Friends off the area: Punjab skipper Mandeep and Baroda captain
Krunal strike a pose forward of their opening match
| Photo Credit: Amol Karhadkar
The ODI World Cup could have concluded over the weekend. But the one-day format can be on the minds of the home fraternity regardless of the cricket world transferring into the T20 mode, with a watch on subsequent yr’s T20 World Cup.
Interestingly, Punjab and Baroda — the two groups that confronted one another in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy ultimate earlier this month — will revive their rivalry on Thursday on the opening day of the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
On November 6, Mandeep Singh’s Punjab halted Baroda’s sensible run in a high-scoring SMAT ultimate.
With the adjoining metropolis to Mumbai being the home-town of Punjab head coach Aavishkar Salvi, his household had delivered a home-cooked meal for the outfit.
Punjab head coach Aavishkar Salvi noticed his boys slog it out for nearly three hours at the Dadovi Konddev stadium.
On the different facet of the strip that’s been ready beneath the watchful eyes of BCCI-appointed curator Y.L. Chandrasekhar Rao of Hyderabad, Krunal Pandya’s lot skilled laborious with head coach Mukund Parmar and bowling coach S. Arvind monitoring intently.
Some could really feel that the Group E opening conflict can be a chance for Baroda to settle its loss in the Mushtaq Ali Trophy ultimate. But the group isn’t it that manner.
“It’s not a grudge match. It’s a fresh start to the new format. We are looking to continue the good work over the last month in the 50-over format and start off with a win,” stated Parmar, the Gujarat stalwart who took over the reins at the begin of the season.
The match can even be a conflict between the Group E heavyweights, with Tamil Nadu — the third powerhouse in the group — set to start its marketing campaign on Saturday. Punjab can be with out left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh, considered one of its T20 triumph stars, who can be representing India for the T20I sequence in opposition to Australia. “It’s not the first time we are playing without Arshdeep. And in the last two-three years, we are used to facing a big opponent at the start of our Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign,” stated Mandeep.
“I am confident that the week-long preparation has enabled all the boys to adapt to the format and we hope to start off with a win.”
Thursday’s matches: Punjab vs Baroda (Thane); Goa vs Madhya Pradesh (Brabourne Stadium); Bengal vs Nagaland (Bandra-Kurla Complex).
