'Tie against SA will be toughest'

KOLKATA: The three-dayer against South Africa will be the toughest challenge on their 45-day tour of England, feels India A skipper Shib Sunder Das. The opener slipped into Bhubaneswar on Thursday for a two-day break, following which the squad will assemble in Mumbai to leave the shores on Sunday.
Das said that the performance against the full-strength Proteas, who will play in the NatWest series, would matter the most.
“The key lies in adapting to the conditions as quickly as possible. We are getting only two days before the first game against British Universities and there are quite a few guys on the team who will be visiting England for the first time,� said Das.
The last two months had been rather hectic for ‘Shibu,’ as he is known as with family and friends. It was in early May that he set off for England to turn out for Newton Le Willows, a Lancashire club, in a competition in Liverpool. “I got four games there where my topscore was 85,� said Das, who then rushed back to India for the Bangalore camp.
The 18-day stint at the India A camp, where Das also had the benefit of tips from John Wright, has helped him “tremendously� in preparing for what could be a resurrection-time for him. “The NZ series in October is my ultimate goal but right now, I am not looking beyond the England tour. Being the skipper would ensure me of more matches. I am looking forward to put up a few tall scores,� he said.
At a personal level, the senior team’s tour of England last year had been quite an exasperating one for the Orissa opener. “While the team was doing so well, I did not have a role to play in it as I got very limited opportunities. However, it gave me a first-hand experience about the conditions there. �