CHENNAI: Although Tamil Nadu top the table with 12 points from three games, they will not go in for experiments, when they take on Himchal Pradesh at Dharamshala in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group A match on Tuesday.
With the return of S Badrinath and Dinesh Karthik, TN’s batting has been strengthened. TN defeated Punjab in their last encounter. However, they will miss the services of opener Murali Vijay, who will be on national duty at Kanpur. “We are fully geared up for the tie against HP. We will field our best XI and not go in for any experiments,” said TN coach WV Raman from Dharamshala.
On the pitch and team composition, Raman said: “The surface looks good. We will play five batsmen, plus one keeper and five bowlers. L Balaji, Yo Mahesh, C Ganapathy will form the seam attack, while R Ashwin and Aushik Srinivas will be the two spinners.”
HP depend heavily on openers Bhavin Thakkar and Sangram Singh to set up a good target. Their bowling is dependent spinner Sarandeep Singh and the new-ball pair of Vikramjeet Malik and Ashok Thakur. HP tested Mumbai in their last match but would find full strength TN a tough nut to crack.