Stage set for pulsating final

On team composition and current form, it will be exceedingly difficult to pick either Central Zone or South Zone as favourites on the eve of Thursday's Deodhar Trophy final between the two teams to be played at Lucknow. If at all anything can be predicted, it is that it has all the makings of a pulsating, high level contest.

First, let's consider the lead up to the all important game. South Zone romped home by seven wickets with two overs to spare in the quarterfinal against East Zone. Two days later, they had a closer match against holders North Zone, before they finally won the semifinal by three wickets with nine deliveries to spare. Central Zone played only one match, the semifinal against West Zone and they won handsomely by eight wickets with 9.2 overs to spare.

There is little doubt that the highlight of the competition so far has been Central Zone's victory. To defeat a reasonably strong West Zone side, which has taken the trophy many times in the past, by such a convincing margin can mean only one thing - Central Zone played really remarkable cricket. This is clearly evident from the manner in which Jai Prakash Yadav and Amay Khurasiya put on 158 runs for the first wicket at ten runs an over. They simply tore apart the West Zone seam attack, consisting of a fairly strong line up in Iqbal Siddiqui, Paras Mhambrey and Santosh Saxena and then the spinners fared no better.

Both Yadav and Khurasiya are dangerous players and have a prolific record at the domestic level. When a batsman is able to get 86 runs off 51 balls with 14 fours and two sixes, it speaks volumes of the manner in which he can lay waste to any attack. Khurasiya has never done justice to his talents at the international level - he has represented India in ten ODI's with modest success - but in the domestic circuit, he is one batsman to be feared by the bowlers. JP Yadav too has been among the runs of late and he lived upto his reputation as one of the most hard hitting batsmen in domestic cricket while scoring 101 off 84 balls with 14 hits to the ropes.

Md Kaif and Gagan Khoda put the finishing touches to the victory over West Zone on Tuesday and it is a comforting thought for Central Zone to know that they bat in depth should the top order fail. If there is any worry for Central Zone, it is the bowling. The fact that West Zone took 270 off their attack in 50 overs while losing only four wickets clearly illustrates this. On the face of it, an attack that consists of Sanjai Bangar, Shalabh Srivasatava, Jaiprakash Yadav, Murali Kartik, Tejinder Pal Singh and Md Kaif has a balanced look. But then they took only three wickets in 50 overs, the other being a run out.

South Zone's path to the final has also been smooth even if they don't have anything to match Central's astounding win. Faced with a challenging target of 274 in the quarterfinal against East, South made it home rather easily, thanks to valuable contributions by their top order J Arun Kumar, Amit Pathak, VVS Laxman and Robin Singh. Their depth in batting proved invaluable in a closer match in the semifinal. They could even make light of a poor start thanks to sterling knocks by `Mr Consistent' VVS Laxman, Vijay Bharadwaj and their ever reliable captain Robin Singh. If anything, South Zone's bowling looks stronger than Central's. Dodda Ganesh has been in good form with three wickets against East Zone and two more against North. The double strike against North, when he removed Vikram Rathour and Yuvraj Singh with successive deliveries, was vital in the final analysis. Thiru Kumaran is an admirable foil and then in support, there are Bharadwaj, the experienced duo of Venkatpathy Raju and Robin Singh and the new found hero, leg spinner WD Balaji Rao who caused a sharp middle order slide to finish with four for 44 in nine overs in the semifinal.

All in all, the ingredients are there for a humdinger of a final. Only one thing is sure. Sticking one's neck out to predict the winner will be hazardous.