NEW DELHI : Delhi goes into a crucial Ranji Trophy elite group match against Karnataka in conditions almost alien at the Ferozeshah Kotla here.

Coach Chetan Chauhan observed the pitch had a "tinge of grass but not green" while skipper Mithun Manhas noted the surface was "better than what we had in the previous three matches."

How did Karnataka skipper Yere Goud assess the pitch. "It should be a high scoring contest," Goud put things in perspective.

The Delhi team management lamented lack of ideal "proper" practice facilities at the Kotla. Nothing new, considering the growing distance between the players and the administrators. "We can't grow grass here because there is hardly any time to prepare the pitches. We want lot of things done but then but nothing works," asserted the Delhi coach.

Looking ahead, Manhas agreed the seniors had a role to play. "We need to play good cricket and set the trend." Manhas can bank on the talented pair of middle-order batsman Mayank Tehlan, who hit a double century in the last match, and medium-pacer Ishant Sharma, who has progressed rapidly in the span of a few months.

Karnataka, fresh from a morale boosting victory against Uttar Pradesh, was buoyant. "We need to carry on the good work. It is great to see the way the players back each other. Batting has been our strength but I am happy to say that the bowlers have backed their efforts with wonderful consistency," said Goud.

Sunil Joshi has played a significant role with his experience and the presence of Venkatesh Prasad as a coach has contributed to increase the striking power of the attack with some valuable inputs from Raghuram Bhatt, the manager of the team.

Rowland Barrington's refreshingly transformed approach to play his shots the match-winning knock by C. Raghu at Kanpur a few days ago should motivate the team, not to forget the incisive spells by seamer R. Vinay Kumar.

At the end of three matches, Karnataka has eight points and Delhi six, raising hopes of a keen battle.

The teams (from):

Delhi: Mithun Manhas (Captain), Aakash Chopra, Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Tehlan, Virat Kohli, Rajat Bhatia, Puneet Bisht, Ashish Nehra, Ishant Sharma, Kuunal Lall, Chetnya Nanda, Amit Bhandari, Rahul Sanghvi, Aditya Jain and Suhail Sharma.

Karnataka: Yere Goud (Captain), Robin Uthappa, Rowland Barrington, Bharat Chipli, C. Raghu, Stuart Binny, Sunil Joshi, Thilak Naidu, R. Vinay Kumar, K. P. Appanna, N. C. Aiyappa, B. Akhil, Deepak Chougule, Udit Patel and Devraj Patil.

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