It will be a contest between two teams whose performances are woefully short of expectations when former champion Hyderabad and Kerala clash in the fourth round of the Ranji Trophy Elite Pool match at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here from Friday.
With three points from three games, Kerala is marginally better off than the home side which is yet to open its account on the points table after three straight defeats.
Not the kind of start Hyderabad coach, N. Arjun Yadav, would have looked for. Especially after all the criticism on the selection front.
Biggest concern
The biggest concern is the poor run from seasoned campaigner and opener P. Akshath Reddy and southpaw B. Sandeep. With these two not firing in the top-order, new captain Tanmay Agarwal is left to fend for himself. The bowlers are also not being given any kind of backing by way of challenging scores.
With the exception of Tanmay and wicket-keeper-batsman K. Sumanth and the odd contribution from left-arm spinner Mehdi Hasan, there has been nothing to boast about the batting so far.
The bowling too has been disappointing with pacers Mohd Siraj (10 wickets from three games), Ravi Kiran (seven from two) and Chama Milind (four from three) not posing any major challenge to the opposition.
Clearly, it is perform or perish for some familiar faces at the half-way stage of the season.
Experience
On the other hand, Kerala will look to the experienced batting duo of Robin Uthappa and captain Sachin Baby to come good and affect a turnaround.
Off-spinning all-rounder Jalaj Saxena has been Kerala’s best bowler with 18 wickets. He should be the key once the pace duo of Sandeep Warrier and Basil Thampi provide early breakthroughs on what the Hyderabad coach feels is a dry wicket. The toss then will be crucial.
