India A take on West Indies A
Mysore: led by an in-form Cheteshwar Pujara, India A would eye revenge for the ODI series loss when they take on a confident West Indies A in the unofficial three-Test series starting here on Wednesday. Saurashtra run-machine Pujara has had a good series with the bat against South Africa A and will look to carry his form into the Test series beginning at the Gangotri Glades here. Pujara has been making headlines constantly with big scores at the international level and did not miss an opportunity to score a scintillating century in the previous unofficial Test series against South Africa A in their backyard. The Saurashtrian followed it up with 54 as an opener in the first innings of the second unofficial Test and showed he was ready for the upcoming West Indies series. Pujara, who has scored 1,180 runs from 13 Tests with an average of 65.55, will also have an opportunity to showcase his captaincy skills. He would go into the West Indies series with fond memories of squaring the series against South Africa A. Pujara had successfully led India A to victory defeating the hosts by an innings and 13 runs in the first unofficial Test, but lost the second by 121 runs as he did not field the winning combination and instead gave chance to other youngsters. With the kind of form and fighting abilities the visitors displayed in the ODI series, Pujara and his men would be wary of their opponents. Manpreet Juneja, a right-handed batsman from Ahmedabad, would be itching to go against the West Indies, especially after he had a fruitful series against New Zealand A. He amassed 236 runs in two innings with a remarkable 193 in the second Test. Other youngsters such as Jiwanjot Singh, K l Rahul, Rajat Paliwal and Harshad Khadiwale, who have shown their potential in domestic matches, would like display their batting talent.
Jaffer to lead West Zone
Mumbai: Veteran Mumbai batsman Wasim Jaffer was on Tuesday named captain of the West Zone squad for the upcoming Duleep Trophy tournament. Baroda all-rounder Yusuf Pathan will be Jaffer’s deputy in a 15-member squad that has talented Gujarat batsman Manprit Juneja, who recently struck a brilliant 193 against New Zealand A in a four-day unofficial ‘Test’ at Visakhapatnam. West would clash with South Zone in the opening four- day quarter-final game commencing at Chennai on October 3. The winners of this match would clash with Central Zone in the semi-final, also scheduled at Chennai, from October 10-13. The final is to be played from October 17-21 at Kochi, said a media release from selection meeting convener Nitin Dalal. West Zone team: Wasim Jaffer (Captain, Mumbai), Harshad Khadiwale (Maharashtra), Aditya Waghmode (Baroda), Hiken Shah (Mumbai), Manpreet Juneja (Gujarat), Ankit Bawne (Maharashtra), Yusuf Pathan (Vice-captain, Baroda), Suryakumar Yadav (Mumbai), Rohit Motwani (WK, Maharashtra), Kamlesh Makwana (Saurashtra), Samad Falla (Maharashtra), Murtuza Vora (Baroda), Jaydev Unadkat (Saurashtra), Rakesh Dhruv (Gujarat) and Akshay Darekar (Maharashtra). Coach: Hitesh Goswami (Saurashtra).
England confident of Panesar
london: England insisted Monty Panesar’s personal problems were behind him as they included the spinner in a 17-man squad for the defence of the Ashes in Australia. long a fans’ favourite for his sheer enthusiasm and undoubted ability to spin the ball, the left-armer found himself making the wrong sort of headlines last month after he was fined by police for urinating on night-club bouncers in Brighton on England’s south coast. It was all too much for the 31-year-old’s then employers Sussex, who promptly released Panesar, now completing the season on loan at rival county Essex. But the fact remains Panesar is England’s second best spinner behind off-break bowler Graeme Swann, a point emphasised by the wretched Test debut of lancashire left-armer Simon Kerrigan, whose eight wicketless overs in the drawn Ashes finale at The Oval last month cost 53 runs. England national selector Geoff Miller, himself a former Test off-spinner, confirmed Panesar’s inclusion in a largely predictable squad led by captain Alastair Cook and featuring the bulk of a side featuring the latest Ashes winners. Agencies