The ability to peak at the right time is the hallmark of a champion side, and Karnataka, after an indifferent start to their Ranji Trophy title defence, seem to have found their range and rhythm.
With two successive victories coming in convincing fashion, Karnataka will once again be aiming for nothing less than a win when they face table-toppers Delhi in their Group ‘A’ encounter, and the last at home, here at the Rajnagar Stadium from Monday.
With just one more match to go in the group phase after this tie, it is an important match for skipper Vinay Kumar’s boys and a win here will strengthen their chances of entering the quarterfinals. Placed fourth in the table with 21 points from six matches, Karnataka are all set to face their toughest group assignment yet in the form of Delhi, who lead the group with 24 points from seven games.
To Karnataka’s advantage, the return of Manish Pandey from a finger injury bolsters their batting and the 26-year-old right-hander, whose ability to impact the course of a match is all too apparent.
Green top
While they rightly opted for three spinners on a turning track in their previous game against Odisha in Mysuru, the defending champions will look to field a three-pronged pace attack on a surface that has good amount of grass on it. Agreeing that the wicket will be a green top, curator K Sriram said that more moisture will be retained. “Yes it will be a green top and we want to retain more moisture on it to help the bowlers. Usually, a green surface has the tendency to become slow on the third or fourth day. But we will water the surface lightly and retain more moisture in it,” said Sriram.
The hosts will look to go in with three seamers, with left-arm pacer S Arvind likely to return in place of Udit Patel. Abhimanyu Mithun seems likely to come in for Stuart Binny, who is out of the squad due to national commitment. The availability of Pandey will also see either Abhishek Reddy or R Samarth missing out.
Wake up call
Delhi’s unbeaten run in the campaign was ended with a five-wicket defeat to a resurgent Assam last week, giving the visitors a wake up call ahead of the tougher challenges to come.
They also received a blow when their key bowler Pradeep Sangwan was injured during the practice session. Sangwan was hit on his right knee at the ‘nets’ and coach Vijay Dahiya hoped the injury is not serious. “I hope he will be fine. He's a very important player. It's (injury) not very serious. We will take a call in the morning.”
Left-arm spinner Manan Sharma, with 33 wickets so far, has been in good form and the youngster would look to pose serious threat to Karnataka. Skipper Gautam Gambhir, with three half-centuries under his belt, will lead Delhi’s batting.
Published 22 November 2015, 17:59 IST