Keen contest is on the cards when West Zone take on North Zone in the quarterfinals of the Duleep Trophy at Chepauk here on Saturday. Both teams had a long training and net session at the MAC B grounds at Chepauk.
West Zone led by in-form Cheteshwar Pujara have an edge over North owing to their all-round ability, besides having the right mixture of experience and youth. On the other hand, North have Test discards Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra and Shikhar Dhawan in their ranks.
“We have a balanced side, which has experienced players like Ajinkya Rahane and Abhishek Nayar. Plus we have Harmeet Singh fresh from winning the U-19 World Cup. I’m looking forward to a good contest,” said West skipper Pujara.
West have two wicketkeepers in Smit Patel and Parthiv Patel in the squad. When queried whether West will play two keepers with one as a batsman. Pujara said: “Most unlikely. We will go with one wicketkeeper.”
The Chepauk wicket is known to be batsman friendly at the start of the game and later aid spinners as the match progresses. Spinners have a vital role to play.
“We have four good medium pacers in our side, plus we have a couple of good spinners. So there are options. We will pick the XI on the day of the game,” added Pujara.
It’s an excellent opportunity for Harmeet Singh to showcase his talent. Rated highly by the likes of Bishen Singh Bedi and Ian Chappell, Harmeet will be closely watched by National selector Roger Binny in the next four days. Harmeet is no stranger to Chepauk as it was here that he fine-tuned his bowling at the Spin Wing of BCCI under former India leg-spinner L Sivaramakrishnan.
Shikhar Dhawan was optimistic of a good show from his team. “All the players are in good form, so it will be a good game,’’ said Dhawan.
He also said Ishant Sharma, who is one of the main bowlers for India in Tests, was back to his best. “Ishant has been bowling well.We also have good spinners in Amit Mishra and youngster Vikas Mishra,’’ said Dhawan.
North too have two keepers in Udey Kaul and Nitin Saini in their ranks. Although Dhawan refused to say who will play, it looks like Saini will get the nod.
The toss is crucial. The team winning the toss is likely to bat first, as most teams are content on winning the match through first innings lead.
