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Upbeat Karnataka takes on eager UP

Principal Correspondent

Karnataka has 13 points from four matches
U.P looks strong with the presence of Kaif, Raina, R.P. Singh, Praveen Kumar and Piyush Chawla

Bangalore: An upbeat Karnataka, high on its recent two consecutive victories, and Uttar Pradesh, itching for its full quota of points from its last league match, should dish out a keen contest as their Ranji Trophy super league Group B match commences at the Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Friday.

“The pressure is more on UP as this is its last league match,” said Karnataka coach Vijay Bharadwaj while the visitor’s skipper Mohammad Kaif said: “We would like to have the full quota of points.”

Karnataka, after losing the fight for first innings honours against Railways and Tamil Nadu, defeated Andhra and Baroda.

Skipper Robin Uthappa has struck two centuries and has found support from the senior quartet of Rahul Dravid, Sunil Joshi, Thilak Naidu and B. Akhil in the last two matches. Dravid, however, will be missed as he is playing the Test at Chennai. Uthappa, meanwhile, will be hoping that the youngsters in his team will also contribute. With Dravid missing in the ranks, the lone vacant spot in the playing eleven will be a toss-up between Deepak Chougule and C.M. Gautam.

Karnataka has 13 points from four matches and will fancy its chances of making it to the quarterfinals.

Must deliver

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh (14 pts), needs to perform well in its last match against Karnataka, to ensure that the quarterfinal berth becomes a reality.

The team looks strong with the presence of skipper Kaif, Suresh Raina, R.P. Singh, Praveen Kumar and Piyush Chawla and has preformed well, with a victory over Maharashtra helping it tide past the defeat against Tamil Nadu.

Tanmay Srivasthav has been consistent with the bat and the bowlers have helped the team snatch first innings leads over Andhra, Baroda and Railways.

The teams: Karnataka: Robin Uthappa (captain), C. Raghu, K.B. Pawan, Manish Pandey, V.S. Thilak Naidu (wicket-keeper), Ganesh Satish, Sunil Joshi, B. Akhil, Sunil Raju, Vinay Kumar, N.C. Aiyappa, K.P. Appanna, C.M. Gautam, Deepak Chougule and S. Aravind. Coach: Vijay Bharadwaj.

Uttar Pradesh: Mohammad Kaif (captain), Shivakant Shukla, Tanmay Srivasthav, R.P. Singh, Piyush Chawla, Suresh Raina, Praveen Kumar, B. Kumar, Praveen Gupta, Md. Amir Khan (wicket-keeper), Parvinder Singh, Imtiaz Ahmed, Tahir Abbas, Ashish Yadav, K. Lal, Sudeep Thyagi and S. Senger. Coach: Gyanendra Pandey.

Umpires: Siva Ravi and T.R. Kashyappan; Match referee: K.V.S.D. Kamaraju.

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