Green top greets the teams

By Vijay Lokapally

MOHALI, JAN. 10. A thick cover of fog hung over the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) and as visibility improved, a lush green outfield greeted the teams - North and West - and a greener pitch set the tribe of bowlers dreaming of their likely exploits when the Duleep Trophy league match begins here on Thursday.

A green top in domestic cricket! Unheard of and unkind, if you ask most of the captains. But North skipper Vikram Rathour happens to be a glorious exception as he readily gave his consent to a lively track for the four-day encounter. The West lads shivered, not at the thought of facing the three-man pace attack but from the strong and icy winds that blew from the direction of the hills in the distance.

The weather is expected to play an important role. West has little experience of such conditions. ``Fielding is going to be one arduous task in this kind of cold'' remarked West skipper Nayan Mongia even as Hrishikesh Kanitkar, well covered all over, joined him for a catching session. The exercise was abandoned in no time and the team retreated to the cosy confines of the dressing room.

Regardless of the conditions, the West team faces a difficult task against an opposition which is understandably charged up. The batting success of Rathour and young Delhi batsman, Akash Chopra, century in each innings against South in the last match would add to the worries of Mongia, who realises the weakness in his bowling. A place for Mumbai seamer Santosh Saxena could become a possibility if the team management shows the will to keep out left-arm spinner Valmik Buch. Given the appearance of the playing strip, Saxena could make an impact.

West did not come across as a compact side in its last match against Central at Nagpur when it conceded the first innings lead. The West bowling lacked bite at a most depressing venue for any form of cricket while the batsmen too could not make the most of an average attack. The team will have to pull up its socks and produce a much-improved show here.

North has been strengthened by the return of Delhi left-arm seamer Ashish Nehra, who missed the match against South due to a bereavement in the family. His replacement, Sudhakar Ghag of Services, returns home after having reported here with the hope of playing one more match. Reetinder Singh Sodhi, having recovered from a calf muscle injury which kept him out of the last match, will add thrust to the North campaign with his positive attitude.

If Nehra's availability was a welcome development, the absence of Delhi wicketkeeper Vijay Dahiya was a blow. Dahiya pulled out due to a stiff neck and was replaced by Punjab's Pankaj Dharmani, who, in any case, ought to have been picked in the squad originally.

North is expected to play three seamers with Jammu and Kashmir left-arm seamer Surinder Singh Bagal keen to show his potential after the five-wicket haul on debut against South. Punjab off- spinner Harbhajan Singh and Delhi left-arm spinner Rahul Sanghvi are unlikely to figure in the attack.

Incidentally, the star attractions for this match, Yuveraj Singh and Zaheer Khan, were conspicuous by their absence but were expected to report by evening.

The teams (from):

North: Vikram Rathour (Captain), Akash Chopra, Yuveraj Singh, Dinesh Mongia, Virender Sehwag, Reetinder Singh Sodhi, Pankaj Dharmani, Ashish Nehra, Gagandeep Singh, Sarandeep Singh, Surinder Singh Bagal, Harbhajan Singh, Rahul Sanghvi, Rajeev Nayyar and Parinder Sharma.

West: Nayan Mongia (Captain), Wasim Jaffer, Connor Williams, Hrishikesh Kanitkar, Jacob Martin, Abhijit Kale, Niraj Patel, Sairaj Bahutule, Iqbal Siddiqui, Zaheer Khan, Santosh Saxena, Valmik Buch, Rajesh Powar, Sitanshu Kotak and Prashant Joshi.

Umpires: Messrs Suhas Phadkar and Sanjeev Rao; Board observer: Mr. Vikram Raju.

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