Ranji Trophy: Battle of pacers on the cards

KOLKATA: With three points in the bag from their Ranji Trophy Elite Group B opener against Himachal Pradesh on the road, Bengal brace for back-to-back matches at the Eden Gardens. However, given the nature of the track on offer, Madhya Pradesh - their opponents in the first of those encounters beginning on Monday - could find themselves as much at 'home' as the hosts.
Madhya Pradesh boast of a pace attack comprising Ishwar Pandey and Avesh Khan, who will enjoy bowling on a greenish Eden pitch.With the likes of Ashok Dinda and Ishan Porel spearheading the Bengal attack, it could turn out to be a battle of pacers.
Bengal skipper Manoj Tiwary agreed that with neutral curators in charge of preparing tracks, the hosts may not always enjoy 'home' advantage. Bengal batsmen will have to raise their game to put up a big total. They have been guilty of failing to convert good starts, an issue that Tiwary said has been addressed. "There is no lack of intensity in our preparation, but it's the execution part that needs to be rectified," he stated.
With old war horse Devendra Bundela having retired, the onus will be on MP skipper Naman Ojha to lead from the front. The wicketkeeper-batsman will be keen to catch the selectors' attention with impressive performances in domestic cricket, now that the Mahendra Singh Dhoni era is coming to an end.
The MP batsmen did well in their first game against Tamil Nadu, with four of the top five getting runs. No. 3 Rajat Patidar was the standout performer, scoring 196 in a marathon 406-ball knock.
Young Kuldeep Sen will add sting to the pace attack, while the spin department will be manned by left-armer Ankit Sharma and leggie Mihir Hirwani, son of former India bowler Narendra Hirwani.
Bengal may boost their batting by choosing Vivek Singh in place of out-of-form Shreevats Goswami, who was seen bowling at the nets on Sunday. Vivek, a southpaw who loves to play his shots, has so far been considered for the shorter versions only. Though his wicketkeeping skills have not been tested at this level, the think tank is mulling his inclusion. "Vivek has been included in the squad, giving us an extra option," Tiwary said.
Bengal will miss spinner Prayas Roy Burman, who has been included in the India Yellow squad for the upcoming U-19 Challenger Trophy. But the home team might opt for just one spinner in Pradipta Pramanik or Aamir Gani and include all-rounder Mukesh Kumar as the fourth pacer.
Abhimanyu Easwaran and Abhishek Raman did provide good starts against Himachal. It's up to the experienced trio of Sudip Chatterjee, Tiwary and Anushtup Majumdar to consolidate in the middle and help Bengal pile up a huge total to put the opposition under pressure.
With only five out of 18 teams from Elite Group 'A' and 'B' qualifying for the quarterfinals, it will be vital for Bengal to garner maximum points from the next two matches before hitting the road again.