Hyderabad as a cricketing unit is evolving on the right track, feels captain Subramaniam Badrinath, ahead of the Ranji Trophy Group C game against Jammu & Kashmir at the Motibaug ground. “I have been trying to tell my teammates to forget the result and focus on the effort from each one. If each player performs to the best of his ability, the result will take care of itself, as it happened in the previous match (against Chhattisgarh).”
He added: “We came back from a difficult position to win. There are a few loopholes to be plugged. I feel the team is on the right track. Hyderabad is an inexperienced bunch, compared to other squads at this level, so developing self-confidence was vital to the team’s success. Talent was there I could see, for some reason players were not able to back themselves to deliver in match situations. Me and coach (Bharat Arun) talked a lot between sessions.”
J & K is weaker opposition, compared to Chhattisgarh which bowled out Hyderabad for 122 in the first innings at Valsad. Badrinath cracked 134 in the second innings and the bowling pack took charge to bowl out the opponents on a seaming Valsad wicket as the team discovered the victory path.
Ravi Kiran took four wickets, C. Milind grabbed three wickets, Akash Bhandari was effective in both innings and returned with a match haul of six wickets for 52.
Badrinath, relieved to have crossed the 10,000 first-class runs milestone, is waiting for the bowlers to produce results at the Motibaug track, traditionally helpful for seamers and pacers. “After the show in the last two games, we are looking forward to playing on lively pitches. I have very little idea about J & K, but we have the attack to test any batsman. Fast bowlers have been taking the bulk of wickets, so look forward to them cashing in on the conditions.”
The Hyderabad skipper also confirmed the availability of wicket-keeper Kolla Sumanth and Balachander Anirudh. Both missed the Valsad game due to fitness issues. “Even without them we pulled off a win, their presence will help us do out best in the effort to gain maximum points.” Badrinath is not ready to talk about the knockouts yet, though his team is within range of the knockouts. “Team performance in the current match is important than thinking about the future.”
J & K captain, off-spinner Parvez Rasool, is realistic. “Fast bowlers can make a difference here, it is a department where our bowlers have not been able to take advantage. I am expecting them to do better.” He played a quarter-final at Motibaug against Punjab in 2014 Ranji season and proved a tough nut to crack with both bat and ball.
Rasool has come into national reckoning based on domestic showing and the chance to challenge Hyderaad may bring out the best in him.
Squad:
Hyderabad: S. Badrinath (capt), Akshath Reddy, Tanmay Agarwal, B. Anirudh, B.P. Sandeep, K. Sumanth (wk), Mehdi Hasan, Akash Bhandari, Ravi Kiran, C.V. Milind, Mohammed Siraj, Vishal Sharma, Himalay Agarwal, Mudassir Hussain, J. Anshul and Habeeb Ahmed (wk).
Jammu & Kashmir: Parvez Rasool (capt), Ian Dev Singh, Ahmed Omar, Samiulla Begh, Omar Nazer, Zahoor Sofi, Puneet Bist (wk), Ram Dayal Punia, Aditya Pratap Singh, Shubham Khajuria, Pranav Gupta, Suhail Andleeb, Imran Haroon, Mohsin Mufti, Harmeet Singh, Amir Aziz and Manik Gupta.
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