More than a match at stake

Uttar Pradesh's inability to knock off the 129 runs they were set in 25 overs in their previous match against Tamil Nadu means this match is all about the coming together of three players who surely believe they should be in South Africa - Irfan Pathan, Mohammad Kaif and Suresh Raina - and two others, RP Singh, and Piyush Chawla, who also have Team India aspirations. As it turned out, UP lost wickets in a hurry against Tamil Nadu, settled for a draw, got two points where they could have got five, and are at the bottom of Group A. Baroda are at the top. It is not mathematically impossible for UP to make it to the semi-finals but requires a miracle bigger than they had enacted last year - they had four points in four matches and won everything from then on to become champions; this year they have four points from five matches.

And so the next four days will be largely about the five India cricketers.

For Pathan, Kaif, and Raina the wheel seems to have turned a full circle. A year ago they promised so much; Pathan was going through a dream run, unable to do anything wrong and getting that hat-trick in Karachi. Kaif and Raina, out of the Test side, were busy winning UP their first Ranji title and, in so doing, strengthening their places in the one-day side and staking a claims for Tests too. Today, they're wondering how to get back to the team.

Pathan has become the first Indian player to have been sent back home midway during a series. Kaif and Raina failed so miserably in South Africa that, instead of pushing towards Test selections, they were dropped in favour of Dinesh Mongia and Dinesh Kartik.

With the World Cup probables slated to be announced on January 12, this match becomes all the more important for Singh and Chawla. Pathan, Kaif, and Raina should be able to make it to the list of World Cup probables but this match, for them, could be a trial for the selection for two four-match series against Sri Lanka and West Indies, which in turn could serve as a trial for the final World Cup selections. The two series will be the last cricket India play before setting off for the West Indies.

For Pathan this match could mark the start of a long road back. For Raina and Kaif, this could be a major bend on the road. They have had a mixed return to the Ranji Trophy. While Raina started with a duck on a difficult Kanpur surface, Kaif got 91 to bail his team out. UP lost that match narrowly to Karnataka. Kaif got a pair in the next game and Raina failed to do anything special as UP lost by an innings to Haryana. Then came the game against Tamil Nadu where Raina got a timely hundred and Kaif 88, offering the hope that they'd recovered their form. Having failed to finish two games they could have won, they will need to raise their game considerably to convince anyone that they're serious contenders.

Pathan looked quite relaxed at the practice sessions and, if one can hazard a guess, relieved at being away from all the attention and comfortable in the company of old friends and team-mates. The last time he was called Irfan Pathan junior was in November 2003, and he would hope this would be a fruitful return to his home side. After a light warm-up with a game with Frisbees and some exercise, he took aside Pinal Shah, Baroda wicketkeeper, and bowled on the pitch adjacent to the one to be used for the match, which had a look of green on it but experts around feel it should turn out to be a good batting track after a few hours of sun on it. Then after some catching practice, he had another long dig at the nets, both with the bat and the ball.

The UP team went about their nets in a typically random manner. Kaif was among the first to reach the ground and padded up right away. This is the first time Kaif and Pathan will go head-to-head since they won their India caps and they prepared for the duel with a lunch at Pathan's place yesterday. Two friends are looking at the same destination, having taken different roads that intersect tomorrow. Unfortunately for UP, as far as this year's Ranji Trophy is concerned they on the exit lane.