Vidarbha eye maiden crown, Delhi No 8

INDORE: Former champions Delhi will be on guard when they take on a gutsy Vidarbha eyeing their maiden title in the Ranji Trophy final starting at the Holkar Stadium on Friday. Delhi are in their first final for a decade, but would have been warned after Vidarbha overcame eight-time winners Karnataka, defending just 198 and winning by five runs.

While seven-time champions Delhi will be expected to hold the edge, it’ll be a test of character for Vidarbha, who must ensure first-time jitters don’t wreck their hopes in the final of the biggest domestic tournament.

VIDARBHA TOP ORDER

One of the major reasons Vidarbha have been unstoppable this Ranji season is their top three batsmen. Captain and lefthanded opener Faiz Fazal, who has been playing first-class cricket for over 14 years, has hit 843 runs in eight games at 76.63 with five tons this season.

Opener Sanjay Ramaswamy has absorbed the pressure well and played sensibly. The 22-year-old batsman is Vidarbha’s second highest run-getter, and fifth highest overall this

season, with 735 runs in eight games at 66.81 with three centuries and two half-centuries. Former India opener Wasim Jaffer, who joined Vidarbha as ‘player-cum-mentor’ in 2015, too has scored at No. 3, scoring 500 runs in eight games at 50.

In the bowling department, Rajneesh Gurbani has led the charge with 31 wickets in five matches.

STAR IN SEMIS

The 24-year-old pace bowler took seven wickets in the thrilling five-run win over Karnataka. He has taken four fivewicket hauls on the trot.

Vidarbha coach Chandrakant Pandit hopes the likes of Gurbani and Ramaswamy can guide their team to a memorable win. “I’m happy for the younger boys who have shown the courage to fight. Let’s hope they create history and go on to play for India,” the ex-india player told Hindustan Times.

Seasoned campaigner Gautam Gambhir and Nitish Rana will hold the key to Delhi’s chances. It’ll be interesting to see how Delhi’s top two runscorers (Gambhir 632 and Rana 528) deal with Gurbani. Pace bowler Navdeep Saini and leftarm spinner Vikas Mishra have claimed a bucketful of wickets (61) in Delhi’s progress.

Delhi’s only concern will be the form of captain Rishabh Pant, who has managed only one fifty plus score in six games.