Tamil Nadu takes on Punjab

By Our Sports Reporter

CHENNAI, MARCH 29. The ardent followers of Tamil Nadu cricket would experience a feeling of deja vu when the host takes on Punjab in the five-day Ranji Trophy quarterfinals at the Chidambaram Stadium, here on Thursday. The last time Tamil Nadu met Punjab at home was the semifinals in the 1987-88 season. Tamil Nadu went on to win the National championship.

Tamil Nadu had beaten Uttar Pradesh in the quarterfinals that season and, ironically, it met the same opposition in the final super league contest a fortnight ago, in which southpaws S. Sriram and S. Sharath notched up a double century each. All these surely would make one nostalgic.

This is the third meeting between the two, the second being the quarterfinals last season, which Punjab won on first innings lead at the Gandhi ground in Amritsar on the same dates.

But as Vikram Rathour, the former Indian opener and the captain of the Punjab team, put it ``Tamil Nadu's record at home is very good.''

It would not be far-fetched to say that Tamil Nadu has the makings of a champion side. Talent it has always had, attitude is what it has rediscovered, more so after 1996 when it made the final defeating Mumbai and Delhi for the first time.

Then followed the period of transition, where the young brigade took over from the old guards - a phase similar to what Karnataka went through some years ago. It took a while to adjust and what Tamil Nadu has now is a team, the core of which has come up the grade together, which understands the virtue of playing as one.

The product of this is that three youngsters have made it to the National side. Not only does this give a face-lift to the team, but the confidence that comes along when you have four Indian cricketers in the playing XI.

Sriram arrived this morning from Sharjah to join the side while there is no clear information about the availability of Robin Singh, who though, it is hoped, will reach in time for the game. If he does, he will be captaining the team.

Tamil Nadu cricket manager, Mr. K. Bharat Kumar, said the XI has not been decided. It is believed that the think-tank is in a dilemma either to play an extra bowler or a batsman on a pitch which has grass and bounce and should play good through the five days.

The host will be fielding more or less the same side which enabled it top South Zone and its group in the super league. Sriram will open the innings with Test cricketer Sadagopan Ramesh, playing in only his second Ranji game of the season. Badani, who scored a big hundred in the second innings against Uttar Pradesh, the consistent J.R. Madanagopal and Sharath will follow. It will go in with three mediumpacers in T. Kumaran, D.J. Gokulakrishnan and S. Mahesh with off-spinner Aashish Kapoor and Sriram to support in the spin department. The batting runs deep with wicketkeeper Reuben Paul, an extremely capable bat, coming in the lower order. In the event of Robin not able to make it, allrounder Rajat Bhatia will in all probability fill the slot.

Punjab, North Zone winner, is an efficient side. Ravneet Ricky, who won the best batsman award in the Junior World Cup in Sri Lanka, is in excellent form. The other two stars from the India under-19 squad, southpaw Yuveraj Singh and allrounder Reetinder Singh Sodhi, have also been in the thick of action.

Punjab's batting has fired through the season. Pankaj Dharmani has been very consistent, left-hander Dinesh Mongia notched up a big hundred against Bihar while the skipper himself has been amongst runs.

Rathour said Punjab will be playing a second off- spinner in Sarandeep Singh as Tamil Nadu has quite a few left- handed batsmen in the XI. He is banking on Test off-spinner Harbhajan Singh to be the trump card.

``There is a lot of bounce in the wicket. Harbhajan does very well on such pitches. If he gets into his rhythm he will be hot to handle.''

Rathour said the choice of the new ball bowlers will be from Gagandeep Singh, allrounder Sandeep Sharma, who is expected to reach tonight, and R.P. Singh. In all probability the first two named will be fielded.

Rathour, who plays in the Tamil Nadu league, believes the contest will have a clear result. ``If the wicket plays the way it looks we can expect an outright decision. We are a good allround side. It is more about adapting to the conditions - heat and bounce. Our boys are not used to this kind of humidity. It is a question of conservation of energy. The quicker we adapt the better for us.''

The teams (from):

Tamil Nadu: S. Sharath (captain), Sadagopan Ramesh, S. Sriram, Hemang K. Badani, J.R. Madanagopal, Rajat Bhatia, T. Kumaran, D.J. Gokulakrishnan, S. Mahesh, Reuben Paul, Aashish Kapoor, Tanveer Jabbar, Anand George, S. Vasanth Saravanan, Satyajit Medappa, Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan and Sunil Viswanathan. Cricket manager: Mr. K. Bharat Kumar.

Punjab: Vikram Rathour (captain), Ravneet Ricky, Yuveraj Singh, Reetinder Singh Sodhi, Pankaj Dharmani, Dinesh Mongia, Harminder Jugnu (wk), Sandeep Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, Sarandeep Singh, Gagandeep Singh, R.P. Singh, Navdeep Singh, Sanjay Kumar and Sandeep Sanwal. Manager: Mr. Bhupinder Singh (Sr). Coach: Manjeet Singh.

Umpires: Messrs M.S.S. Ranawat (Udaipur) and S.D. Ranade (Pune). Match Observer: Mr. J.H. Vin (Baroda).

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