Rajasthan captain Hrishikesh Kanitkar was in the thick of things as the Rajasthan team practised at Chepauk on Tuesday ahead of the five-day final beginning on January 19.
“It's an honour to be in a Ranji Trophy final in successive years. We have worked hard, found answers even when we were under tremendous pressure in the league stages,” he said.
Senior pros
The former India left-hander admitted he and opener Aakash Chopra, another former international, carried much responsibility as senior outstation professionals in the team.
He added younger Rajasthan players had responded admirably to challenges during moments of crisis. Kanitkar had words of praise for batsman Robin Bist and paceman Rituraj Singh.
Kanitkar said, “Bist has footwork and balance. He is surely one for the future. Rituraj is a promising paceman who has made a difference to the side. He swings and seams the ball both ways and can be slippery.”
The Rajasthan captain felt his team had come together well as a group. “There have been several important contributions in our campaign. Opener Vineet Saxena made crucial runs in conditions that were not easy for batting against Haryana in the semifinal. Paceman Pankaj Singh has bowled well.”
“Tamil Nadu is a good team and has home advantage but we have a clear strategy going into the final,” said Kanitkar.
