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Rest of India to face Mumbai in Irani Trophy |
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Sports Posted On Wednesday, September 30, 2009 | Agencies
Nagpur, Sept 30:
Fringe players and those ready to make a comeback will be in action in the season opener Irani Trophy that gets underway between Rest of India and Ranji champions Mumbai at the Vidarbha Cricket Association stadium, here, from tomorrow.
A strong Rest of India team led by Virender Sehwag holds the edge over the Wasim Jaffer-led Mumbai because of the presence of big players like S Badrinath, Murali Vijay, S Sreesanth, Manoj Tiwary and Munaf Patel.
The Mumbai skipper too acknowledged the fact that the Rest of India start as favourites in the five-day game. They (RoI) have the best of players and obviously they are a tough opponent to beat, Jaffer said on the eve of the match.
Mumbai will be dealing with the strong Rest line-up with Sehwag and M Vijay at the top. Though Sehwag is coming after a shoulder injury he can be a dangerous customer on the batting wicket.
The 38-time Ranji champions are also missing the services of their front-line bowler Zaheer Khan and the batting of Sachin Tendulkar and Amol Muzumdar. While Khan is nursing an injury Tendulkar is on national duty at the Champions Trophy. Middle-order veteran Muzumdar has opted to play for Assam from this season.
''Obviously it is a big loss. Amol was with us since last 16 years so it will be difficult to fill the void,'' Jaffer said.
Rest of India's bowling too has experience players including Sreesanth and Munaf Patel, both of whom are keen to make their mark. Irfan Pathan is missing from the squad due to an injury. He has been replaced by UP's Bhuvaneshwar Kumar.
Individually the match provides a perfect platform for many youngsters to prove their worth. It has also provided an opportunity to India discards in both teams to get back in the reckoning.
Jaffer and Rohit Sharma will be using this match to stake a claim for national duty while youngsters Ajinkya Rahane and Dhawal Kulkarni look for another rich experience. Sehwag too will be eager to have a fruitful outing before the Champions League and One-Day series against Australia.
''This is the start of the season. I am keen to go out and get some runs to get back in shape before the Champions League and Australia series,'' Sehwag said.
The Delhi opener said he has recovered from his shoulder injury but experiences minor pain while throwing from long distance. '' It is not a big matter. I hope to get fit before the Champions League,'' he said.
The wicket on offer also looks a batting paradise though curator Praveen Hinganikar said it would offer help to spinners from the second day. ''This is a good five-day strip. But it has something for the spinners,'' Hinganikar said.
Both the teams have good spinners in their ranks. Left-arm spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Pragyan Ojha can prove handy for Rest while Mumbai can depend upon veteran Ramesh Powar and youngster Iqbal Abdulla.
Teams: Mumbai: Wasim Jaffer (capt), Ajit Agarkar, Sahil Kukreja, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Prashant Naik, Vinayak Samant (wk), Ramesh Powar, Iqbal Abdulla, Dhawal Kulkarni, Rahil Shaikh, Murtuza Hussain, Sushant Marathe, Saurabh Netravalkar, Omkar Khanvilkar.
Coach: Sushant Marathe.
Rest of India: Virender Sehwag (captain), S Badrinath (vice-captain), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), M Vijay, S Sreesanth, Munaf Patel, Pragyan Ojha, Manoj Tiwary, Kedar Jadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Abhinav Mukund, Bhuvneshwar Singh, Uday Kaul, Sudeep Tyagi.
Coach: Yashpal Sharma.
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Tuesday, February 09, 2010