CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu has backed itself into a corner this Ranji season. Its best shot at avoiding the ignominy of relegation involves defeating Baroda in its final Super League match starting at the ICL-Guru Nanak College ground here on Wednesday.

The task is made tougher by the fact that Baroda, atop Group `A' with 17 points and a cinch for the semifinals, is in admirable form. "Yes, we are through (to the last four)," confirmed Baroda coach Ashok Mankad, who looked on with an avuncular eye as his team loosened up with a game of touch frisbee.

Such situations call for desperate measures: though M. Kothandaraman, long-standing curator at the ground, understandably remained tight-lipped about the pitch, it's no secret a raging turner has been ordered. A strip with topsoil so loose it will crumble like an over-crisp biscuit.

But, the Guru Nanak wicket has played slow and low in the last few seasons of first division cricket: the home side will hope the sun that relentlessly beat down on Tuesday doesn't kill the track's pace.

Downward journey

For Tamil Nadu coach W.V. Raman, the ICL-Guru Nanak ground is where his term started albeit unofficially. At the City-Combined Districts Buchi Babu final earlier this year, he cased out his future wards and later talked to them behind closed doors.

There had been much hope then; unfortunately things have gone south since. "No team has really put us under pressure, but we have lost intensity and frittered away the advantage," said Raman, reflecting on a season that has seen Tamil Nadu concede the lead thrice and lose outright once in six games.

What did he attribute this to? "I think it's two things: one, a lot of the youngsters haven't been in such situations before and another thing is that they don't sit down and think about their game enough. You can't blame them, for they have been brought up on some pretty strange thinking."

Raman said the batsmen's failure to score the additional runs an inexperienced bowling attack required was the prime reason for the wretched season.

Tamil Nadu will benefit from the return of wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik after the series against South Africa. "We'll have a capable man behind the stumps — we let off Uthappa far too many times in the last game," said Raman. Tamil Nadu is likely to play three spinners: Aashish Kapoor has been drafted into the side to partner fellow off-spinner R. Ashwin. Also coming into the squad is S. Vidyuth for S. Anirudha.

Irfan Pathan's rehabilitation continues. His stint at Tuesday's nets was measured and steady. Eyewitness accounts say he didn't bowl particularly well against Uttar Pradesh.

The teams (from):

Tamil Nadu: S. Badrinath (capt.), M. Vijay, S. Vidyuth, R. Prasanna, Hemang Badani, S. Sharath, R. Sathish, Dinesh Karthik (wk), R. Ashwin, Aashish Kapoor, C. Ganapathy, R. Naresh, K. Shri Vasudevadas, R. Jesuraj, R. Raghuram.

Baroda: Jacob Martin (capt.), C. Williams, S. Parab, R. Solanki, Himanshu Jadhav, Irfan Pathan, Pinal Shah, A. Bhoite, R. Pawar, R. Patel, I.S. Pathan, Y. Pathan.

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