Star attractions in the form of S Sreesanth and Gautam Gambhir will be preparing to leave for Australia when the Duleep Trophy encounter gets underway here from Saturday.
Pacers get chance to make an impression on lively track
AHMEDABAD: Star attractions in the form of S Sreesanth and Gautam Gambhir, who initially included in the team lists, will be preparing to leave for Australia when the Duleep Trophy encounter between North and South Zone gets underway here from Saturday.
However, while the big names may not feature in this game, there is enough of talent doing the rounds that has the potential to make this game an interesting affair. A case in point is Tamil Nadu opener Murali Vijay, who has 582 runs in Ranji Trophy this season.
S Badrinath, who leads South Zone, has notched by 659 runs and will have an opportunity to prove a point after being ignored by the National selectors. The team from the south also have in their ranks Andhra's wicketkeeper batsman LNP Reddy and Hyderabad's Ravi Teja, both of whom have scored heavily in the domestic season.
The wicket at the Sardar Patel Stadium at Motera wears a distinct shade of green and Kanwaljit Singh, the former off-spinner, wants to play five bowlers. "The pitch looks lively and we will play five bowlers. The green top has encouraged me to go for three pacers," Kanwaljit informed.
The coach will have a fair amount of fire power at his disposal. Tamil Nadu's R Vinay Kumar, the second highest wicket-taker this season is raring to have a go at the North Zone batsmen. NC Aiyappa, the winner of India's first-ever speedster contest a few years ago, should share the new ball with Vinay Kumar, while Hyderabad's left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha will provide variety.
North Zone will miss Gambhir, but middle-order mainstay Mithun Manhas will lead the side. Facing the new ball will be Aakash Chopra. The Delhi opener revealed during the Ranji Trophy final that he was enjoying the game like never before and had taken a conscious decision not to constantly worry about regaining his India berth.
Also coming back into mainstream action will be all-rounder Joginder Sharma, who bowled a tension-filled last over in India World T20 win over Pakistan.
Himachal Pradesh was relegated to the Plate division after their dismal performance by left-arm paceman Ashok Thakur impressed with his tally of 35 wickets. Along with Delhi all-rounder Rajat Bhatia, Thakur will provide teeth to the attack.
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