The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Delhi takes on Mumbai

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Wednesday, Nov 23, 2005

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Sport - Cricket

Delhi takes on Mumbai

Special Correspondent

The absence of Kambli and Morris would be felt, says Nilesh Kulkarni

NEW DELHI: Madan Lal stands the lone motivating link to Delhi's glorious past as the team prepares for a stern test of character. The relentless construction activities at the Ferozeshah Kotla are a grim reminder of the changing times. The venue has undergone a complete overhaul but not the image of Delhi cricket as Madan, in his role as a coach, paints an optimistic picture against a bleak backdrop of internal squabbles and lack of talent at every level.

On the eve of the Ranji Trophy elite group encounter against Mumbai, the Delhi team was dealt a blow when Shikhar Dhawan was picked to play for the Board President's XI match against Sri Lanka at Bangalore on November 26 but Madan was not going to lose sleep over this development. "It's an opportunity for anyone wearing Delhi colours. You have to bring pride to your job and I'm sure the boys have realised the importance of performing as a team when it matters. The pitch looks good, we're well prepared mentally and physically. We should make a positive start to the season," said Madan.

A new challenge

Skipper Amit Bhandari shared the views of his coach when he said, "it's a new challenge and we're ready for it. Things will look up as the season progresses. Importantly, we're not going to depend on individuals."

For Mumbai skipper Nilesh Kulkarni, the stage demanded utmost confidence. "We've the batting and the attack to deal with the situation. Just need to stick to the basics and work to the game plan we've drawn. The absence of some players (Kambli and Morris) would be felt but then we've to give our best. Personally, I still have the hunger to take wickets and am looking forward to the challenge," he observed.

For Mumbai coach Karsan Ghavri, who was part of the team when it dominated Indian cricket, the match was a "new ball game. Every match is important and we're completely focused. We've a balanced side to deal with the challenge."

The curator, Radhey Shyam Sharma, promises encouraging `carry' but the rival camps were apprehensive of the bounce.

The teams: Delhi: Amit Bhandari (capt.), Aakash Chopra, Mithun Manhas, Rajat Bhatia, Aditya Jain, Rajan Gupta, Varun Kumar, Pradeep Chawla, Chetnya Nanda, Mukesh Nanda, Kunal Lal, Rahul Sanghvi, Sarandeep Singh, Abhinav Bali and Yogesh Sachdeva.

Mumbai: Nilesh Kulkarni (capt.), Wasim Jaffer, Vinayak Mane, Vineet Indulkar, Amol Muzumdar, Nishit Shetty, Vinayak Samant, Ramesh Powar, Avishkar Salvi, Usman Malvi, Wilkin Mota, Swapnil Hazare, Bhavin Thakkar, Abhijit Shetye and Onkar Khanvilkar.

Umpires: Messrs Subroto Porel and Francis Gomes; Match Referee: Mr. V.K. Ramaswamy.

Other matches: Elite group: Maharashtra vs Bengal (Pune); Tamil Nadu vs Gujarat (Tirunelveli); Punjab vs Services (Mohali); Uttar Pradesh vs Haryana (Kanpur); Andhra vs Baroda (Andhra).

Plate: Vidarbha vs Himachal Pradesh (Nagpur); Goa vs Orissa (Goa); Tripura vs Saurashtra (Agartala); Madhya Pradesh vs Rajasthan (Madhya Pradesh); Assam vs Kerala (Guwahati); Jammu & Kashmir vs Jharkhand (J&K).

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