A fascinating contest develops

By Vijay Lokapally

NAGPUR, OCT. 14. The double-paced pitch has begun to test the calibre of the aspirants. At the end of the second day, there were indications that the Irani Trophy could develop into a fascinating contest as Baroda matched the fancied Rest of India in every aspect of the game on Sunday.

Resuming at 265 for six, Baroda did well to compile 318 and then it embarrassed the Rest through some incisive bowling by Valmik Buch and Irfan Pathan (Jr) before Dinesh Mongia and Ajay Ratra left an impression on the selectors with their sensible batting. Rest finished the day at 179 for four at the VCA Stadium.

Baroda had every reason to smile as its tailenders, inspired by Rakesh Patel, put on 53 runs this morning. Patel did the bulk of the scoring by garnering 42 runs through some attacking strokes before losing his wicket, the fifth victim for off-spinner Sarandeep Singh. Rest had begun well when Connor Williams, 133 overnight, added just 10 runs this morning and fell fending Tinu Yohannan. It was a prize wicket which Yohannan deserved fully.

The spell by Sarandeep was the talking point of the day and he might have bowled himself into the scheme of things the National selectors have in mind. The emphasis is going to be on picking the player in form and a departure from the past when selecting two off-spinners in the side was not encouraged. But Sarandeep did enough to push his case strongly for the coming Test series against South Africa with some crafty bowling. His drifter added to the guiles at his command as Sarandeep tossed the ball repeatedly to put an abrupt end to Baroda's hopes.

Faced with a target which required a disciplined approach, the Rest seemed to have sorted its task out through the sedate pair of Akash Chopra and Vinayak Mane. The Baroda attack stuck to a line and the Rest openers had to earn every run on a pitch which encouraged the bowlers more than it did on the opening day.

Chopra and Mane believe in playing the ball on merit and the bowlers gave them little liberty to innovate. It was a lapse in concentration that saw Chopra edge and Buch pick a smart catch in the slips. It was just the breakthrough that Baroda would have prayed for. But now they had a job on hand as the new man at the crease was V.V.S. Laxman.

Laxman wasted no time in announcing his class. A firm on-drive off the first ball was followed by a one-bounce boundary to third man. The elegance was confirmed with another punch. He was in a tearing hurry to scatter the field, but was adopting a dangerous course since left-arm spinner Valmik Buch was looking quite mean. It was thus not surprising when Buch beat him in the air and Laxman looked so clumsy as he only got a nick to what should have been a big drive.

Baroda was served well by Buch and Irfan Pathan (Jr), who looked very impressive with his enthusiasm and endurance. Disaster struck Rest when Hrishikesh Kanitkar was stunned by a ball which kicked. It was a good strike by Buch even as Mane continued to bat with confidence. But Mane once again failed to translate his good form into a big score when Pathan (Jr) beat him for pace and trapped the batsman in front. The quick dismissals of Kanitkar and Mane put Baroda in a position to dictate terms, but an unbeaten stand of 86 runs between Dinesh Mongia and Ratra kept Rest in the race.

Mongia was a picture of concentration as he built his innings with adequate support from the young Ratra. There were few edges from their blades and some attractive shots showed their intention to capitalise on the scoring opportunities. The Baroda attack was on target too, but Mongia and Ratra stood up admirably to survive a tough last session, in which Pathan (Jr) stood out for his ability to bowl at a consistent pace. By close, Mongia had hit six 4s and Ratra four 4s, but, importantly, the pair had given a fine exhibition of their temperament.

The scores:

Baroda - 1st innings: Satyajit Parab c Chopra b Mohanty 7, Connor Williams c Ratra b Yohannan 143, Nayan Mongia c Laxman b Sarandeep 31, Hrishikesh Parab (run out) 1, Tushar Arothe c Ratra b Yohannan 18, Himanshu Jadhav c Ratra b Sarandeep 43, Umang Patel (hit wkt) b Sarandeep 0, Rakesh Patel c Kanitkar b Sarandeep 44, Valmik Buch lbw b Sarandeep 1, Irfan Pathan (Jr) (not out) 0, Irfan Pathan (Sr) c sub (Yere Goud) b Sanghvi 0. Extras (b-2, lb-6, nb-22) 30. Total 318.

Fall of wickets: 1-21, 2-92, 3-96, 4- 131, 5-255, 6-259, 7-286, 8-295, 9-318.

Rest of India bowling: Debasis Mohanty 28-2-78-1, Tinu Yohannan 27-5-95-2, Sarandeep Singh 35.1-10-78-5, Salabh Srivastava 4.5-0- 12-0, Rahul Sanghvi 12.2-1-47-1.

Rest of India - 1st innings: Akash Chopra c Buch b Pathan (Jr) 22, Vinayak Mane lbw b Pathan (Jr) 48, V.V.S. Laxman c Mongia b Buch 13, Hrishikesh Kanitkar c Williams b Buch 2, Dinesh Mongia (batting) 47, Ajay Ratra (batting) 35. Extras (lb-1, nb-11) 12. Total (for four wkts) 179.

Baroda bowling: Rakesh Patel 14-2-33-1, Irfan Pathan (Sr) 9-1-28- 0, Valmik Buch 19-7-49-1, Irfan Pathan (Jr) 15-5-45-2, Umang Patel 9-4-11-0, Tushar Arothe 4-0-12-0.

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