On rest day, Vidarbha size up rivals

RAIPUR: “Watch him, he has throwing problem,” coach Chandrakant Pandit instructed Vidarbha players as they were watching the Madhya Pradesh-Uttar Pradesh match at Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International stadium here in Raipur on Wednesday morning.
In their casuals, Vidarbha players walked to the stands one by one to assess strengths and weaknesses of their opponents.With two back to back matches against hosts Chhattisgarh and Railways matches in the Central Zone Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 tournament, Vidarbha have two days’ rest. However, with Pandit at the helm, there is no time to rest and relax until the final objective is achieved.
Vidarbha have already registered two victories in the competition and currently leading the group but the road is tough ahead. Vidarbha are due to play MP, UP and Team Rajasthan in their next three matches. All have some talented and experienced players. While coaches of other teams have been watching each other’s team, Pandit took whole team to have closer look at their counterparts. He knows it’s players who will execute the plans.
Vidarbha didn’t practice but still utilized the day. Faiz Fazal & Co watched each and every bowler and batsmen. They are playing MP next on Friday. When MP pacers Ishwar Pandey, Puneet Datey and Avesh Khan were bowling, Faiz, Jitesh Sharma and Ganesh Satish sat right on top of the wicket to have a better view of the movement of ball. After all, they are going to face most of the overs with the new ball.
Similarly, all the batsmen watched variations of MP spinners Mihir Hirwani and Ankit Sharma. Vidarbha players were also seen making notes on how UP batsmen were playing. The bowlers sat together and were seen discussing about the dismissals of UP batsmen. They were also watching the fielders of both teams—who have strong and weak arms.
Vidarbha team management closely watched MP opener Rajat Patidar who batted beautifully for his unbeaten 51. They even applauded when the right-hander reached his fifty. Later on, Shrikant Wagh, Karn Sharma and Akshay Wakhare met Pandey after MP won the match. The trio has played together quite a few times in zone matches.
Pandit looked in relaxed mood and looked like cracking few jokes too. However, come Friday and he will again have an intense look. He hasn’t allowed Vidarbha boys to relax until they won the Ranji Trophy. Now, he wants them to play with same intensity irrespective of results.