Laxmi Ratan Shukla

Calcutta: If one team has everything at stake, the other team hardly has anything to play for. Delhi’s last Ranji Trophy group league match against Bengal, which starts at the Eden Gardens on Tuesday, is such an encounter.

On Monday, as both teams went through the paces at the JU (Salt Lake campus) ground, the difference in the body language of the players of the two teams was palpable.

While the likes of Ishant Sharma, Rajat Bhatia, Mithun Manhas and Pradeep Sangwan looked charged up during the two-hour net session, the Bengal boys looked like trying to complete a formality.

One can bet that captain Laxmi Ratan Shukla will have a tough time in the next four days, trying to motivate his teammates. “Playing for your state should be motivation enough. This is our last Ranji Trophy match, and we should try as hard as possible to finish on a winning note,” Shukla said Monday.

Such has been the affairs that hosts didn’t have the customary team meeting that is held on the eve of the match. The players waited for some time and in the end found out that Roger Binny has already left the venue. There may not be anything notable that would have been discussed but may be the players would have felt pepped up.

The best thing about the Delhi side has been their phenomenal comeback in the last two matches after UP inflicted a humiliating innings defeat on them in Lucknow.

For Bengal, it will be all about trying to avoid an outright defeat. They can be relegated if they lose this match, while Maharashtra and Saurashtra manage to get six and three points, respectively, from their matches.

The home team would make a couple of changes in their playing XI. Rohan Banerjee is all set to open again with Arindam Das. Rohan Gavaskar’s slot will go to either Abhishek Jhunjhunwala or Dibyendu Chakraborty. Although Abhishek is the favourite to replace Gavaskar, he has a pain in the pancreas. He will undergo another check-up on Tuesday morning under the supervision of Dr Vece Paes. If he is ruled out, Dibyendu will be in. The other toss-up will be between Sourav Sarkar and Iresh Saxena.

Teams

Bengal (likely): Rohan Banerjee, Arindam Das, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala/Dibyendu Chakraborty, Manoj Tiwary, Sourav Ganguly, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Wriddhiman Saha, Sourashis Lahiri, Ranadeb Bose, Ashok Dinda, Sourav Sarkar/Iresh Saxena.

Delhi (from): Ankur Julka, Aditya Jain, Gaurav Chhabra, Mithun Manhas, Rajat Bhatia, Yogesh Nagar, Puneet Bisht, Pradeep Sangwan, Ishant Sharma, Parvinder Awana, Sumit Narwal, Pawan Suyal, Abhishek Kapoor, Vikash Mishra, Rahul Yadav.