02-Nov-2008 93
Orissa will be having a distinch edge over Hyderabad when two sides meet in their first round Elite (Group-A) Ranji match at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack tomorrow.
Orissa`s nine-wicket victory over Hyderabad in Hyderabad last year would give them a psychological advantage. Playing at home would be the second big advantage for the Orissa team.
Led by former Test opener Shiv Sundar Das, the hosts would be superior in experience. The guidance of former India and Hyderabad left-arm spinner Venkatpathy Raju as chief coach would be an added advantage for Orissa to start their campaign on a winning note.
On the other hand, the Hyderabad side looks young and inexperienced. After losing several leading players to ICL last year, the team from the City of Pearl has been undergoing a re-building process.
Captain Arjun Yadav, their most experienced member, has played 59 first class matches so far. Orissa stand way ahead in this respect with Yadav`s counterpart Das having accumulated 9,653 runs in 149 matches.
Hyderabad`s Orissa-born left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha has taken 124 wickets in 31 first class matches, whereas the home team`s most experienced bowler Debasis Mohanty has bagged 355 wickets in 149 matches.
Hyderabad have three new faces in opening batsman Akshyat Reddy, wicket-keeper Vijay Goud and bowler Ahmed Quadri. But their manager KV Srinivas asserts that his young brigade is confident and raring to go.
Hyderabad coach Kanwaljit Singh has quietly moulded the young team into a fighting unit. ``The team is showing promise. The boys are working hard to re-establish Hyderabad as a strong side in the championship,`` he said.
The newly laid Barabati pitch having a fair amount of grass on it, pace bowlers are most likely to enjoy early success. But Orissa coach Abakash Khatua believes the grass is misleading. ``It will not last more than a day. Thereafter the track will help batsmen,`` he predicted.
Chief coach Raju said consistent and error-free performance would be the decisive factors in the match.
TEAMS:
ORISSA: Shiv Sundar Das, P Jayachandra (vice-capt), Niranjan Behera, Bikash Swarup Pati, Debasis Mohanty, Subit Biswal, Haladhar Das (wk), Rakesh Mohanty, Paresh Patel, Pritamjeet Das, Sourav Sehgal, Sukanta Khatua, Basant Mohanty, P R Sinha, Samir Mohanty. Chief coach: V Raju:
Coach: A Khatua: Physio K Bharatiraj:
Trainer: VP Sudarshan: Observers: Sourajit Mohapatra, Daniel Rout.
HYDERABAD: Arjun Yadav, DB Ravi Teja, Tirumalsetty Suman, Akshyat Reddy, S Anoop Pai, Amol Sindhe, Munagal Pranit Arjun, SM Shoib, Vishal Sharma, Dodapaneni Rishi Raj, Lalit Mohan, Avinab Kumar, Vijay Goud (wk), Pragyan Ojha, Ahmed Quadri. Coach: Kanwaljit Singh: Manager: KV Srinivas: Physio: Vijay Bharatiya: Video analyst: Venugopal.
