The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Hyderabad takes on a confident Gujarat

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Hyderabad takes on a confident Gujarat

Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD: After an indifferent performance against Punjab in its previous match, Hyderabad will be aiming to come up with a more determined effort against Gujarat in the Ranji trophy super league match which begins at the Rajiv Gandhi international stadium here on Tuesday.

Despite having produced players of considerable talent, Hyderabad has a history of inconsistent performances which have prevented the team from fulfilling its potential in national-level tournaments. Now, while taking on the visitors, the home team will no doubt hope to bring about a change in the script.

To accomplish this, the top level players have to click together. On a strip which is batsman friendly, Hyderabad will hope that players like A.T. Rayudu, T. Suman, Anoop Pai, Arjun Yadav, Ahmed Quadri and others will show their mettle.

Will miss Laxman

However V.V.S. Laxman’s absence will be a big void in the batting line up. The inability to build up big partnerships has been a problem for Hyderabad and is this an aspect in which it has to improve.

The Hyderabad bowlers will have their task cut out and they will have to ensure that the rival batsmen do not take the upper hand. Among the bowlers, Alfred Absalom has improved considerably and he could pose problems for the visitors. Abdul Khader and M.P. Arjun bowled well against Punjab and this should give them a lot of confidence while Ashwin Yadav is also a capable bowler on his day.

Pragyan Ojha, who has been released from the national squad, is likely to play for Hyderabad.

But in the previous contest, Hyderabad fell behind in the over rate and a repetition of this infringement has to be avoided by the bowlers.

Gujarat has seen some good performances from its key players and is therefore, in a confident mood.

The batting has functioned well and the centurions of the last match, Parthiv Patel and Jay Desai, seem to be in good form.

The team’s current position at the top of the league table along with Tamil Nadu, should also be a big morale booster for the players.

The teams (from): Hyderabad: N. Arjun Yadav (capt.), D.B. Ravi Teja, T. Suman, Abhinav Kumar, A.T. Rayudu, S. Anoop Pai, Ibrahim Khaleel, A. Lalith Mohan, M.P. Arjun, Ashwin Yadav, Alfred Absolom, Anirudh Singh, Pragyan Ojha, D. Rushi Raj, Abdul Khader and Ahmed Quadri.

Gujarat: Parthiv Patel (capt.), Rujul Bhatt, Jay Desai, Hitesh Majmudar, Ashraf Makda, Jayesh Makla, R. Chauhan, Mehul Patel, Niraj Patel, Timil Patel, Digant Popat, Vimal Tandel, Bhavik Thaker, Siddharth Trivedi and Salil Yadav.

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