The Hindu : TN, Delhi face off at a ravaged Kotla

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Apr 25, 2003

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Sport - Cricket

TN, Delhi face off at a ravaged Kotla

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, APRIL 24. The Kotla, from a distance, resembles Iraq _ in shambles. Not an ideal venue for a first class cricket match one would imagine, what with workers dismantling the concrete stands on either side of the monstrous pavilion. Only the lovely green in the middle has remained unaffected by the ravages of change that have swept the Kotla in times when the essence is on modernisation.

Cricket, as national selector Kirti Azad pointed out, is no more a seasonal game now. Conducting the domestic circuit at this time of the year may not be the best way of going about things. The players are dreading the heat more than the opposition and it is in this unfriendly atmosphere that Delhi and Tamil Nadu test each other in their Ranji Trophy semifinal.

Not much may be at stake for anyone in this game. The season has ended and it would be tough for the players to motivate themselves at this stage. But the show has to go on.

Delhi, under the guidance of coach Bishen Singh Bedi, has prepared well for this match. So has Tamil Nadu, which flew in three days ago to acclimatise itself. It appeared settled, with coach B. Arun declaring immense faith in his young brigade.

Watering and rolling of the pitch continued and there were indications that the surface may have enough to encourage the bowlers. The emphasis shall be on seam attack and the deciding factor obviously being the batting potential of each side. "The side which bats long shall hold the whip,'' observed Bedi. The Tamil Nadu camp too held a similar view.

So, one can look forward to some exciting stuff from the batsmen with Virender Sehwag looming large on the horizon. It is his favourite venue and the familiar surroundings should bring the best out of him.

His keenness to play this match, delaying his departure to join Leicestershire, has made a big impact on his mates. "I wouldn't have missed this match at any cost,'' Sehwag had said. He will delay his departure further if Delhi wins this match.

The presence of Sehwag would mean a lot to Delhi that has relied on the form of Akash Chopra and Gautam Gambhir. There is no doubt that Chopra, the most compact batsman in either side, would be the man to watch. A stylish opener, he is headed for bigger assignments in the near future and is high on the list of the selectors for a spot in the Indian team this winter.

Gambhir, who failed to impress in Dhaka, should find the stage quite fruitful. He has been a prolific scorer at this level. Delhi is also looking forward to a big knock from skipper Vijay Dahiya.

On the bowling front, the home team has an incisive seamer in Amit Bhandari. He has toiled for two seasons without reward and holds the key in this match. With 50 wickets under his belt this season, Bhandari will be a threat to Tamil Nadu, which boasts of a superior batting line up.

TN players should get their due

S. Ramesh and Hemang Badani should find themselves saddled with greater responsibilities. Both have been ill-treated by the national selectors and have suffered because of the whims and fancies of Sourav Ganguly and John Wright.

They were rated high by the Kiwi and then were dumped by a team management that clearly had varying yardsticks. Badani and Ramesh can dominate an attack with ease and this could well be the stage for them to make a point or two.

Another victim of inconsistent selection policies is S. Sriram, the pocket size dynamo with an amazing range of strokes. It is strange how this left-hander, with tons of runs to back his case, loses out to competitors like Dinesh Mongia or Abhijit Kale.

With his consistency in batting and superb fielding, Sriram can be an asset to any side. But the national selectors obviously think otherwise. How else could one explain the omission of this gifted cricketer?

Or for that matter S. Sharath, distinctly unlucky for not being picked to play for India even once. The gutsy Sharath has served Tamil Nadu cricket most loyally and would be a block for Delhi.

In the scorching heat of Delhi, endurance as much as cricket skills, will be the clinching factor once the toss is made on Friday. The players are well aware. It is for the administrators to give a thought to the exacting conditions the teams would confront over the next five days. Certainly not the best time to expect the best from the players. The venue certainly does not inspire at all.

The teams (from): Delhi: Vijay Dahiya (captain), Virender Sehwag, Akash Chopra, Gautam Gambhir, Mithun Manhas, Sarandeep Singh, Rahul Sanghvi, Varun Kumar, Amit Bhandari, Sanjay Gill, Arun Singh, Pradeep Chawla, Siddharth Verma, N.S. Negi and Harender Chaudhary.

Tamil Nadu: S. Suresh (captain), S. Ramesh, S. Sharath, S. Sriram, Hemang Badani, L. Balaji, M. R. Srinivas, Raaju Radhakrishnan, Dinesh Karthick, D. Dandapani, D.J. Gokulakrishnan, S. Vasant Saravanan, S. Badrinath, J. R. Madanagopal, R. Ram Kumar, Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan.

Umpires: Francis Gomes and A.M. Saheba; Match Referee: Prof R.S. Rathore.

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