CHENNAI: For a team that had slumped to five straight losses in this Vijay Hazare Trophy and had no wins to show, one would probably assume that Assam’s players would’ve treated the mental-strengthening session they underwent in Chennai last Saturday as a mere breather.
But that supposition was laid to rest by Tuesday evening at the Murugappa College ground. “I definitely think that it helped. That session was basically focussed on instilling more self-belief in us. And we backed ourselves today to do it,” remarked Riyan Parag after his team had posted a comfortable eight-wicket win against Tripura. The Assam opener had done his bit and more, scoring 82 and claiming two dismissals to boot.
A silver lining to their dismal campaign notwithstanding, Assam’s sole victory in this edition of the tournament has given them hope in a three-way brawl that has now opened up among the bottom teams of Elite Group C. Team Rajasthan — courtesy their seven-wicket besting of Services on the same day — and Jammu & Kashmir are the two other contenders.
As per the relegation rules of the event, the bottom team from Elite Group C will be shunted to the Plate Group. With the three aforementioned sides locked at eight points apiece, one of them will have to endure that fate on Thursday. A shootout between Assam and J&K will decide the team that will be ejected.
Having completed their quota of nine matches, Rajasthan can breathe easy for the moment. Owing to their better net run rate (-0.971) among these three teams, the only situation that sees them being demoted is a washout of the said crunch clash, one that seems unlikely going by what the weather forecasters have to say (no rains on Thursday).
The stakes for this mini-fray are obvious. The group that one of these three will fall into is essentially the sandbox of this event, since it comprises of all the nine new entrants to the domestic circuit. Assam, Rajasthan and J&K may not be heavyweights per se, but they are teams that have been constantly present in the bigger scheme of things in this context. It wouldn’t be wrong to surmise that none of the three would want to be pitted in a group that essentially entails a reduced level of competition.
Going by Parag’s words, that session with psychologist Keerthana Swaminathan and their first win seem to have buoyed his team’s morale. He and his mates want to treat their J&K clash like any other match. “Yes, it hasn’t been the best of seasons, but our win today has definitely given us more confidence. We just want to go out there, and back ourselves to return with a victory.”
rahulravi@newindianexpress.com