Tamil Nadu start favourites

Tamil Nadu, led by Robin Singh, is a talented bunch. If they combine well and perform, there is no stopping them, avers coach K Bharath Kumar.

The hosts have been on song this season. They topped the table in the South Zone. They have capable players like vice-captain Sridharan Sharath, Madanagopal, Sridharan Sriram, DJ Gokulakrishnan, who came up with fine bowling efforts in the Wills Trophy, wicket-keeper/batsman Reuben Paul, and medium pacers S Mahesh and T Kumaran.

Sharath has been in fine shape. In the Deodhar Trophy, he notched up two centuries. With the selection of the senior team to play against South Africa later this month, he should grab every opportunity to stake his claim.

Saurashtra, who finished third in West Zone, also boast of a well-balanced side. Manager-cum-coach Mahesh Chauhan sounded confident of his team putting up a good show. “Ours is a balanced side. We have very good openers and good middle-order. We will try to make a match of it,” he said.

Their batting will be led by Sidanshu Kotak who took up captaincy last season and has been in good form. The 27-year-old left-hander made his presence felt with a gritty century for the Rest of India against the Ranji champions Karnataka in the Irani Trophy earlier this season. Against East Zone, he cracked a hundred in the Deodhar Trophy.

Kotak hoped that former Tamil Nadu player RC Vasanth Kumaar, who now plays for Saurashtra, would come good. Opener Vasanth, who is among runs (338 in four matches, including a century), will be the one to look out for.

Other dependable batsmen for the visitors are Bimal Jadeja, Prakash Bhatt, Opener Altaf Merchant, Feroz Bambhania, wicket-keeper Manoj Parmar and Pratik Metha.

The new ball will be handled by left-arm Rajesh Garsondia, Narendra Rana, Kamal Chavda and Altaf Merchant. Their trusted spinners are offies Nitesh Parsana, Niraj Odedra; lone leg-spinner Dharmendra Chudasama and left-arm spinner Rakesh Dhruv. Kotak will also chip in with left-arm spin.

Teams (from)

Tamil Nadu: Robin Singh (captain), S Sriram, S Sharath, JR Madanagopal, Aashish Kapoor, T Kumaran, Hemang K Badani, Reuben Paul (wk), S Vasanth Saravanan, S Mahesh, DJ Gokulakrishnan, Tanveer Jabbar, Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan, Anand George, Satyajit Medappa. Coach: K Bharath Kumar.

Saurashtra: Sidanshu Kotak (captain), Prakash Bhatt (vc), Bimal Jadeja, Manoj Parmar (wk), RC Vasanth Kumaar, Nitesh Parsana, Rakesh Dhruv, Niraj Odedra, Dharmendra Chudasama, Altaf Merchant, Feroz Bambhania, Pratik Metha, Narendra Rana, Rajesh Garsondia, Kamal Chavda.

Umpires: AK Bharadwaj (New Delhi), Umesh Kumar (Patiala). Match referee: Avinash Bhate (Nagpur).