Heavy downpour forced match officials to call off play on the second day also of the Ranji Trophy match between last year’s runner-up Tamil Nadu and Gujarat at the ICL Sankar Nagar grounds here on Tuesday.
The players from both sides had to keep their fingers crossed for most part before the men in the middle called off play at 2.15 p.m., after the second inspection.
It did upset the teams which had worked out various calculations for a possible result.
Gujarat chief coach Vijay Patel was obviously unhappy with the day’s outcome. “We desperately want the match to be on for at least the last two days because the league table is trickily placed right now.”
He said a washout could lead to more pressure for the team in its last league match. “It could be a shootout sort of situation.
“We don’t want to be in a position like last year. We were joint third on the table with Vidarbha and narrowly missed out on the quarterfinal berth on run quotient,” he added.
Vijay has reasons to worry because he has been working very hard to build the team. “We have good players but they lack the ‘kill’ to clinch a match in crunch situations. It is here the experience of former and current India stars such as Parthiv Patel, R.P. Singh, Axar Patel, Venugopala Rao and Ramesh Powar come in handy.”
Other State players Of the five, RP, Venugopala Rao and Ramesh are from other States. Rao was the first professional player to join Gujarat four years ago.
Ramesh has been there for a couple of years and RP is the latest pick this season.
“We have Parthiv. He is easily our best player. But bringing in experienced cricketers has certainly boosted the team’s strength. They have provided the depth in all departments. And, their outstanding performances mattered much for us this year. RP is someone who can guide our bowlers through his rich experience,” said Patel.
RP told The Hindu over phone that he was happy sharing his experience with his mates. “I am pleased to play for Gujarat and share whatever experience with my teammates.
“It is a good side and I see a bright prospect in Rush Kalaria [India ‘A’ star]. He will be a future star for India,” he added.
“True, Kalaria is a very silent performer and a good allrounder. India is looking for such allrounders and I am sure he will make the grade,” said Rao.
“There are also other players like Manpreet (Juneja) and Jasprit (Bumrah) who are future prospects for the country,” he added.
Rao agreed the team had the strength to make it big. But the weather may play an even bigger role than its players.
