All eyes will be centred on the India-Sri Lanka game in Adelaide, but at the Wankhede Stadium, 22 of India’s fringe players will be looking to impress the selectors when they meet in the five-day Duleep Trophy final that begins here tomorrow. After Wasim Jaffer’s debacle with the bat in Australia, players such as Parthiv Patel, Aakash Chopra and youngster Ajinkya Rahane have been nurturing hopes of earning an India cap. While Chopra slammed a 205 against East recently, Rahane has maintained his impressive season with a series of good knocks.However, Jaffer’s century against England Lions and his record 342-run stand with Rahane means the Mumbai opener remains in the running for the slot despite the disappointments Down Under. With West registering an impressive victory over the England Lions, skipper Parthiv Patel feels his team is high on confidence. But that’s one factor North isn’t short on either, after their massive 433-run win over East. “The win on the last day of the match gave a huge boost to our morale,” said West skipper Patel. With the selectors deciding to drop offie Ramesh Powar for Gujarat youngster Monish Parmar, West will rely heavily on Yusuf Pathan. Powar’s exclusion two days before the final may have come as a surprise in the West dressing room, but coach Praveen Amre feels that his form was the area of concern. “He hasn’t been among the wickets. If you look at the last Ranji Trophy game also, he didn’t do much,” said Amre.Though both skippers have made their predictions saying it looked like a typical ‘Wankhede track’, the pitch is likely to favour the batsmen more.
