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Both teams seek consistency

S. Dinakar

India ‘A’ will meet New Zealand ‘A’ on Sunday

— Photo: K. Pichumani

CLOSE LOOK: India ‘A’ coach Dav Whatmore and captain S. Badrinath inspect the pitch on the eve of the match against New Zealand ‘A’.

Chennai: The serene ambience at the MAC ‘B’ ground masked the pressure on the players. The ‘A’ tours are part of the learning curve for emerging cricketers. They also offer a lifeline to the more experienced players.

There is much at stake and the steps can be slippery.

The three sides in the tri-series have discovered this the hard way; heady victories have been followed by crushing defeats or vice versa. Fortunes have swung quickly.

The ‘A’ teams of Australia, India and New Zealand seek consistency. As for now, they are level on four points each after two games.

India ‘A’ will meet New Zealand ‘A’ at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday. The host will be led by S. Badrinath on Sunday but the in-form batsman will be unavailable for the rest of the matches, replacing Sachin Tendulkar in the Rest of India squad to meet Delhi in the Irani Trophy.

Suresh Raina will take over the India ‘A’ reins from Badrinath.

Bad game

“We have come back well against New Zealand ‘A.’ after a bad first game against Australia ‘A,” said Badrinath. Indeed, India ‘A’ was ambushed by the pace duo of Shaun Tait and Ashley Noffke on a pitch that offered some seam movement at Uppal.

Badrinath, then, was at the heart of an Indian fightback against New Zealand ‘A’, making winning runs at the crunch and steering his side home. “It was good to get runs for the team when it needed them,” said Badrinath.

The surface for Sunday’s game appeared to favour batting although a 9 a.m. start suggests that there might be some assistance for the pacemen initially. Chasing might be a better option.

The Indian camp has a few worries about the opening combination; Robin Uthappa and Swapnil Asnodkar have not fired so far. Suresh Raina has failed to reach double figures in the two games at No. 3. Rohit Sharma and Dinesh Karthik have been subdued. Yusuf Pathan has sizzled with the willow but the host needs to fill the batting breaches.

India ‘A’ will be looking at leg-spinner Piyush Chawla for wickets at critical junctures. The Kiwis struggled against the leggie in the previous match.

It remains to be seen whether there will be any assistance in the air — there might be a cloud cover — for swing bowlers Praveen Kumar and Irfan Pathan. Both bowled beautifully against the New Zealanders at Uppal. Early strikes can tilt the scales.

Irfan underwent a longish stint at the nets under the prying eyes of coach Dav Whatmore.

For the Kiwis, Chennai’s heat and humidity will be, as skipper Peter Fulton admitted, a test. The visitor, too, has batting worries. Fulton has been consistent but the side seeks runs from the experienced James Marshall. Opener Aaron Redmond has possibilities.

In Mark Gillespie, the side has a paceman who can achieve reverse swing while Michael Mason, with his height and high-arm action, can extract bounce.

Off-spinner Jeetan Patel will carry much of the Kiwi hopes. He does give the ball a rip and his spell in the middle overs could be crucial.

The teams: India ‘A’ (from): S. Badrinath (captain), S. Asnodkar, R. Uthappa, S. Raina, R. Sharma, D. Karthik, Y. Pathan, I. Pathan, A. Nayar, P. Kumar, P. Chawla, D. Kulkarni, R. Teja, W. Saha, J. Shah.

New Zealand ‘A’ (from): P. Fulton (captain), A. Redmond, M.T. Guptill, J. Marshall, N. Brrom, G. Elliott, N. McCullum, R. Young, J. Patel, M. Gillespie, M. Mason, B. Scott, B.J. Watling, R. Young and B. Angel.

Umpires: M.R. Singh & S. Das; Match Referee: A. Kaypee.

Match begins at 9 a.m.

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