CHENNAI: A confident-looking Tamil Nadu take on Delhi in their second round of the Ranji Trophy beginning in Delhi on Thursday. Their confidence stems from the fact that they defeated a strong Saurashtra side a few days back in Coimbatore.
N Jagadeesan will lead Tamil Nadu in the absence of ace spinner Sai Kishore who has been selected for India A team which will play the ACC Men's T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup. Sai Kishore's absence may not be a big cause for worry as Washington Sundar has been drafted into the side.
Washington fresh from his white ball success with the India team where he got to play the T20Is will be a big boost for the visitors. His accurate bowling lends variety to the Tamil Nadu attack and his batting is always a bonus for any team.
Although there is a change in the leadership, sources close to the team management indicated that things would be similar to that of the Saurashtra game which means that the playing XI could be the same with Washington coming in place of Sai Kishore.
The wicket for the tie looks green at the moment and medium pacers are bound to call the shots. Speaking of fast bowlers, the first name that comes to mind is Gurjapneet Singh. The lanky speedster was in his element for Tamil Nadu against Saurashtra where he played a big role in their innings victory and troubled the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara.
The wicket for the Delhi game suits his style of bowling and thus Tamil Nadu looks towards Gurjapneet to do an encore.
''I am very happy with my performance against Saurashtra at Coimbatore and looking forward to the Delhi game. It was a debut game and was pleased with the way I bowled. It gave me the belief that I belong to this level (First class level),'' said Gurjapneet to this daily.
Delhi at Delhi are always a tough team to beat and expectations will be high from this 25-year old medium pacer.
''I am aware that Delhi is a good side and tough to beat at their home. But we have a good all-round side and I am sure we will do well. Personally, the Saurashtra game has given me a lot of confidence. I know expectations will be high, but there is no pressure. I just want to go out and enjoy,'' said Gurjapneet.
''We will have a look at the wicket tomorrow (Friday) and act accordingly. First Class cricket is all about adapting and learning, which I am very keen to do. Having L Balaji as our chief coach has been very rewarding for me. His inputs have been very handy and he always advises me to keep it simple and go with the flow'' added the bowler.
On the other hand Delhi led by Himmat Singh which took the first-innings lead in its drawn opening game against Chhattisgarh in Raipur will look to carry forward the momentum. But the absence of the likes of Ayush Badoni, Anuj Rawat and Hrithik Shokeen who are part of the India-A team in Muscat could hamper their progress.
Group A: At Cuttack: Odisha vs J&K
Group B: At Ahmedabad: Gujarat vs Andhra; At Dehradun: Uttarakhand vs Hyderabad; At Puducherry: Puducherry vs Vidarbha
Group C: At Alur: Karnataka vs Kerala
Group D: At Delhi: Delhi vs Tamil Nadu