Taposh Chatterjee has promised what bowlers in India yearn for — a greentop. “The wicket has an even distribution of grass and I’m sure this will ensure a fair contest between bat and ball,” the veteran curator said on Friday.
The contest in question is the Irani Trophy tie between Ranji Trophy champions Rajasthan and Rest of India (ROI) that gets under way on Saturday at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium (SMS) in Jaipur.
And it wouldn’t be wrong to say that ROI, led by Parthiv Patel, start as firm favourites against a disjointed Rajasthan outfit in the season opener. The match holds a lot of significance. As many as seven players who are likely to feature in the ROI XI were, on Thursday, named in the 15-member ODI squad that will take on England later this month.
While the likes of Parthiv Patel, Ajinkya Rahane would like to have a decent hit in the middle, the three quicks — Varun Aaron, Umesh Yadav and R Vinay Kumar — would be keen on bending their backs on a strip that is expected to assist seamers.
Leggie Rahul Sharma would want to show he’s capable of delivering in the five-day format as well. Abhinav Mukund would be hoping to remind the selectors that they shouldn’t look beyond him in case the regular openers are unavailable.
Although Rajasthan have managed to retain the core of the squad, their preparation hasn't been up to the mark. It’s been a sort of a rag-tag outfit and the murky politics of RCA hasn’t helped the team’s cause either.
