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