The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Andhra takes on U.P.

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Thursday, Nov 15, 2007
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Andhra takes on U.P.

Sports Reporter

ANANTAPUR: The costly fielding lapses against Punjab in the opener at Amritsar are still haunting Andhra coach Syed Abid Ali as the host takes on formidable Uttar Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy Super League match at the lush green Anantapur Sports Village grounds here on Thursday.

Despite back-to-back centuries by Hemal Watekar (137 and 100 retired hurt) and an unbeaten 114 by L. N. Prasad Reddy in the second innings, Andhra failed to garner the all-important first inning lead.

“You cannot win matches by dropping more than half-a-dozen catches. However, we want to erase the Punjab memories and the boys are keen to give their best,” said Abid Ali.

Ali said that the Anantapur wicket would help both the bowlers and the batsmen and the need of the hour was application.

“This is a 50-50 wicket and will help both batsmen and bowlers if they stick to their basics. The outfield is fabulous and should inspire the fielders to give their best.” Andhra made one change bringing in opener M. Suresh in place of injured middle order batman M. Sumanth.

Dream debut

Uttar Pradesh coach Gyanendra Pandey is thrilled about the dream debut by the medium pace bowler Sudeep Tyagi, who took 10 wickets against Orissa.

“He is a youngster with fire in the belly. The moving over of medium pacer Salabh Srivastav to Indian Cricket League (ICL) paved the way for his entry into the big league. He is our trump card,” said Pandey.

Pandey said that the presence of three internationals in Kaif, Raina and Chawla would put the rivals under pressure. “The outfield is brilliant and well nurtured.

“It makes fielding all the more easier,” said the UP skipper Mohammad Kaif.

UP got six points, including a bonus point, against Orissa for an innings victory.

Andhra mustered one point in the drawn encounter against Punjab.

As per the instructions of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), video cameras were installed at the ground to record the four-day match.

The teams:

Andhra: M.S.K. Prasad (captain), Y. Gnaneswara Rao, A.S.K. Varma, Md. Faiq, Hemal Watekar, B. Sumanth, L.N. Prasad Reddy, G. Sankara Rao, M. Suresh, V.B.V. Saraswathi Reddy, Israel Raju, P. Vijay Kumar, V. Sandeep, D. Kalyan Krishna, S. Arjun Kumar. Coach: Syed Abid Ali.

Uttar Pradesh: Mohammad Kaif (captain), Suresh Raina, Piyush Chawla, Shivakant Shukla, Ravikant Shukla, Rahat Ilahi, Tanmoy Srivastav, Aamir Khan, Sudeep Tyagi, Ratnesh Mishra, Md. Abid Khan, Raj Singh, Praveen Gupta, Suraj Pratap Singh, Rohit Prakash, S. Sengar. Coach: Gyanendra Pandey.

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