Date:22/12/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/22/stories/2008122260361800.htm

Sport - Cricket

A season to forget for Andhra

Principal Correspondent

VADODARA: Nothing went right for Andhra in the Ranji Trophy this season and it got relegated to the Plate division after eight seasons in the Elite Group.

Andhra had been among the elite right from the inception of the new format in the 2001-2002 season. It had earned the coveted spot after emerging the South Zone champion in 2000-2001 under the watchful eyes of coach and former international Abid Ali.

Andhra, which played five away games and one at home (at Vijayawada), managed just three points and gained neither the first innings lead nor an outright victory even once.

Disappointing show

“The senior players performed well below expectations. The experienced batsmen seldom showed the will to stay at the wicket for long. Some players took their places for granted basking on their past laurels,” said coach M.V. Narasimha Rao who took over after his stint with the Ireland team.

Hemal Watekar (345), L. N. Prasad Reddy (289) and skipper Gnaneswara Rao (243), who played in all the six matches, did not play to their potential. An out-of-form A.S.K. Varma could muster only 90 from four games.

“The burden of captaincy might have affected Gnaneswara Rao’s batting but as first-class cricketers, the boys should adapt to new challenges. In the entire tournament, the batsmen could manage just two centuries (Watekar’s 142 and A.G. Pradeep’s 102),” Narasimha Rao said.

The only player who waged a lone battle all through the season was the 24-year-old M. Suresh of Kadapa, who took 18 wickets as a leg-spinner and scored 323 runs playing in different positions.

He scored three fifties — against Baroda, Railways and Karnataka.

Narasimha Rao said the below-par performances by spearheads Kalyan Krishna and P. Vijaykumar was one of the reasons for the team’s dismal show.

“Both of them played in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and know their responsibilities. Kalyan (14 wickets) and Vijaykumar (17) lacked the nip and pace to unsettle the batsmen,” said Narasimha Rao.

Pat for Atchutha

The coach, however, had some encouraging words for youngsters B. Sumanth, Prabhu Kiran, A.G. Pradeep, T. Atchutha Rao, Veerababu, G.V.S. Prasad, Manoj Sai and G.V. Sharath Babu.

“These are the players around whom Andhra’s future would revolve around. The find of the season was Vizag’s Atchutha who has the potential to develop into an all-rounder given his physique and temperament.”

The absence of a genuine spinner added to Andhra’s woes.

“Off-spinner G.V.S. Prasad was selected as the strike bowler but due to injury he could play only in the first four matches,” the coach said.

Even in the fitness department, a lot of improvement is needed as many of the players looked sluggish on the field.