Hyderabad, Nov. 30: Buoyed by the big win in their last game, Hyderabad take on Goa in a Ranji Trophy Plate division league match starting on Wednesday, keen to push their way to the top of the table and brighten chances of making the Elite group.
Both teams are coming into the match after thumping wins — Hyderabad defeated Tripura by an innings and 35 runs while Goa beat Jharkhand by an innings and 127 runs. Goa are currently breathing down the hosts’ necks with 8 points. Hyderabad, with 9 points from three games, share the lead with Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh even as they are placed third on the table courtesy their run quotient. That makes the four-dayer a keen battle.
The hosts suffered a setback though with Indian middle order batsman VVS Laxman, who was named captain of the home side for the match, pulling out at the last minute.
“Laxman pulled out at the last minute citing a stiff back,” Abdul Azeem, chairman of the senior selection committee, told this newspaper on Tuesday.
“He conveyed the news to us that he couldn’t recover from his troublesome back on Monday,” Azeem added.
Season’s captain Ravi Teja will keep the reins in the changed scenario. Having taken five wickets with his part-time leg-breaks to fashion Hyderabad’s win last time around, Ravi will be on a high. But the specialist batsman’s sub-standard average of 6.25 from four innings is a worry.
However, season’s debutants Akshath Reddy and B. Sandeep, and the experienced Ahmed Quadri have shared the batting burden admirably so far, post the Jaipur jolt.
On the bowling front, the team will again rely heavily on Kaneshkk Naidu and Alfred Absolem with the new ball. Support for these two has been hard to come by. That’s an area of concern, moreso since Goa bat deep down the order.
Hyderabad will also be wary of Shadab Jakati in the opposition camp. The left-arm spinner is sky-high on confidence after taking 10 wickets in the previous match. The batting department looks strong with Regan Pinto, Vaibhav Naik, Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan, Ajay Ratra and Rahul Keni among the runs.
The Teams
Hyderabad: D.B. Ravi Teja (captain), P. Akshath Reddy, Shashank Nag, Ibrahim Khaleel, Ahmed Quadri, Alfred Absolem, B. Sandeep, G.H. Vihari, M.A. Khader, Kaneshkk Naidu, A. Lalith Mohan, Habeeb Ahmed, Paramveer Singh, PSS Bharath. Coach: M.V. Sridhar.
Goa: Sagun Kamat (captain), Shadab Jakati, Ajay Ratra, Vidyut Sivaramakrishnan, Saurabh Bandekar, Robin D’Souza, Rahul Keni, Amit Yadav, Sher Yadav, Ryan D’Souza, Sahil Dhuri, Harshad Gadekar, Rohit Asnodkar, Regan Pinto, Vaibhav Naik.
Umpires: Nandan, M.S. Vishwanth. Match referee: Sanjay Verma.