The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Hyderabad looks to Laxman

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Sunday, Dec 25, 2005

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Hyderabad looks to Laxman

Sports Reporter

HYDERABAD: Test star V.V.S. Laxman will lead Hyderabad against Services in the four-day Ranji Trophy league match at Gymkhana Grounds here from Sunday.

Now desperately in need of an outright win after picking up just four points from three matches, Hyderabad will look to Laxman, suffering from cold which delayed his net practice session on Saturday, for something special as the battting line-up has been inconsistent right through.

Trying to thrive on its impressive record at the venue where it got the better of the opponents to qualify for the super league last time, coach Rajesh Rajesh hinted that the star India batsmen might replace leg-spinner P.S. Niranjan for this match. And Hyderabad could not have hoped for an easier team than Services that has drawn a blank from three matches so far and with no really big name in its line-up.

Reminder

The match will serve another reminder to the selectors who continue to show special affinity to some of the cricketers who never really showed the desired consistency.

If there is any batsman who gives more than 100 per cent in Hyderabad it is without doubt southpaw Anirudh Singh. And, the one who is matching him in commitment is medium-pacer N.P. Singh who in the last match became the first fast bowler from the South Zone to claim 300 wickets in Ranji Trophy.

With Laxman available only for this match, Rajesh Yadav hopes for a dramatic turnaround in the attitude of his boys who somehow never look motivated.

The teams (from):

Hyderabad: V.V.S. Laxman (Capt.), N. Arjun Yadav, N.P. Singh, Ibrahim Khaleel (wk), Anirudh Singh, P. Pragyan Ojha, P. Kaushik Reddy, P. Indrasekhar Reddy, D. Vinay Kumar, S. Daniel Manohar, S. Anoop Pai, Abhinav Kumar, P.S. Niranjan, Alfred Absolom, Amol Shinde and Sashank Nag. Coach: N. Rajesh Yadav. Assistant coach: Vivek Jaisimha.

Services: Sarabjeet Singh (Capt.-wk.), Narender Singh, Yashpal Singh, Jasvir Singh, Sumit Tomer, Sudhakar Gagh, Fazal Mohammed, P.M.S. Reddy, Amrender Singh, Arun Sharma, Satish Upadhya, A.K. Mohanty, Hariprasad Naidu, Krishna Chawada and Pankaj Kumar. Coach-cum-manager: Raghuvir Singh Jhala.

Match referee: Sunil Gudge (Maharashtra). Umpires: Messrs: S.N. Bandekar and Suresh Shastri (both from Mumbai).

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