Rain threat to Ranji opener

Hyderabad is all set to host Andhra for their first Ranji Trophy Group C Plate Division fixture of the season that takes off on Sunday.

However, there are already doubts over the conduct of the match given the heavy rains that have been lashing the city for the past 72 hours.

To add to the woes, the Met Department has forecast heavier rains for the next two days. Even if rains stop early, despite the remotest possibility, there is no indication that the ground would be conducive for play even though covers have been put.

Already the ongoing HCA League Championship matches and South Zone Under-19 engagements have been badly hampered because of the wet ground conditions.

In the meanwhile, the ensuing ‘grudge’ match for regional one-upmanship (symbolically, it marks their first against each other since the Centre announced its decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh) is also of utmost importance to the respective coaches as they aim to take the first step towards elevation to the Elite Group.

Sunil Joshi will be hoping that the ‘third time lucky’ syndrome will work in his favour and dame luck will smile on him in his third season as the full-fledged coach of Hyderabad.

Vincent Vijay Kumar will be hoping to cash in on the opportunity that has come his way after Kaushik Patel opted out of the Andhra job for various reasons. His stint in the last season was nothing noteworthy,

though.

On paper, although both teams are evenly balanced in terms of winning potential and talent, Hyderabad has the marginal edge in that Andhra depend too heavily on the ageing import, Amol Mazumdar, who at 38 might be good enough but the host’s young bowlers are raring to go and could trouble the batsmen, particularly on home soil.

Seasoned campaigner, Pragyan Ojha for as long as he is available, will be able to bring in the difference in the attack, which, in essence, will be the trump card for Hyderabad as it moves ahead.

The visitors have senior bowlers in Syed Sahabuddin and Vijay Kumar while Hyderabad has many top grade performers and possibly a better blend of experience and youth with the likes of G Hanuma Vihari and Akash Bhandari hoping to continue the good form they have been in. C V Milind has had a good exposure as a member of the Under-19 national squad.

In hindsight, neither team has practiced as a unit, which may impact the turn of events, particularly on the bowling front.

Irrespective of which ay the match goes, Hyderabad has to play an away match next when they face Assam at Guwahati from November 7 to 10.

After hosting Maharashtra from November 14 to 17, Hyderabad plays Himachal Pradesh at Dharamshala from November 21 to 24 and takes on Tripura at home from December 6 to 9. By then the fate of Hyderabad would have become pretty clear even as they take on Goa, Jammu and Kashmir and Kerala. The season ahead is certainly a grueling one for the team.

A winning start, even if they have to share points with Andhra, would possibly usher in an element of self-confidence that has been lacking in the team for the past two seasons despite myriad changes, reshuffles and experiments.

Teams-Hyderabad: P Akshath Reddy (Captain), Pragyan Ojha, Tirumalasetty Suman, G Hanuma Vihari, Bavanaka Sandeep, V E Sandeep Rajan, D B Ravi Teja, Ahmed Quadri, A Ashish Reddy, Amol Shinde, Habeeb Ahmed (WK), C V Milind, M Ravi Kiran, M A Khader, Akash Bhandari; Coach: Sunil K Joshi.

Andhra: A G Pradeep (Captain), Prasanth Kumar (Vice-captain), Murumulla Sriram, Shaik Basha, Sriram Bharat (WK), Ricky Bhui, Kakani Harish, Amol Mazumdar, Syed Sahabuddin, Shankara Rao, D Shiv Kumar, C Stephen, Bodapati Sumanth, Marripuri Suresh, P Vijay Kumar; Coach: Vincent Vijay Kumar.