Conditions hold key to Irani tie

It's been nearly 10 months since the Indian cricket team stepped out for a five-day contest. No wonder, then, that Rahul Dravid felt most of...

It’s been nearly 10 months since the Indian cricket team stepped out for a five-day contest. No wonder, then, that Rahul Dravid felt most of them would need a reminder after the first day’s play of the Irani Trophy match — which begins here tomorrow — that the next day would not be a new game but only a continuation of the same.

The Indian vice-captain’s jest was probably a reflection of the scenario before the contest between the Saurav Ganguly’s Rest of India and the Mumbai team led by Sachin Tendulkar. Dravid’s urgency to attain match fitness was understandable but the Rest — most of whom have been at the pre-season training camp in Bangalore — indulged in only a light workout in the evening.

The spotlight is on…

The openers, the most contentious area in the team. The selectors have indicated their preferences by naming Sanjay Bangar and Virender Sehwag in the Rest of India squad. But if Mumbai’s Wasim Jaffer and Vinayak Mane can score against a quality Rest attack, they could have the edge

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• Ashish Nehra’s injury has given the likes of Avishkar Salvi and Laxmipathy Balaji the chance to serve up a reminder about their abilities against star-studded line-ups

• Yuvraj Singh will be keen to push his credentials in the longer-duration game. Ironically, because the Punjab lad had broken into the Indian team on the strength of his impressive run of scores in the Ranji Trophy

• Harbhajan will be aiming to prove his potency after an injured finger had raised doubts on his fitness and effectiveness. Leggie Anil Kumble too will be hoping to extend his Irani successes (24 wickets from three matches).

• The run machines — Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid — will be aiming to fine-tune their skills before embarking on another Test campaign. The same applies to pace heads Zaheer Khan and Ajit Agarkar.

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By contrast, Ranji champions Mumbai slugged it out in the extreme humid conditions prevalent at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Tendulkar sought to emphasise the importance of the game, saying, ‘‘We are here to win and fight all the way. We do not to take this as a practice match. We want to grab that trophy from Rest of India.’’

While Dravid said a Ranji final would hold a special value for him over any other domestic event, the Rest vice-captain was quick to add, ‘‘This game before a series against the New Zealanders is vital for both senior and younger players in India.’’

The Mumbai skipper had a word of caution for the batsmen too. ‘‘It is a difficult match and any batsman requires only one ball to get out. The one who makes that mistake is going to pay the price.’’ Opener Wasim Jaffer agreed, mapping out his plans for the encounter. ‘‘I need to stay focussed and ensure that I do not throw away a good start.’’

With the overnight rains raising the humidity levels here, players will not only have battle a quality opposition but also the conditions. Zaheer Khan’s fitness is a big worry for the Rest. ‘‘He has a back problem. Only the physio (Andrew Leipus) will be able to assess the situation’’, Dravid said while dwelling on the Baroda fast bowler’s participation in the match.