Two low-profile teams, Andhra and Maharashtra, nurture higher ambitions as they lock horns in a Ranji Trophy quarterfinal match at the Bansi Lal Cricket Stadium here from Monday.
For a young Andhra side, guided by its mentor and captain Mohammad Kaif, the journey has been spiritually uplifting. The youth have learnt the importance of winning and grown as cricketers while enjoying the process.
“We started badly, but came back strongly. The players reacted well and played for the team. If you start winning matches, things can change quickly,” said Kaif on Sunday.
The positive attitude inculcated by Kaif was reflected in Andhra’s performance as it qualified for the last-eight stage from Group C. According to team manager M.S. Kumar, Andhra made it to the knockout stage for the first time after the 1985-86 season.
The team has benefitted from some noticeable batting performances of its openers K.S. Bharat, who scored a triple ton against Goa, and D.B. Prasanth apart from M.U.B. Sriram and Kaif. As a wicketkeeper, Bharat has the distinction of pouching the maximum number of catches (30) this season.
Armed with some talented seamers — such as D. Siva Kumar, C.H. Stephen and P. Vijay Kumar — the side has created problems for its opponents.
Kaif said his players’ frequent exposure to seaming tracks this season would give Andhra some advantage over Maharashtra on the green Lahli track, traditionally known for providing assistance to the faster bowlers.
Maharashtra’s loss to Haryana in league stage here would certainly be a worry for the Rohit Motwani-led team. However, Motwani asserted that his side’s “approach in that game was right.” He said the process in place, which helped develop a strong squad over six years, had been solid and his side had the requisite mental strength to do well in away matches.
With a long batting line-up — featuring top run-getters such as Harshad Khadiwale and Ankit Bawne — and a skilful attack — comprising seamers Samad Fallah, all-rounders Shrikant Mundhe and Chirag Khurana — Maharashtra would do well to realise its potential and earn a better finish.
“We have seen lots of ups and downs. Now is the time to deliver the result,” said Motwani.
The teams (from): Andhra: Mohammad Kaif (capt.), K.S. Bharat (wk.), D.B. Prasanth, G. Chiranjeevi, B. Sudhakar, B. Ayyappa, A.G. Praveen, D. Siva Kumar, C.H. Stephen, P. Vijay Kumar, K. Harish, A.G. Pradeep, Ricky Bhui, M.U.B. Sriram, D. Naren Reddy, K.V. Sashi Kanth.
Maharashtra: Swapnil Gugale, Harshad Khadiwale, Rohit Motwani (capt., wk.), Kedar Jadhav, Ankit Bawne, Rahul Tripathi, Chirag Khurana, Shrikant Mundhe, Anupam Sanklecha, Domnic Muthuswami, Samad Fallah, Akshay Darekar, Sangram Atitkar, Nikhit Dhumal, Naushad Shaikh.
