VISHAKAPATNAM, JANUARY 16: The Wills Trophy final between Board President's XI and Karnataka assumes much importance after India's dismal performances on the current tour of Australia.The National selectors will surely be in search of replacements and the one high up in their list could be Mohammed Azharuddin skipper of the President's XI.He has had a relatively satisfactory tournament so far. Azhar would surely want to prove a point or two in this match. Among the younger lot, opener Shiv Sunder Das, all-rounder Sanjay Bangar, Thilak Naidu and T Kumaran have been impressive.Azhar had a word of praise for Das and Bangar. The former hit a century against Mumbai in the first match while Bangar showed his all-round ability in the semis. Their fighting quality has been the key to Karnataka's success. After a successful chase against Wills XI in Hyderabad, they ousted Madhya Pradesh by the spin of coin in the semi-final that ended in a tie. Another gritty display and a slice of luck could see them upsetthe better-balanced President's XI.Coach Raghunath was unhappy with the bowling in the semi-final. ``It was a close call. Anyway, the boys are learning and are ready for the final,'' he said.If Thilak Naidu showed the way in the first match, openers J Arunkumar and Mithun Beerala were among the runs in the next. Among the bowlers, the bustling David Johnson was impressive against Wills XI while Mansoor Ali Khan chipped in useful wickets in the tight semi-final match. But the final is a different matter and calls for more planning.Teams (from)Board President's XI: Mohammad Azharuddin (capt), Shiv Sundar Das, Jyoti Yadav, Anshu Jain, Aashish Kapoor, S Sriram, Sridharan Sharath, Rajiv Raja, Karthick Murali, Sanjay Bangar, Vijay Dahiya (wicket-keeper), Thirunavukkarasu Kumaran, Ashish Nehra, Nikesh Modi. Coach: Sudhakar Rao (Karnataka)Karnataka (from): Sujith Somasundar (capt), Arunkumar, Mithun Beerala, Rowland, A Vijay, Thilak Naidu, S Shiraguppi, A Yalvigi, Katti, Akhil, DJohnson, D Ganesh, Mansoor Ali Khan and Umesh. Coach: RaghunathUmpires: S Venkataraghavan and VK Ramaswamy.
