Rajesh Dhar
JAMMU, Oct 31: It will be the battle of equals as Jammu and Kashmir faces hosts Kerala at home in the Ranji Trophy Group-B 4-day match from tomorrow.
Though, Kerala boys displayed a good show so far this season than their counterparts from Jammu and Kashmir, yet J&K will slightly enjoy the advantage of beating them at the same venue last season, to overlap the advantage of their rivals playing at home.
However, on the one hand, not playing as a cohesive unit will be the point of concern for Jammu and Kashmir team and on the other hand Kerala boys have produced some stunning performances to help the cause of their team.
No-doubt, on the one hand, Kerala have the distinction of registering two big wins this season against Jharkhand by 9 wickets and against Rajasthan by 131 runs, with a narrow loss against strong Gujarat by 4 wickets in a close contest and on the other hand, J&K earned 3 points by virtue of first innings lead against Rajasthan and suffered a heavy thrashing against Saurashtra and Gujarat, yet J&K have the weapon to counter them if they play as a unit.
On the bowling front, Kerala possesses good spinners in right-arm Jalaj Saxena and left-arm Karaparambil Mohnish, besides speedster Sandeep Warrier and likes, while on the other hand, J&K will heavenly have to rely on spinners Parvez Rasool and Manik Gupta, besides medium pacer Mohd Mudhasir. Jalaj Saxena, in particular, will be a man to watch as he had a good haul of wickets so far in the three outings, including an 8-wicket haul, 5-for and 3-for twice, besides scoring a fabulous ton.
In the batting department, J&K’s fortunes will heavily revolve on their reliable and promising opening duo of Shubham Khajuria and Ahmed Omar Banday, besides the duo of dependable but inconsistent Ian Dev Singh and usually cool but presently incoherent Parvez Rasool, while on the other hand, Kerala have a galaxy of batsmen in their kitty including Sanju Samson, Sachin Baby, Arun Karthik, Rohan Prem and of course Jalaj Saxena, who all possess the quality and class to win matches for you.
For producing a quality performance, J&K players will have to pull their socks, apply to their perfection, enjoy each other’s success and play as a well-knit unit, because the rivals have produced some stunning performances so far in this season.
One gets a feeling that for making a match of it J&K openers, who have the potential, will have to deliver to make it easy for the rest of the batsmen.
Team management will also have to play a pivotal role in guiding the players to play as an organized unit. A good contest on cards!
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