Advantage Karnataka

Match facts

Nov 23-26, 2008
Start time 9.30am (0400 GMT)

The Big Picture

	One for the future: Karnataka's Manish Pandey © AFP

It's a battle for the No. 2 position in a group where no team barring Tamil Nadu has struck any kind of form. Karnataka have managed one win and are currently at the second spot with seven points, Uttar Pradesh have six points and Baroda have four points, though they've played one game less than the other two teams.

Baroda are without the star power of the Pathan brothers, Irfan and Yusuf, and Munaf Patel. It is the absence of Irfan, in particular, that is bound to hurt most for he carried the team in the first two matches.

"We didn't have Irfan for the majority of the last season," admits Paras Mhambrey, Baroda's coach. They had Yusuf, though. But Mhambrey's point is that Baroda fully expected to be bereft of these star players at some point and are ready for it. Mhambrey believes that batting is Baroda's strength and they will look to get a first-innings lead.

Karnataka started scratchily, yielding first-innings lead to Railways and following-on against Tamil Nadu, before registering a win against Andhra Pradesh. The top order and the bowling have looked a bit iffy and Vijay Bharadwaj, the coach, has promised several changes in the side. Ganesh Sathish, who batted at No. 3 in the three games, is expected to be out and so is KP Appanna, the left-arm spinner. Considering the number of left-handers in Baroda's line-up, the offspinner Sunil Raju is expected to get a look-in. The good news is Robin Uthappa, the captain, is in great form with two hundreds, Rahul Dravid hit a fifty in the last game, and Sunil Joshi had a match-winning haul against Andhra.

Pitch and conditions

The track is a mystery. Owing to the international game at Chinnaswamy Stadium, the Ranji encounter will be played at the nearby RSI Ground. There has been a bit of rain around in Bangalore and the drainage facility at the RSI is going to be severely tested. Two pitches - one bouncy and one a spin track - have been prepared as per the instruction of the hosts and it will be interesting to see which one they finally decide on.

Players to watch

Apart from Uthappa and Dravid, Manish Pandey is one to be keep an eye on. An elegant yet busy batsman, who has hit two half-centuries so far in his maiden season, Pandey looks to be one for the future. A very handy fielder as well.

For Baroda, watch out for Azhar Bilakhia and the journeyman cricketer Connor Williams. Both have hit centuries this season and Baroda's batting will revolve around the duo.

The teams

Karnataka (from): Robin Uthappa (capt), Rahul Dravid, KB Pawan, C Raghu, Thilak Naidu (wk), Manish Pandey, Sunil Joshi, Vinay Kumar, NC Aiyappa, Sunil Raju, B Akhil, Deepak Chougule

Baroda: (from) Connor Williams (capt), Satyajit Parab, Azhar Bilakhia, Rakesh Solanki, Pinal Shah (wk), Shatrunjay Gaekwad, Ketan Panchal, Rajesh Pawar, Salim Veragi, Utkarsh Patel, Ajitesh Argal, Maitrek Shah

Quotes: "One victory here will turn the season for us. They are without Irfan Pathan and it's going to be interesting to see how they respond to that. We will be making a few changes in our team."
Bharadwaj is confident of an upheaval in Karnataka's fortunes

"Our strength is our batting. Our two previous matches were played on flat tracks and so I am not concerned about our bowling."
Mhambrey knows what Baroda need to do

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