Baroda gunning for fifth title win

By G. Viswanath

BARODA, APRIL 18. The summer is at its peak now with the mercury touching the mid 40s but the people's attention is riveted on another hot topic. Cricket, an area of activity the nation never tires of. Here at Baroda the local fraternity dearly wants Jacob Martin's team to win the Ranji Trophy for the fifth time after 43 years.

The next five days starting Thursday will be watched with keen interest. The new generation has not only excited the people here but perhaps has also sparked off emotions in the mind of a man regarded as a colossus in this former princely State. Capt. Vijay Samuel Hazare, may not be raring to go, but it is said that the `Old Man' of 86 years and 30 odd days is a little more active and excited these days because the team which he represented for so many years in the National championship has reached the final.

There is anticipation that he may visit the village green-like venue during the course of the match. There is also a possibility of him being invited to present the golden urn to the winning team. For Baroda to receive this honour it must beat Railways.

Cricket here is steeped in tradition and history. The Maharajas patronised the game, played and watched it from specially erected tents. They also employed outstanding players, Hazare being one of them. He helped Maharashtra win the title and then at the turn of the 1940s moved to Baroda permanently. His contribution to the game in Baroda has been immense and has left an indelible mark. In a period spanning nearly 16 years Baroda won the title four times and in all the four finals Hazare made an impact playing under the captaincy of W.N. Ghorpade, R.B. Nimbalkar and Dattajirao Gaekwad.

A handful of `golden oldies' of the 1950s will probably form the cheer group to egg the home team on at the Gujarat State Fertilizer Corporation (GSFC) ground. There will of course be immediate past players like Kiran More and Aunshuman Gaekwad - both State selectors now - to guide Martin on the tactical front.

Playing at home has proven lucky for Baroda. It played and won its last three knock out matches against Tamil Nadu, Bengal and Orissa at the GSFC ground. The final will be played on a pitch which produced a result well inside four days against Tamil Nadu. But those who have been involved in the preparation of the pitch for the final assert that the surface will not crumble and will last five days.

The groudstaff have left plenty of grass in the space between the good length spots on either side of the wicket. Railways' coach Vinod Sharma, did not cast a suspicious eye on the appearance of the pitch. ``I think it will be good for batting. The seamers will get help too,'' he said after having a long hard look at the surface on Wednesday morning.

Railways whose batting runs deep is likely to include left hand spinner Murali Kartik. ``He's almost recovered from the back strain. He bowled a lot to the batsman at nets in Mohali. He is okay and should be in the 11,'' said Sharma. Kartik who has played only one match against Madhya Pradesh this season is likely to replace medium pacer Zakir Hussain.

The good news for Baroda is that it will have the services of left hand fast bowler Zaheer Khan. He will replace another left hand seamer Irfan Pathan (Sr). The new ball for Baroda will be handled by the successful pair of Khan and Rakesh Patel. The latter's 32 wickets in seven matches have come at an economical 25.93. Left hand spinner Valmik Much has been some what expensive, but he picked up wickets in a clutch and in spells in the run up to the final.

Martin, who is the second highest run-getter after Satyajit Parab (both have played seven matches), said he is not going to disturb the combination that has brought the team to the final. ``Zaheer is the only change. I think the pitch should hold good for five days. It looks good for batsman and seam bowlers.''

Railways has had a wonderful run starting from the quarterfinals against Maharashtra. There will always be space in the history of the championship and honours list for batsman like Yere Goud. He has been outstanding for his team. Others like Shreyas Khanolkar, Santosh Sahu and Parida have also competed well.

The two teams put together have four Test players in Nayan Mongia, Khan, Harvinder Singh and Kartik. Martin has played one- day internationals. There is much at stake for both teams with Baroda aiming for one more title and Railways for its maiden title. More than a decade ago Tamil Nadu made 709 and beat Railways by an innings and 144 runs at Chepauk. Here Baroda enjoys head-to-head figures at 2-0. As Aunshuman Gaekwad said, ``the good thing is that both have played well as a team to reach the final.''

The teams (from): Baroda: Jacob Martin (captain), Connor Williams, Satyajit Parab, Tushar Arothe, Nayan Mongia, Himanshu Jadhav, Valmik Buch, Zaheer Khan, Ajit Bhoite, Rakesh Patel, Irfan Pathan (Jr), Umang Patel, Irfan Pathan (Sr), Milap Mewada, Rohit Chandorkar.

Railways: Abhay Sharma (captain), Sanjay Bangar, Amit Pagnis, Tejinderpal Singh, Yere Goud, Rajah Ali, Shreyas Khanolkar, Harvinder Singh, Murali Kartik, Kulamani Parida, Santosh Sahu, S. Wankhede, Zakir Hussain, Dheeraj Sharma, Prahlad Rawat.

Umpires: Messrs Jasbir Singh and S. Tarapore.

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