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Batsmen will play a key role

Sports Reporter

CHENNAI: Placed a lowly sixth in its group (four points) and confronted with a lot of questions, Tamil Nadu will be eager to stamp its authority on Saurashtra in a fourth round match of the Ranji Trophy Group A Super league that begins on Saturday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

The host has left out S. Anirudha from the15-player squad and has brought in E. Suresh in place of the opener. M. Vijay and Abhinav Mukund are likely to open the innings. Off-spinner R. Ashwin, recovering from a fracture in the left wrist, could, in all probability, miss out on the remaining Ranji matches.

“It is debatable whether he’ll (Ashwin) play the Ranji season,” said W.V. Raman, Tamil Nadu’s coach. Abhinav made a fine century on debut against Karnataka while R. Srinivasan has proved to be reliable. Not to mention Tamil Nadu’s captain S. Badrinath, who has been consistent.

“Batting will be the key,” said Raman. The former Indian batsman said that the boys’ inability to maintain intensity has been one of the main reasons for the team’s current plight. The game against Karnataka, though, brought back hope and the smile. “It’s the right time for the youngsters to strike,” said Badrinath.

Better off

Saurashtra is in a better position than Tamil Nadu with nine points from three matches. The team has a decent mix of young and seasoned players. In Cheteshwar Pujara and Shitanshu Kotak, Saurashtra — coached by the experienced Debu Mitra — has the batsmen to put runs on the board. Bowlers Sandip Jobenputra, Sandip Maniar and Kamlesh Makwana have proved their worth in the earlier matches.

Sorya Sanadiya, right-arm medium pace bowler has replaced Nikhil Rathod from the squad.

“Ours is a young and energetic side. We are a strong team — mentally and physically. We want to give our best,” said Arjun Singh Rana, Saurashtra’s team manager.

The teams (from):

Tamil Nadu: S. Badrinath (capt.), M. Vijay, Abhinav Mukund, R. Srinivasan, K. Shri Vasudeva Das, K.H. Gopinath (w.k.), R. Ramkumar, V. Yomahesh, P. Amarnath, C. Suresh, S. Suresh Kumar, E. Suresh, C. Ganapathy, R. Prasanna, R. Naresh.

Saurashtra: Jaydev Shah (capt.), Sagar Jogiyani (w.k.), C. Pujara, S. Kotak, Pratik Mehta, K. Vaghela, Ravindra Jadeja, Rakesh Dhurv, Kamlesh Makwana, Sandip Jobenputra, Sandip Maniar, Firoz Bambhaniya, Shelden Jackson, Jayesh Odedara, Sorya Sanadiya.

Umpires: K. Hariharan (Delhi), Sanjeev Rao (Indore). Match referee: Sanjib Paul (Tripura).

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.

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