“We are very confident of victory,” said Central Zone coach Trevor Gonsalves on the eve of his side’s quarterfinal match against East Zone in the Deodhar Trophy, which will be played for the first time under flood lights at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy Stadium on Sunday.
Another first will be the live telecast of all four matches as against only the final in the past.
“East is a good side but we fancy our chances more. We are concentrating on our strengths rather than their weaknesses,” he said.
And not without reason too, as he added,“we have young blood, meaning fresh legs that make a terrific fielding side.”
Three pacemen including spearheads Umesh Yadav and Ishwar Pandey will impart enough firepower, even as the spin trio of Piyush Chawla, Karn Sharma and Jalaj Saxena can double up as able batsmen, he said.
“To stay positive is our motto, regardless of the result,” said East coach Subroto Banerjee. His squad will be without Wriddhiman Saha, out of action with a fractured toe.
“We will miss Saha but we have to make the best use of the players available,” said the former fast bowling international. Udhyan Bose, a right hand batsman who can also keep, has come in for Saha.
Match starts 1.30 p.m. ( live on STAR Sports 2 ).
