Sport

TN ready to take on youthful Maharashtra

— Photo: R. Ragu

TALKING HEADS: Venugopala Rao, S. Badrinath, Chandrakant Pandit and W.V. Raman having a chat ahead of the Tamil Nadu-Maharashtra Ranji tie.

CHENNAI: The 74th edition of the Ranji Trophy begins on Saturday, with the state of domestic cricket in uncommon flux. The impact of the migration to the Indian Cricket League (ICL) — will it dilute quality or clear deadwood? — isn’t clear yet, but the goings-on have injected the season with a certain energy.

Tamil Nadu starts its campaign against Maharashtra at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium. It’s the first of seven Super League Group ‘A’ games — all at home — for the side, and involves perhaps the ideal opposition, for Maharashtra has as many as 10 uncapped players in its squad of 15 named for the first match.

“A lot of them are youngsters who’ve done well in local cricket, and the thing with youngsters is they always have something to prove,” said Maharashtra coach Chandrakant Pandit. “The first game will show how they adapt.”

Losing S. Sriram and Dheeraj Jadhav to the ICL, and Sairaj Bahutule and Hrishikesh Kanitkar to injury has depleted Maharashtra. But, its State Association is one of the few domestic bodies that can cope: with a rigorous system to tap talent from the districts and an entrepreneurial approach to top-performing professionals from other States, the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) has given itself a chance of long-term success.

But, it’s the short term that is of concern in the season opener. Apart from captain Venugopala Rao and paceman Munaf Patel, Maharashtra hasn’t the cricketers — on paper, at any rate — to challenge Tamil Nadu, boosted by the availability of captain S. Badrinath and Test opener Dinesh Karthik. Stranger things have happened of course, but unless something outrageous transpires, it’s tough to picture Maharashtra dictating play.

Moreover, the presence of Badrinath and Karthik allows Tamil Nadu tactical flexibility. Should it so choose, the side can employ five bowlers of variety on a track coach W.V. Raman called “reasonably firm.” Left-arm spinner R. Ramkumar is nursing a niggle, however, and his absence may force Badrinath’s hand with regard to his bowling combination.

Unfortunately for Tamil Nadu, C. Suresh, whose fine spell of left-arm spin against the Australian Institute of Sport in the Buchi Babu tournament was merely the most recent evidence of rapid improvement, contracted typhoid at the time of selection.

Also unavailable is L. Balaji, whose modification of action and recovery from surgery is progressing well. Raman’s considerate treatment of the talented fast-medium bowler in an era of quick-fix solutions is commendable, and Balaji could return for the third game, against Karnataka.

The season of 2007-08 offers batsmen M. Vijay and R. Prasanna, and off-spinner R. Ashwin, Tamil Nadu’s three stand-out performers in an indifferent 2006-07, the platform to argue their case for higher honours. Of particular interest will be the opening battle between Vijay (628 runs at over 52 in his maiden season) and Munaf, eager to earn a recall to the national side. One hopes the weather, foul for much of last week, plays fair.

“I think if we get off the blocks here, it will set the tone for the season,” said Raman. “The side has done all that needs to be done in terms of preparation. Now, it’s down to execution which will be a product of confidence and cricketing discipline.”

The teams (from):

Tamil Nadu: S. Badrinath (Capt.), M. Vijay, S. Anirudha, Dinesh Karthik (wk), K. Shri Vasudeva Das, R. Prasanna, R. Ashwin, C. Ganapathy, V. Yomahesh, R. Naresh, R. Srinivasan, P. Amarnath, R. Ramkumar, Abhinav Mukund, and K.H. Gopinath.

Maharashtra: Venugopala Rao (Capt.), Munaf Patel, Dhruv Mohan, Yogesh Takawale (wk), Harshad Khadiwale, Salil Agarkar, Kedar Jadhav, Shrikant Mundhe, Digamber Waghmare, Swapnil Gugale, Ashish Suryavanshi, Vishant More, Samad Fallah, Vishal Bhilare, and Sayyed Wahid.

Umpires: Sudhir Asnani and Rajiv Risodkar; Match referee: Suresh Luthra.

Hours of play: 9.30 a.m. to noon, 12.40 p.m. to 2.40 p.m., and 3 p.m. to 4.30 p.m.

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