Balaji banks heavily on Tamil Nadu's batting
Chennai: What seemed to be a smooth sailing for Tamil Nadu suffered a jolt at the hands of Uttar Pradesh a fortnight ago in their third Ranji Trophy match of the season. Triggered by a top order collapse, Tamil Nadu ended up conceding the first innings lead in the away game.
Skipper L. Balaji, however, called it “one bad day”. “It could happen to any team. While playing long tournaments, there will be days like that. We have to do our basics right instead of thinking about that bad day,” Balaji added.
The former India bowler said he would always bank on his team’s batting. “Ours is one of the best batting line-up in domestic cricket. We have four well-established Test cricketers. It’s just a matter of time they expressed themselves in the middle. If they manage to play to their potential, it will invariably help the team to put strong total on the board,” said Balaji.
Saurashtra, too, have a strong batting line-up with run machine Cheteshwar Pujara in their ranks, but Balaji said he wasn’t worried about his opposition.
“If we do our best, I don’t think I have to give too much importance to the opposition batsmen. At the same time, I’m also aware of Saurashtra’s strengths and weaknesses. We will stick to our basics and team plan,” said Balaji adding that he would decide his XI on the morning of the match after inspecting the wicket with coach W.V. Raman.
M. Vijay and Dinesh Karthik are yet to fire this season. Balaji said the game against Saurashtra would help Vijay prepare for the upcoming South Africa tour. “He is one of the prolific run-getters for TN,” he added.
A sporting wicket is set to spice up the match. Balaji called for more such pitches fore the betterment of domestic cricket. “For the last two seasons, there is an extra point up for grabs to encourage outright wins. Sporting wickets will help identify the best cricketers in our country,” Balaji said.
RANJI TROPHY GREEN TOP OFFERS IDEAL PRACTICE
RANJI TROPHY GREEN TOP OFFERS IDEAL PRACTICE
CHENNAI: Cheteshwar Pujara couldn't resist walking towards the cordoned Chepauk wicket to have a closer look at the green top, a rare sight in domestic cricket.
One of they key players of Indian batting wouldn't be complaining at the prospect of playing on a lively track ahead of the challenging South Africa tour where the pitches are traditionally fast and bouncy.
If chief curator K. Parthasarathy decides not to shave off the grass, the Ranji Trophy Group B match between Saurashtra and Tamil Nadu will be an entertaining affair and in the process it will also provide perfect practice for SA-bound Pujara and M. Vijay.
The weather is expected to play an important role with a spell of rain forecast for the weekend.
Regardless of the conditions, Tamil Nadu are under pressure to perform in their first home match of the season after three drawn games.
TN's fancied top-order boasting of four well-established first-class players collapsed dramatically against Uttar Pradesh a fortnight ago at Meerut, resulting in conceding the first innings lead. With just seven points, W.V . Raman' side are currently No.6 in Group B, while Saurashtra are second with 12 points.
Having played three of their four games on green tops, Saurashtra would be better equipped to exploit the conditions here. The visitors' bowling has been bolstered with the return of left-arm seamer Jaydev Unadkat from national duty. Medium pacer Abhishek Bhatt is in the midst of a dream debut season after claiming 18 wickets in four matches.
Saurashtra's batting is centered on the prolific run-getter Pujara. However, the fact that every member of the top six has scored century this season reinforces the depth in their batting.
For TN skipper L. Balaji, the poor form of Vijay and Dinesh Karthik are a major concern. The opener and the wicket-keeper batsman have tallied a meagre 56 and 85 respectively in four innings. It's time the two main players clicked.
Fast-improving B. Aparajith is TN's most consistent performer this season. Barring the match against Uttar Pradesh, S. Badrinath was among runs including a double hundred. Balaji would have realised the lack of bite in TN's bowling at Meerut where the pitch had something to offer for the pacers.
As the tall fast bowler Sunil Sam has been ruled out of the Saurashtra match with a niggle, either J. Kaushik or M. Mohammed is expected to play his first match of the season.
TEAMS (FROM): Tamil Nadu: L. Balaji (Captain), S. Badrinath (VC), Abhinav Mukund, M. Vijay, B. Aparajith, R. Prasanna, Dinesh Karthik (WK), Vijay Shankar, R. Aushik Srinivas, K.B. Arun Karthik, Malolan Rangarajan, B. Indrajith, M. Mohammed, A. Aswin Crist, J. Kaushik. Coach: W.V . Raman.
SAURASHTRA: Jaydev Shah (Captain), Sagar Jogyani (WK), Cheteshwar Pujara (VC), Arpit Vasavada, Shelden Jackson, Chirag Pathak, Bhushan Chauhan, Kamlesh Makwana, Nayan Doshi, Jaydev Unadkat, Sandip Maniar, Saurya Sanadiya, Dharmendra Jadeja, Abhishek Bhat, Chirag Jani. Coach: Debu Mitra.
First session: 9.30 am to 12 noon. Lunch: 12 noon to 12.40 pm. Second session: 12.40 pm to 2.40 pm. Tea: 2.40 pm to 3 pm. Third session: 3pm to 4.30pm. (On the last day play shall commence at 9.15 am) UMPIRES: Sanjeev Dua, Tapan Sharma.
MATCH REFEREE: Shakti Singh
DC CORRESPONDENT
CHENNAI: The sight of green top wicket excited Jaydev Shah, but the Saurashtra skipper is not ready to count the chickens.
On paper and performance in the previous rounds, Saurashtra have an edge over Tamil Nadu in bowling. Shah said he would decide the bowling combination only after checking out the wicket again on Thursday morning.
ON THE SEASON SO FAR: It has been an eventful one. In our home matches we registered an outright win against Rajasthan and took the first innings lead against a strong Uttar Pradesh. The fact that we have not suffered any defeat in away matches shows that we are in good form. Our batsmen have been consistent. Our batting stalwart Shitanshu Kotak has retired after playing the first match of the season, but all our top order batsmen have scored at least one century this season.
ON THE GREEN TOP WICKET: I had a look at the pitch. It has grass. It will help a bit at the start. Jaydev Unadkat is likely to play. We have decent fast bowlers in Sandip Maniar, Saurya Sanandiya and Chirag Jani. Our spinners are also doing well. We will decide our playing XI only after seeing the pitch again on Thursday morning. Tamil Nadu are playing their first match at home, so they have to cope with the conditions as well.
ON TEAM'S TRUMP CARD CHETESHWAR PUJARA: I think this game would provide ideal practice for him before the South Africa tour. We played our last match, against Bengal, on a green top and Pujara did well there even though others struggled. Sometimes it happens on a green top wicket. We, however, had good partnerships in the second innings and managed to draw the match.
ON TAMIL NADU'S STRONG BATTING LINE-UP: No doubt, it's an enviable batting order and they are also in good form. But cricket is a funny game and how you bat on a particular day matters more than your previous performances.