Green is the colour you notice most as you travel to Krishnagiri.
After driving up the hill — and past the nine hairpin turns — you are greeted by more greenery, in the shape of tea plantations, paddy fields and trees of various kinds on either side of the road.
The Wayanad Cricket Stadium looks very green too, with its lush outfield. The wicket, though, doesn’t — quite unlike it did during the last two matches here.
So the first unofficial Test between India-A and England Lions, which starts on Thursday, is likely to last longer than the Ranji Trophy knock-out games last month.
Kerala had defeated Gujarat inside three days in the quarterfinals before crashing to an innings defeat within two days in the semifinals to Vidarbha. It was paradise for seamers.
Wicket in focus
The wicket will certainly be in focus over the next four days along with the players itching to stake a claim for maiden calls-up (or returns) to their national squads.
Among the Indians, few players will be in as much spotlight as K.L. Rahul, the dashing opener who has had to return home from Australia in ignominy following a chat show he was part of. After playing in three one-day matches against the Lions at Thiruvananthapuram, this would be another good opportunity to get back in form and to get over his difficult period.
Other batsmen in the squad, captain Priyank Panchal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Ricky Bhui and Siddhesh Lad will be keen to showcase their ability to play long innings. As for bowling, the host has plenty of options in seamers Varun Aaron, Avesh Khan, Shardul Thakur and Navdeep Saini, and spinners Shahbaz Nadeem, Mayank Markande and Jalaj Saxena.
Though the Lions were tamed with ease in the one-day series (1-4), they are capable of bouncing back. Captain Sam Billings, Ollie Pop, Ben Duckett and wicket-keeper Alex Davies are all fine batsmen. In pacers Jamie Overton, Zak Chappell and Jamie Porter and spinners Dominic Bess and Danny Briggs, the visiting side has a good attack, too.
So it could well be an interesting match for local fans, who will get a taste of international cricket after nearly four years.
The teams (from):
India-A: Ankeet Bawane (capt.), K.L. Rahul, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Priyank Panchal, Ricky Bhui, Siddhesh Lad, K.S. Bharat, Jalaj Saxena, Shahbaz Nadeem, Mayank Markande, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur, Avesh Khan and Varun Aaron.
England Lions: Sam Billings (capt.), Dominic Bess, Zak Chappell, Danny Briggs, Ben Duckett, Lewis Gregory, Sam Hain, Max Holden, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, James Porter, Tom Bailey, Will Jacks, Steven Mullaney, Matthew Carter and Alex Davies .
