JAIPUR: Four days back, Rajasthan’s timid batting approach cost them a win. They played out a draw against Pondicherry and though they bagged three points because of the first innings lead of 43 runs, lack of confidence in their batting unit was conspicuous.
Chasing 239 was tricky but having got a good start with Abhijeet Tomar and Kunal Singh Rathore laying the foundation with a partnership of 138 for the second wicket, Rajasthan were in control of the situation. They had nine wickets in hand and yet not one batsman took the risk. After Kunal got out, a flurry of wickets fell, and the complexion of Rajasthan’s innings changed. The composure turned to panic.
On Friday, Rajasthan will be up against Himachal Pradesh in the latter’s backyard, where they registered a comprehensive victory that earned them seven points against Uttarakhand. The win was a result of powerful batting by the top-order that helped them score a massive 663/3 in the first innings.
Two changes that Deepak Hooda would apparently want to see are an improved first innings batting and the intent to go for the kill. Barring the Rajasthan captain, who does the heavy lifting on most occasions, no other batsman have shown similar consistency.
The second match will most likely see Ajay Kookna enter the playing XI. The left-arm spinner, who was the second-highest wicket-taker for the state with 19 scalps in five games at an economy of 2.89 last season, comes in place of Rahul Chahar, who has left to represent India A in the ACC Men’s T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup 2024 to be played from Oct 18 to 27 in Muscat, Oman.
15-member squad for 2nd match: Deepak Hooda (captain), Deepak Chahar (vice-captain), Abhijeet Tomar, Yash Kothari, Ram Mohan Chauhan, Salman Khan, Mahipal Lomror, Kunal Singh Rathore, Bharat Sharma, Ajay Singh Kookna, Manav Suthar, Rajesh Bishnoi (jr), Aniket Choudhary, Khaleel Ahmed and Arafat Khan.
ALSO WATCH
