The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Assam holds the edge

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Dec 09, 2006
ePaper

Sport

Sport - Cricket

Assam holds the edge

Sports Reporter

Palakkad: Kerala is quite positive about its chances, but the scales seem to be tilted in favour of Assam as the two teams clash in the crucial Ranji Trophy Plate League four-day match at the Fort Maidan here from Saturday.

After an early jolt against Vidarbha, Kerala came up with an improved all-round show to collect two points against Madhya Pradesh. In fact, that has done a world of good. "The boys are beginning to jell well and we hope to do one better," Kerala coach, Parthasarathi Sharma, said.

Kerala may be high on confidence but it is not going to be an easy ride for the host, as the visiting side looks a tough nut to crack.

It has already garnered seven points, out of which two came against a formidable Railways. Its guest stars, Vasanth Saravanan (Tamil Nadu), skipper J. Arun Kumar and Anand Katti (both from Karnataka), are also in good nick. Both Vasanth and Arun have scored centuries this season and look hungry for more.

"We enjoy a definite advantage as Kerala will be without its senior players this time. Also, our morale is high after playing Railways," Arun said.

The Assam coach, Sanath Kumar, is brimming with confidence as well. "We are going to concentrate on the process and not on the outcome. Our basic idea is to play positively and ball by ball. I want the boys to enjoy the game as they did in the last two matches," he said.

"True, Assam may be on a roll at the moment. It has done extremely well in the last two matches, but I still feel the chances are bright for both sides," Sreekumar Nair, the Kerala skipper, said.

With the four youngsters — Rohan Prem, Raiphy Vincent Gomez, P. Prasanth and Robert Fernandez, who played in the recent C.K. Nayudu under-22 all-India tournament at Mohali — coming into the senior side, the fare should be interesting.

The teams (from): Kerala: Sreekumar Nair (captain), Sadagopan Ramesh, S. Suresh, M. Vipin Lal, Sony K. Chervathur, V.A. Jagadeesh, K. Anil Kumar, C.M. Deepak, S. Aneesh, Vinan G. Nair, Prasanth Chandran, Rohan Prem, Raiphy Vincent Gomez, Robert Fernandez, P. Prasanth. Coach: Parthasarathi Sharma. Physio: Dr. S. Muthukumar. Trainer: Vijayan.

Assam: J. Arun Kumar (captain), Nisanta Bordoloi, Chandan Rawat, Sauvik Das, Parag Das, Vasanth Saravanan, Kunal Saikia, Dhiraj Goswami, Bichitra Baruah, Anand Katti, Arlen Konwar, Abu Nachim Ahmed, Saurav Bhagawati, Pankaj Tamuly, R.K. Yadav. Manager: Bishnu Ramnunisa. Coach: Sanat Kumar. Physio: Shiv Shankar. Trainer: K. Devaiah.