Sport

Plenty at stake as Irani Cup begins today

— PHOTO: PTI

STAYING RELAXED: Rest of India players indulge in a game of frisbee on the eve of the Irani Cup match against Delhi in Vadodara.

VADODARA: Anil Kumble and Virender Sehwag believe in grinding the opposition to the dust. These two competitive individuals present the bold face of Indian cricket, as witnessed in the away series against Australia — when the former bristled with aggression in the role of a dignified captain and the latter chipped in with runs, timely wickets and critical advise.

Now when the Aussies have landed for another round of high-voltage action, it is time for the two warriors to face each other in the Irani Cup, leading Rest of India and Ranji Trophy champion Delhi respectively.

Kumble and Sehwag’s attacking attitude has always rubbed off on teammates and the contest at the IPCL Stadium, beginning on Wednesday is expected to play out along the same lines. Kumble heads a virtual national side, packed with such experience and talent that deciding whom to leave out of the playing XI is a difficult choice.

Sehwag is not one to get intimidated by the quality of opposition and will lead a settled Delhi team from the front. The essence of Irani Cup, billed as the domestic season opener, is to create an opportunity to gauge the form of established players in match situations and test the mettle of young talents under pressure.

The unknown factor at this stage is the IPCL wicket, which national selection committee chairman Dilip Vengsarkar hopes will turn out to be a lively track. “The Motibaug wicket I know is lively. I don’t know how the IPCL wicket behaves,” he said. He agreed that regardless of the nature of the playing surface, the presence of Kumble and Sehwag in rival camps will generate intense, healthy competition due to the ability of these two to inspire teammates. “Kumble and Sehwag are tough players and influential as captains, so the match will reflect their thinking.”

He views the availability of numerous Test players in both sides as a welcome happening, in keeping with the stature of the event during his formative years. “We looked forward to the Irani Cup because Test players used to take part then,” said Vengsarkar, whose century for Bombay against Rest in the 1975 Irani Cup tie had catapulted him into the national squad.

He is here to watch the action as Rest of India defends the title it won last year by outplaying Mumbai by nine wickets. Mohd. Kaif, the Rest captain last year, is again in the thick of action this time, though he is just one name in a long list of Test hopefuls on show at the IPCL over the next five days.

The presence of S. Badrinath, Rahul Dravid, V.V.S. Laxman and M.S. Dhoni along with Kaif is a challenge for Kumble, in terms of finalising the middle-order and having enough places left to accommodate specialist bowlers from among Zaheer Khan, R.P. Singh, Munaf Patel and Harbhajan Singh. Pragyan Ojha and Ashok Dinda complete the bowling line-up.

“It is Kumble and (Gary) Kirsten’s call,” says Vengsarkar, eager to see how the young turks in the Delhi batting, namely Virat Kohli, Gautam Gambhir and Shikhar Dhawan stand up to the Rest attack.

Sehwag, capable of bowling useful off-breaks, can bank upon Ishant Sharma, Pradeep Sangwan and Ashish Nehra for breakthroughs with the new ball, supported by seamer Rajat Bhatia and slow bowler Chetanya Nanda.

The Nissar Trophy tie against Pakistan’s Sui Northern Gas Pipelines saw the Delhi bowlers delivering in the first innings and the batsmen performing in the second before rain intervened. India’s domestic champion squad gets a chance to tighten up its act as it takes on the nation’s best.

The teams (from): Rest of India: Anil Kumble (capt.), S. Badrinath, M.S. Dhoni, Rahul Dravid, V.V.S. Laxman, Wasim Jaffer, Mohd. Kaif, Parthiv Patel, Munaf Patel, Zaheer Khan, R.P. Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha and Ashok Dinda. Coach: Gary Kirsten.

Delhi: Virender Sehwag (capt.), Gautam Gambhir, Aakash Chopra, Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Tehlan, Mithun Manhas, Virat Kohli, Rajat Bhatia, Puneet Bisht, Ishant Sharma, Pradeep Sangwan, Ashish Nehra, Chetanya Nanda and Amit Bhandari. Coach: Vijay Dahiya.

Umpires: S. Hazare and S .Tarapore. Third umpire: A. Dandekar

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