Sans stars Delhi, Baroda square off in Ranji opener

Vadodara:

Missing their star players, who are either on national duty or nursing injuries, Delhi and Baroda take on each other in their opening four-day match of the Ranji Trophy here on Tuesday.

Delhi is missing explosive openers Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and in-form pacer Ashish Nehra, who are playing against Australia in the ongoing one-day series.

Baroda is without regular skipper and pace spearhead Irfan Pathan, who is nursing a knee injury and another formidable fast bowler in Munaf Patel, currenttly with the national team.

Baroda's new captain Connor Williams hoped the absence of the duo won't affect his side's fortune too badly. "The team will be able to put up good score if the middle order batsmen do not fail," he said.

Baroda had failed to make even the semis last year but Williams said the team was confident of an improved performance this season.

With dangerous but out of form all-rounder Yusuf Pathan in the team, Williams said Baroda's chances have improved on home ground.

Delhi manager M Kapur, meanwhile, said despite missing star players, the team was strong enough to do well.

With a formidable batting line-up that includes the experienced Akash Chopra, Shikhar Dhawan, Rajat Bhatia, Mithun Manhas up its rank, Kapur said Delhi had the required strength to make a mark.

"All of them have done well in the Ranji Trophy in the past and I expect them to do well this time also," he said. "Among bowlers, Chetanya Nanda is a good spinner who know s how to exploit the conditions," he added.

The Teams:

Baroda: Connor Williams (capt), Satyajit Parab, Yusuf Pathan, Jacob Martin, Azhar Bilakhia, Pinal Shah, Shatrunjay Gaekwad, Rajesh Pawar, Sankalp Vohra, Ketan Panchal, Swapnil Singh, Salim Yusuf Veragi, Ajitesh Argal, Murtuja Vahora, Rakesh Solanki.

Delhi: Akash Chopra (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Tehlan, Mithun Manhas, Rajat Bhatia, Yogesh Nagar, Gaurav Chabra, Aditya Jain, Puneet Bisht, Pradeep Sangwan, Chetanya Nanda, Sumit Narwal, Darshan Kanajia, Pawan Suyal, Parwinder Awana.