Madhya Pradesh, Punjab gear up for Lahli pace test

As India completed a resounding 3-0 series win against New Zealand to reclaim the No. 1 spot in the Test rankings, the focus shifted towards the pitches that were on offer at home for the spinners to exploit. Almost two days after the series win, the pitch will once again be the centre of attraction almost 560 miles away from Indore (venue for the final Test), in Lahli, as a buoyant Madhya Pradesh look to pile pressure on a nervy Punjab outfit.

The surface in Lahli, over the years, has had a reputation for being a paradise for the pacers, something that was witnessed yet again in the first round fixture between Mumbai and Tamil Nadu last week. The much-anticipated contest lived up to its hype and turned out to be a thriller, but finished inside three days with the pacers running riot.

The track has retained its greenish tinge ahead of the clash on Thursday (October 13) which will excite both sets of pacers. While Madhya Pradesh have the likes of Ishwar Pandey and Gaurav Yadav leading the charge, Punjab have the pacy Siddarth Kaul and more importantly, Sandeep Sharma. Even though Sandeep failed to pick up a wicket against Railways last week, he could get unplayable on this surface with swing being his major weapon. And his side will need him to deliver after a stuttering start to its campaign.

Despite possessing a star-studded line-up, Punjab drew against Railways and managed to concede the first-innings lead as well. Skipper Harbhajan Singh, who wasn't available for their first game continues to be absent, but they still have Yuvraj Singh to lift the spirits. Their batting line-up needs a huge hole to be filled as well, after Mandeep Singh was called up for national duty in the One-Day International series against New Zealand.

A crippled line-up on the back of a false start on a lively pitch against a side that thrashed Uttar Pradesh by an innings margin will clearly keep Punjab on their toes, but MP's leader of the attack, Ishwar still recognises the talent that is at Punjab's disposal. The likes of Manan Vohra, Gurkeerat Singh and Yuvraj having the ability to turn the game quickly.

"The wicket is really good but we need to focus on where we bowl," Ishwar said ahead of the clash. "They have a lot of big names so we'll try and stick to our plans and not get carried away looking at the wicket." Finishing the 2012-13 Ranji season as the highest wicket-taker brought Ishwar into the limelight and he even made it to the Indian Test squad for the New Zealand tour in 2014. Despite not getting a game, the experience, by his own admission, gave him a glimpse of what and where to improve. He has now started the new season with four wickets in the first game and hopes to keep his form going.

After a few ordinary campaigns, MP made a huge impact last season by reaching the semifinals. In the last-four clash against eventual champions Mumbai, MP still managed to avoid defeat and got knocked out on the virtue of conceding first-innings lead. And they have continued from where they left, with a huge win in the first game, despite Naman Ojha's absence. The 33-year-old wicketkeeper batsman is arguably their biggest star and is still unavailable as he continues his rehabilitation from an injury.

Even though Ishwar conceded that Ojha's absence would prove to be a big blow, he is happy with the way his side has kicked off proceedings. "It was a really good start for us," he said. "We have plenty of new faces in the team and it was good to see everyone contribute. We have to try and maintain this. It's a long season and we still have seven matches to go."

After arriving at the venue first for their pre-match practice session, the jubilant camp started off with some football before their fielding drills. Harpreet Singh Bhatia, the left-hander, who impressed everyone with an entertaining unbeaten double century against UP, resorted to some training with a plastic ball and a tennis ball. It is probably a ploy to counter the bounce that is expected to be seen on the surface. A couple of Punjab players did something similar as well when they practiced on the empty hard concrete stands using a tennis ball.

Will these tactics pay off? Or will the pitch once again dominate the headlines? Will Madhya Pradesh add another huge scalp or can Punjab get their campaign up and running? And what about the crowd? The concept of playing in neutral venues certainly hasn't done any favours with respect to pulling crowds to the venues but can Yuvraj's star power make a difference? Lot of questions and answers coming up over the course of next four days.

Teams (from):

Madhya Pradesh: Devendra Bundela(c), Aditya Shrivastava, Ankit Sharma, Ashwin Das, Ankit Dane, Gaurav Yadav, Harpreet Singh, Mihir Hirwani, Saransh Jain, Ishwar Pandey, Rajat Patidar, Mukul Raghav, Rameez Khan, Chandrakant Sakure, Shubham Sharma

Punjab: Arpit Pannu, Vinay Choudhary, Manpreet Gony, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Jiwanjot Singh, Siddarth Kaul, Uday Kaul(w), Gitansh Khera, Mandeep Singh, Yuvraj Singh (C), Rajwinder Singh, Sandeep Sharma, Shubek Gill, Mayank Sidhana, Manan Vohra