IND Red v IND Blue, Duleep Trophy Final Preview: Suresh Raina, Karthik cynosure of final contest

Rain denied India Green of an opportunity to stake claim a spot in the Duleep Trophy finals. Dinesh Karthik’s India Red had already qualified for the finals on the basis of the solitary win of the tournament which they had against India Green. Suresh Raina’s India Blue should feel lucky to find themselves in the final which gives them another opportunity to showcase their skills to the selectors.

So far, Raina has had two opportunities to bat in the tournament. His scores of 52 and 40 are not going to impress the five-wise men who are closely following this event in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The final will be held in Lucknow. While his counterpart, who is also looking to stage a comeback in the Indian squad, Dinesh Karthik has made a century and a half-century to strengthen his case for selection. Both will be in the spotlight during the course of the game.

Both sides have clashed against each other once in the tournament in which India Blue came on top. They gained a lead of 61 runs and took 5 wickets in the second essay of the India Red innings. But they boast of a win against India Green, who recently had the Blues on top in a rain-marred clash at Kanpur. Hopefully, the rains will stay away from Lucknow and we have a full-fledged 5-day game which will be worthy of a final.

Focus will be on

Suresh Raina

Despite India recently registering their 9th consecutive win, the middle order still looks shaky. The position of Kedar Jadhav is under massive scrutiny hence a good showing here in the final can get Raina a ticket to the Indian squad. Raina is a similar player to Jadhav but offers more in the fielding department, where the latter lacks. With experience on his side, Raina could be an asset at the No. 6 slot. The 30-year old has been working extremely hard on his fitness and is due for a big knock.

Dinesh Karthik

Like Raina, Karthik too is searching for a way back into the limited overs squad. To Karthik’s credit, he was a part of the squad just recently until the Caribbean tour but somehow lost his place despite producing decent knocks under pressure. Karthik has already scored a hundred in this series and will be hoping to make another one in the final to knock at the doors of the selectors. He will also have to perform the leadership role for his team which he has done justice to during this series.

Playing Combinations

India Red

Priyank Panchal is the leading run-getter in the tournament and will open the innings with Sudip Chatterjee. Rahul Singh, Dinesh Karthik, Baba Indrajith and Rishabh Pant will form the core of the middle order. Karn Sharma and Chama Milind can play the all-rounder’s role while Siddharth Kaul and Basil Thampi will take the new ball. Gowtham, who picked a five for in the first game of the tournament, might get a look in for the finals.

India Blue

Samit Gohel and Hanuman Vihari will open the batting for Raina’s side. The experienced duo of Manoj Tiwary and Raina will take on the No. 3 and 4 spots. Deepak Hooda and Ishan Kishan will make the rest of the middle order. They have a long tail with Jaydev Unadkat batting at 7 followed by Bhargav Bhatt, Akshay Wakhare, Ishant Sharma and Pankaj Singh.

Predicted XI

India Red: Priyank Panchal, Sudip Chatterjee, Rahul Singh, Dinesh Karthik (c), Baba Indrajith, Rishabh Pant (wk), Karn Sharma, Chama Milind, Siddharth Kaul, Basil Thampi, and Gowtham.

India Blue:: Samit Gohel, Hanuman Vihari, Manoj Tiwary, Suresh Raina (c), Deepak Hooda, Ishan Kishan (wk), Jaydev Unadkat, Bhargav Bhatt, Akshay Wakhare, Ishant Sharma and Pankaj Singh.