Upbeat Andhra set for ‘chilly’ Delhi Ranji test

Visakhapatnam: Andhra take on Delhi in the fifth round of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group B in Delhi beginning Tuesday, upbeat after their win over Hyderabad in the previous match. Andhra have to brace for the chilly weather. They could not start the nets on Monday till 11.30 am, informed their manager MS Kumar, but what they will face in this match is a Delhi team facing a lot of problems. They lost to Saurashtra in Rajkot in two days and saw their selection committee being sacked. Delhi have not announced their team yet.Andhra are fourth in the eight-team group with 12 points after four games, behind Saurashtra (19), Mumbai and Maharashtra (16 each) while Delhi are second from the bottom with two points. Andhra need an outright win to be in reckoning for a knockout berth. “The team is in a positive mood and looking ahead for a good match, with more number of hours of play,” said Kumar hoping that weather would not eat into the playing time. In a positive development for the team, left-arm spinner Lalith Mohan has recovered from a hamstring injury and left-arm pacer Y Prudhvi Raj has joined the team in place of B Ayyappa who has injured his right finger. Medium pacer KV Sasikanth, on the threshold of his 100th first-class wicket, spearheads the bowling attack with pacer K Sudarshan and spinner Shoaib Md. Khan for support. The batting line-up is good in the shape of Ricky Bhui, KS Bharat, Karan Shinde, CR Gnaneshwar while Shoaib came up with a half century. Captain GH Vihari is yet to strike form.