Date:18/12/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/18/stories/2008121855241800.htm

Sport - Cricket

Delhi eyes quarterfinal spot

Sports Reporter

JAIPUR: The late revival of fortune has kept Delhi in contention for a quarterfinal berth in the Ranji Trophy. On the eve of its last super league match against Rajasthan at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium here, the visiting team appeared determined to grab maximum points to clinch a knock-out spot.

After back-to-back wins against Orissa and Saurashtra, Delhi is now placed at the fourth place with 17 points from six matches. Saurashtra, also playing its last game against Hyderabad, is third with 18 points and proves to be a major roadblock in Delhi’s progress.

The challenge before Delhi is to post an outright win over Rajasthan and strive for a bonus point in order to keep Saurashtra at bay. Coach Vijay Dahiya acknowledges the tough task at hand.

Crucial match

“This is the most crucial match for us. We must get maximum points as our goal is to qualify (for the quarterfinals),” he said.

Dahiya said that Delhi would stick to its three-seamer and one-spinner attack though the playing XI will be decided before the toss.

Delhi’s resolve to overcome the odds was visible in the players’ focused approach at the nets and Dahiya said factors like wicket and the plunging morale of Rajasthan would not matter much to his side. “When a team does not do well, it remains psychologically down. But these things hardly bother us as we need to play good cricket,” he said.

Nothing to lose

A battered Rajasthan, with just two points from six outings to ensure its relegation to the Plate division, has nothing but pride to play for. “We have nothing to lose, we will try to take the first innings lead,” Rajasthan skipper Y. Venugopala Rao said. “There is disappointment as far as the team’s performance and my performance go. We will assess the situation after this match.”

Rajasthan will field three pacers and two spinners, though the combination will be decided on Thursday morning.

The teams (from): Rajasthan: Y. Venugopala Rao (capt.), Rajesh Bishnoi, Mohd. Aslam, Vineet Saxena, Robin Bisht, Pankaj Singh, Sumeet Mathur, Baibhav Despande, Vinod Chanwaria, Vikram Singh (wk), Sailendra Gehlot, Kuldeep Singh, Vikrant Yadav, Manish Sharma, Gajendra Singh and Vivek Yadav.

Delhi: Aakash Chopra (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Mithun Manhas, Yogesh Nagar, Rajat Bhatia, Puneet Bisht (wk), Sumeet Narwal, Chetanya Nanda, Pradeep Sangwan and Parvinder Awana.

Umpires: D.S. Bhatti, Deepak Shirodkar.

Match Referee: Anand Patel.