A classic contest in the offing

VADODARA: The weather in Vadodara on the eve of the Irani Trophy tie between Rest of India and Ranji champions Delhi changed from hot and humid to windy and then cloudy to again becoming hot and even more humid. It has been raining heavily over the past fortnight and the weather still remains very unpredictable.
Except Ashok Dinda, the Rest team is heavily loaded with Test and ODI experience including an experienced coach in Gary Kirsten.The Delhi team, on the other hand, has two of India���s most prolific run-getters in recent times. Both Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir have been in sublime touch.
Don���t forget Ishant Sharma too, who has been India���s latest pace sensation. Add to it the experience of Aakash Chopra (who still believes he can make a comeback to the national squad), Ashish Nehra, Amit Bhandari and the new kids on the block, Virat Kohli and Pradeep Sangwan. Delhi look a formidable unit and can give Rest a real run for their money.
But Rest skipper Anil Kumble is not too perturbed. "We have a strategy for both Viru and Gambhir. The first ball to each should take care of them," he said.
He looked at the bigger picture and also added that if they both fire it will be good for India for the series against Australia.
Delhi coach Vijay Dahiya too agreed with Kumble and added his own spin to the theory. "Suppose Ishant, Sangwan or Nehra (a name which many have forgot) get a fiver here, it will be great for them because this is the best possible
opposition one can ever get.
The same holds true for our batsmen. Everybody will be giving more than 100 percent to come up trumps against a quality opposition like Rest," said Dahiya.
The only worrying factor might be the pitch. Traditionally, the pitch at the Reliance Stadium has been a batsman���s delight but the last first-class match between Board
President���s XI and England 'A' at the venue ended within three days when Munaf Patel wreaked havoc among the visiting Englishmen.
"You can���t blame the pitch for that result. The Board President���s XI team bowled extremely well," said BCA grounds committee chairman Rufus Rocky, adding that it will be a sporting wicket with plenty to offer both the batsmen and the bowlers.
Teams:
Rest of India: Anil Kumble (capt), MS Dhoni (vice-capt), Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Mohd Kaif, Wasim Jaffer, Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, RP Singh, Parthiv Patel, Ashok Dinda, S Badrinath. Delhi: Virender Sehwag (capt), Gautam Gambhir, Aakash Chopra, Mayank Tehlan, Mithun Manhas, Virat Kohli, Rajat Bhatia, Punit Bhist, Ishant Sharma, Pradeep Sangwan, Ashish Nehra, Chaitanya Nanda, Amit Bhandari, Narendra Singh, Gaurav Chabra.