The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Subbiah Pillai Trophy from today

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Subbiah Pillai Trophy from today

CHENNAI: The South Zone Ranji one-day cricket tournament for the K.S. Subbiah Pillai Trophy will begin here on Tuesday.

The six teams comprising the league — Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Hyderabad, Andhra, Goa and Kerala — will play each other once over the next week, with the top two sides advancing to the national knock-out phase. The league leader, which will be determined by March 3, the date of the final round, will be awarded the Subbiah Pillai Trophy.

Karnataka, which won the 2006-07 edition with a 100 per cent record, will commence its campaign against Andhra at the CPT-IP ground on Tuesday, while Tamil Nadu, last season’s runner-up, will play Goa at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium. Tuesday’s third match will involve Hyderabad and Kerala at SRMC.

With the other States selecting inexperienced squads, Tamil Nadu starts the tournament as favourite. Captain S. Badrinath leads a well-balanced unit, which he believes has options in bowling and depth in batting. “We have a team that’s well suited to the format,” said Badrinath, who was Tamil Nadu’s leading run-getter in the 2006-07 Ranji one-day tournament.

Tamil Nadu coach W.V. Raman said playing in familiar conditions was an advantage — but an advantage the team had to “re-establish on the field”. Hyderabad will be without captain V.V.S. Laxman for the first three matches. The fans will also miss Rahul Dravid, who fractured his finger during the fourth Test against Australia in Adelaide in January.

The matches, which start at 9 a.m., will feature coloured clothing, white balls, and black sightscreens. February 28 and March 2 are the scheduled rest days. — Special Correspondent

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