Haryana will be a touch desperate for an outright victory when it faces a confident Madhya Pradesh in their Ranji Trophy Elite group match beginning at the Bansi Lal Stadium here on Tuesday.Both teams have played four matches but MP has 13 points to Haryana's eight. That explains Haryana's sense of urgency against a rival that has posted two back-to-back victories at home to inch closer to quarterfinals.
Haryana, which enjoyed a much-needed break after four successive matches, is looking to make the most of its last home encounter. On this pitch, Haryana has a very favourable record. But given the points tally, Haryana will have to make things happen over the next four days.
Coach Ashwani Kumar chose to underplay the team's anxiety for its first outright victory of the season. “If we play to our potential, we will end up with the result we need. We are not putting ourselves under pressure at the start of a very crucial match.”
MP skipper Devendra Bundela has decided to bring in spinner Rameez Khan in place of medium pacer Amit Sharma in the playing XI. “I expect the pitch to assist spinners in the latter part of the match so we have decided to play just two medium pacers.”
The team is confident after chasing targets against Gujarat and Delhi. It is also aware of the vulnerable middle-order of Haryana while being wary of the top-order batting. An intriguing battle is in the offing.
