Challenger Trophy Final: Five players to watch out for

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As expected, India Blue strolled into the finals of the 2013 edition of the NKP Salve Challenger Trophy, powered by enterprising knocks from skipper Yuvraj Singh and domestic veteran Abhishek Nayar, and a reasonable bowling effort led by rookie seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, as they trounced India Red yesterday.

Delhi had a slightly tougher route to the summit clash – they lost their opening match to India Blue, so the encounter with India Red became a virtual semi-final. They triumphed over Yusuf Pathan’s side by a whopping 112 runs, with captain Virat Kohli and former U-19 WC winning skipper Unmukt Chand standing up to be counted.

Veteran seamer Ashish Nehra has also been among the wickets and, quite surprisingly, has done well with the bat in the only chance he got. But against the likes of Yuvraj, Nayar, Naman Ojha and Manish Pandey, he will have to call upon all of his experience to help his side secure the title.

It promises to be a mouth-watering contest – both sides have players itching to get back into the national fold, while the younger ones want to stake their claim for the few remaining spots.

Here is a list of five players who need to be watched out for in the game tomorrow:

5. Varun Sood (Delhi, left-arm spinner)

The 23-year old left-arm tweaker was in terrific form in the game against India Red as he wove a web around the bewildered batsmen, foxing them with his flight and flat trajectory to pick up five crucial wickets.

Against the likes of Yuvraj and Nayar, however, Sood proved to be fairly expensive. However, he has shown that he can learn quickly from his mistakes, and will try to beat the mainstays at their own game by clever variations in speed. The more he bowls slower through the air, the more wickets he gets, so India Blue’s big hitters would do well to play him from within the crease and not keep stepping out like today’s opposition tried to do.

Sood is a terrific talent, and by gaining a little more experience in the domestic arena as well as on the ‘A’ tours, he can revive the art of left-arm spin which has been in hibernation for quite some time now (despite the exploits of Ravindra Jadeja).

4. Bhuvneshwar Kumar (India Blue, right arm medium pacer)

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

He has done extremely well in recent times, be it for the national side, his Ranji team or the Pune Warriors in the IPL. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has rightfully earned his place in the sun, with admirable control over swing and seam. In short, he can make the ball talk and keep working over the batsman until the latter succumbs to the pressure and plays a false stroke.

A line-and-length bowler who usually hits the 130 km/hour mark, the young man hasn’t exactly been able to exhibit the same sort of nagging accuracy in the ongoing Challenger series – he conceded 74 runs in a nine over spell against India Red, with only one wicket to show for his efforts. But with Kohli, Sehwag, Chand and Gambhir in the opposition ranks, Bhuvi will have to really pull up his socks and focus on pitching the ball in the right areas.

He is also a useful lower-order batsman, having once made a century in the Duleep Trophy at No. 8, and can therefore be relied upon to score a few extra runs that may end up making all the difference between a win and a loss. Certainly a player to be focused on, for sure!

3. Gautam Gambhir (Delhi, opening batsman)

Gautam Gambhir

He recently scored a century during his short stint with English county side Essex, and has shown patches of his old, consistent scoring self. However, the out-of-favour India opener will have to do a lot more than just improve his batting.

He needs to get the big scores, convert the 20s and 30s into something more substantial. The only way he can get back into form is to change his shot selection, and hold off on playing the flick in response to the incoming delivery.

Of late, he has also shown a proclivity to play away from his body, resulting in edges snapped up by close-in fielders. The longer he stays in, getting a feel of the conditions and the track, the heavier he will score. India Blue’s bowlers, particularly Bhuvneshwar Kumar, will target him as he can take the game away from them once he is well-set.

His chances of an India recall hinge on this single game; hopefully he comes out with all guns blazing.

2. Abhishek Nayar (India Blue, all rounder)

Abhishek Nayar

Nayar, throughout this short tourney, has done most things right – he has let his bat do the talking, and held the innings together when Yuvraj Singh was absent from the match against Delhi.

He has been good in the field, but, like India captain MS Dhoni, Yuvraj also seems to think that the Mumbai all-rounder’s medium pace is more suited towards containing the flow of runs rather than taking wickets.

Nevertheless, he is vital to India Blue’s success as they take on Kohli’s squad tomorrow, and he will be targeted by the Delhi bowlers if they have any hope of avenging their defeat in the first game.

1. Yuvraj Singh (India Blue, batsman and captain)

Yuvraj Singh

Reams have been written about his phenomenal return to first-class cricket, and Yuvraj seems to be going from strength to strength, back spasms notwithstanding.

Having shed the extra weight and returning to full fitness, the southpaw announced his return with a plethora of match-winning performances, against West Indies ‘A’ and in the run-up to the final against Delhi tomorrow. He seems to be a more mature version of the once-cocky and confident character who wore his emotions on his sleeve, and Kohli, with tips from the wily Sehwag, will no doubt get his bowlers to come hard at the big-hitting Punjab dasher.

It remains to be seen if Yuvraj will turn his arm over tomorrow, but he will have to ensure that his opposite number and the two other experienced stalwarts are back in the hut soon. Yuvraj vs Kohli is an interesting prospect on a Sunday morning!