Having got some confidence back after an outright win against Haryana, a confident Delhi will be aiming for another six points when they take on Odisha in their fifth round Ranji Trophy group A encounter on Friday with spotlight once again on an out-of-form Virender Sehwag.
Delhi are currently placed fifth having got nine points from four games while Odisha are a notch below at sixth with eight points from an equal number of outings.
Full points from the game is a necessity for both the teams in order to stay on course for a quarter-final berth but Delhi will also be fighting some off-field battles which makes it even more challenging.
As reports emerged that skipper and India discard Gautam Gambhir was not happy with the squad selection, it will be interesting to see the kind of team combination employed by Delhi.
One of the major changes in the squad will be inclusion of wicketkeeper Rahul Yadav, who played his only first-class match four years ago against Bengal as a specialist opener.
Yadav has replaced long-time keeper Puneet Bisht, who has been dropped after having taken five catches in an innings in the last game against Haryana. Bisht’s form with the bat has been a bit patchy which led to his exclusion.
Bengal eye six pts against Railways
NEW DELHI: A depleted Bengal side will be eager to change its dismal away track record against table toppers Railways when the two teams square off in a group B Ranji Trophy encounter on a seamer-friendly track at the Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) University Sports Complex.
Railways, who will be playing their fifth game, are at the top of the table on 17 points while Bengal have slowly crawled to 11 from five games with a string of first-innings leads.
Murali Kartik’s side will be favourites going into the match as has been the case for Railway vs Bengal duels in Delhi which the institutional side have always overpowered the heavyweights from the East.
For Bengal, the absence of Wriddhiman Saha, who is in South Africa for the Test series, will be felt badly along with likes of injured Manoj Tiwary and Mohammed Shami (on national duty). The pitch at JMI has a fair cushion of grass around the good length area on one side of the 22-yard-strip.
Delhi are currently placed fifth having got nine points from four games while Odisha are a notch below at sixth with eight points from an equal number of outings.
Full points from the game is a necessity for both the teams in order to stay on course for a quarter-final berth but Delhi will also be fighting some off-field battles which makes it even more challenging.
As reports emerged that skipper and India discard Gautam Gambhir was not happy with the squad selection, it will be interesting to see the kind of team combination employed by Delhi.
One of the major changes in the squad will be inclusion of wicketkeeper Rahul Yadav, who played his only first-class match four years ago against Bengal as a specialist opener.
Yadav has replaced long-time keeper Puneet Bisht, who has been dropped after having taken five catches in an innings in the last game against Haryana. Bisht’s form with the bat has been a bit patchy which led to his exclusion.
Bengal eye six pts against Railways
NEW DELHI: A depleted Bengal side will be eager to change its dismal away track record against table toppers Railways when the two teams square off in a group B Ranji Trophy encounter on a seamer-friendly track at the Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) University Sports Complex.
Railways, who will be playing their fifth game, are at the top of the table on 17 points while Bengal have slowly crawled to 11 from five games with a string of first-innings leads.
Murali Kartik’s side will be favourites going into the match as has been the case for Railway vs Bengal duels in Delhi which the institutional side have always overpowered the heavyweights from the East.
For Bengal, the absence of Wriddhiman Saha, who is in South Africa for the Test series, will be felt badly along with likes of injured Manoj Tiwary and Mohammed Shami (on national duty). The pitch at JMI has a fair cushion of grass around the good length area on one side of the 22-yard-strip.