Ranji Trophy | Kerala has its task cut out against a balanced UP side

Prepping time: Sachin Baby will be keen on a captain’s performance in the crucial encounter.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The rain, which has been stalking both Kerala and Uttar Pradesh this season, is likely to thwart the teams from gathering maximum points in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group C encounter which begins at the St. Xavier’s College ground here on Wednesday.

Heavy rain forced the visitor to call off the nets session on Monday. Though both sides grabbed the much-needed practice on Tuesday morning when there was bright sunshine, heavy rain in the evening has cast a shadow of doubt on the match starting on time on Wednesday.

Rain had wiped away nearly five sessions of play in the Kerala-Punjab encounter at the same venue three weeks ago. Though the host beat Punjab comprehensively, rain affected Kerala’s away matches against both Karnataka and Bengal which ended in draws.

With captain Sachin Baby hinting at Kerala playing to its strength at home, the host again relies on the spin troika of Jalaj Saxena, Aditya Sarwate and B. Aparajith to bamboozle the visiting batters.

The biggest positive for Kerala in the drawn encounter against Bengal was the lower-order fightback triggered by Saxena and Salman Nizar, who both scored half-centuries. With Mohammed Azharuddeen running into form, Kerala will be hoping for other top-order batters to raise their game against UP.

Uttar Pradesh showed signs of hitting full stride against Punjab. Nitish Rana and Madhav Kaushik got runs while key bowlers including Shivam Mavi had a good workout with the ball.

National duty

The visitor will miss Rinku Singh who will be away on India duty. However, with enough depth in its batting, UP can easily tide over Rinku’s absence.

Captain Aryan Juyal will be tempted to play veteran leg spinner Piyush Chawla given the venue’s propensity to help the tweakers. Saurabh Kumar and Shivam Sharma are the two spin-bowling all-rounders in the side and Kerala has its task cut out against one of the better balanced teams in the group.