The Hindu : Sport : Battle of equals promises a lot

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Thursday, Nov 15, 2007
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Sport

Battle of equals promises a lot

Special Correspondent

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu will play defending champion Mumbai in a second-round Ranji Trophy Super League match at the ICL-Guru Nanak ground from Thursday – a match the home team’s coach W.V. Raman called a “battle of equals”.

“Man to man, it’s a match of equals, there’s no two ways about it,” said Raman, after Tamil Nadu’s practice session on Wednesday.

“What will eventually be the difference between the sides is what happens on the field, which will depend on which team applies itself better.”

Tamil Nadu didn’t distinguish itself in the season opener against an inexperienced Maharashtra. The bowling, after the admirable S. Badrinath lost the toss, lacked penetration. Granted, the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium strip offered little to work with – “dead as a dodo,” was how Raman described it. But, as he admitted, discipline often deserted his young bowlers.

Strong unit

Against a strong and versatile batting unit — the kind Mumbai possesses — such desertions will prove costly. Young batsmen Sahil Kukreja, Ajinkya Rahane and Prashant Naik seem to have settled well. With Test opener Wasim Jaffer, prolific captain Amol Muzumdar and the unorthodox Abhishek Nayar, they make up a dangerous top six.

Ramesh Powar, Ajit Agarkar and wicketkeeper Vinayak Samant add depth.

Yet, the Mumbai coach Praveen Amre wasn’t entirely satisfied after the first-round match against Karnataka. Though Mumbai gained the first-innings lead against a team containing Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble, it couldn’t force an outright win.

A large part of it had to do with the track easing and the subsequent Dravid masterclass, but, a more hard-nosed first innings would have left the side better placed. Barring Rahane, every batsman got a start; no one made a century.

“We need to bat better than the first game,” said Amre, who held a special meeting with his batsmen after they had had a net.

“Our batting will hold the key for an outright win.”

TN’s batting

Tamil Nadu’s batting helped it salvage a point against Maharashtra. Badrinath’s show of character was complemented by fine half-centuries from Dinesh Karthik, debutant R. Srinivasan and R. Ashwin.

Though reduced to 132 for five, Tamil Nadu held on through a tense final day.

A similar desire to fight will need to be reproduced; Mumbai will have to be attacked.

“If any side in the last decade has challenged and prevailed over Mumbai, it has been Tamil Nadu,” said Raman, alluding to the 139-run win here at ICL-Guru Nanak in 2002.

Neither side revealed its combination, though both will likely play two spinners. “If the main characteristics of the surface remain the same through the four days,” said Raman, referring to the pitch, “we’ll have a good game.”

The teams (from):

Tamil Nadu: S. Badrinath (Capt.), M. Vijay, S. Anirudha, Dinesh Karthik (wk), K. Shri Vasudeva Das, R. Prasanna, R. Ashwin, C. Ganapathy, V. Yomahesh, R. Naresh, R. Srinivasan, P. Amarnath, R. Ramkumar, Abhinav Mukund, and K.H. Gopinath.

Mumbai: Amol Muzumdar (Capt.), Wasim Jaffer, Sahil Kukreja, Ajinkya Rahane, Prashant Naik, Abhishek Nayar, Ramesh Powar, Ajit Agarkar, Vinayak Samant (wk), Rajesh Verma, Iqbal Abdulla, Bhavesh Patel, Aavishkar Salvi, Anup Revendkar, and Hiken Shah.

Umpires: M.S. Ranawat and S.J. Phadkar; Match referee: Manu Nayyar; Hours of play: 9.30 a.m. to noon, 12.40 p.m. to 2.40 p.m., and 3 p.m. to 4.30 p.m.