Sport - Football

India ‘A’ takes on New Zealand ‘A’

Chennai: New Zealand ‘A’ begins the second leg of its tour cricket of India on Sunday, as it takes on Suresh Raina-led India ‘A’ at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in the first of two four-day games.

Two changes have been made to the Kiwi squad that played the just-concluded ‘A’ team tri-series, seamers Iain O’ Brien and Trent Boult replacing Mark Gillespie and Jeetan Patel, the side’s top wicket-takers in the one-dayers.

Test bowlers O’ Brien, Michael Mason, and Johannesburg-born all-rounder Grant Elliott, give the seam attack a solid look, but spin options in Patel’s absence are thin, with off-spinning all-rounder Nathan McCullum, who bowled just 11 overs in three matches in the tri-series, the only frontline spinner in the squad.

New Zealand ‘A’ coach Mike Hesson, however, said that the side can cope.

“Nathan McCullum’s played a lot of first class cricket, and Aaron Redmond is a more than useful leg-spin bowler.”

With the resources available, New Zealand ‘A’ has only one decision to make regarding its bowling composition.

“We’ll decide on the day, but we’re likely to have three or four seamers,” said Hesson.

Of the pitch, he said, “It’s quite an abrasive surface, so I’m sure the ball will get scuffed up early, and the ball will probably reverse later on in the day, and obviously their spinners will play a big part, as we expect in India.”

If the wicket indeed behaves as Hesson expects, India ‘A’ has the spin attack to capitalise, with Amit Mishra and Mohnish Parmar, not to mention all-rounders Yusuf Pathan and Ravindra Jadeja.

After a practice session on Saturday, coach Dav Whatmore indicated that both Mishra and Parmar were likely to play.

“We haven’t picked the team; we only finished (the tri-series) yesterday, but I would think — good chance (the) main spinners should play,” he said.

With no injury concerns, the only absentee from the squad is left-arm seamer Pradeep Sangwan, engaged in Irani Cup duty with Delhi.

India ‘A’ will have to choose among Sudeep Tyagi, Dhawal Kulkarni and Ashok Dinda for new ball options.

“If we play three, then there’s no choice,” Whatmore said.

In the unofficial Tests against Australia ‘A’ earlier this month, India ‘A’ played five bowlers, with depth provided by wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel batting up the order, and Piyush Chawla scoring runs at seven.

Neither is in this squad, however, and the four-bowler option might be deployed.

The onus of providing balance in that case is Yusuf Pathan’s; he offers reliable off-spin in addition to the middle order menace that produced a six-studded 148 against the same opposition, on the same ground, during the tri-series.

Two of M. Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan and Sahil Kukreja should open the batting, with last season’s top Ranji Trophy run-getter Cheteshwar Pujara slotting into the middle-order alongside southpaws Raina and his deputy Jaydev Shah.

The teams (from):

India A: Suresh Raina (capt.), Jaydev Shah, M. Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Sahil Kukreja, Cheteshwar Pujara, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha, Ashok Dinda, Dhawal Kulkarni, Sudeep Tyagi, Amit Mishra, Pradeep Sangwan, Mohnish Parmar. Coach: Dav Whatmore.

New Zealand ‘A’: Peter Fulton (capt.), Brent Arnel, Neil Broom, Grant Elliott, Iain O’Brien, Martin Guptill, Greg Hay, Nathan McCullum, James Marshall, Michael Mason, Trent Boult, Aaron Redmond, Bradley Scott, Reece Young, B.J. Watling.