The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : South faces experienced Central

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Friday, Mar 03, 2006

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Sport - Cricket

South faces experienced Central

Rakesh Rao

JAIPUR: Out of the title-race after two successive losses, Central Zone will seek to salvage some pride when it faces an upbeat South Zone in their Deodhar Trophy league match at the Sawai Man Sing Stadium here on Friday.

With East sharing Central's fate so far in the competition, it is now a three-horse race for the title. Armed with two victories, West is ahead of South and North, who won their opening matches.

Though South's top-order failed to fire in the opener against East at Indore, it will be the favourite against Central.

Under Y. Venugopala Rao, South's batting looks very promising with some exciting prospects trying to catch the attention of the National selectors who seem to have raised the hopes of the `youth brigade' of domestic cricket.

Though a not-so-young Hemang Badani's consistent showing this season did little to improve his chances of a comeback to the National team, openers Robin Uthappa and S. Vidyut fell short of adding to the impression they made in the last Challenger Trophy. Even Dinesh Kaarthick has his task cut out. But they are not without hope.

Time to consolidate

For lesser-known players like S. Suresh, Y. Gnaneswara Rao and C. Raghu, this is a time to consolidate their claims in the team.

Besides having depth in batting, South's strength lies in the pace department. R. Vinay Kumar, who destroyed East with a four-wicket haul, along with India under-19 lad V. Yomahesh and B. Akhil are the ones expected to soften up the opposition before the spinners come along.

If South benefits from the exuberance of youth, Central relies heavily on experience.

Banks on experience

Central, for a change, has a `depleted look' since four Uttar Pradesh players are away in the Indian dressing room at Nagpur. However, it is also true that presence of Mohammad Kaif and youngster Piyush Chawla did not help its cause against West at Gwalior last week.

In fact against West and North, Central's batting failed to come good. To add to its woes Murali Kartik and Gagan Khoda are doubtful starters for Friday's match.

In the present scenario, the host depends on those discarded from the National side. Skipper J. P. Yadav and the almost-forgotten Harvinder Singh are capable of playing match-winning roles.

In addition, the vast experience of Amit Pagnis, Devendra Bundela, S. Abbas Ali and T. P. Singh may surprise those underestimating Central's ability to cause an upset.

The teams:

South: Y. Venugopala Rao (capt.), A.R. Uthappa, S. Vidyut, S. Suresh, Y. Gnaneswara Rao, Hemang Badani, S. Badrinath C. Raghu, B. Akhil, D. Kaarthick, V. Yomahesh, R. Vinay Kumar, P.I.S. Reddy, D.K. Krishna and R. D'Souza.

Central: J. P. Yadav (capt.), T. P. Singh, S. Abbas Ali, D. Bundela, N.V. Ojha, S.K. Shukla, P. Kumar, M. Kartik, Harvinder Singh, R. Mishra, Madhusudan Acharya and Samir Khare.

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