Asif Iqbal
Srinagar, Jan 14 (GNS): After securing a seven-wicket win in the second match against Tripura, the Jammu and Kashmir team is all set to face a struggling Priyam Gargh-led Uttar Pradesh unit in its third match of the tournament this afternoon at KSCA Cricket Ground, Alur, Bengluru.
Jammu & Kashmir which lost its inaugural match against Karnataka by a margin of 43 runs bounced back strongly to win over Tripura by seven wickets with 31 balls to spare in match played on Tuesday last.
The thumping win against Tripura earned the team four important points, helping it to break into top-four teams in ‘Elite Group A’ table, nevertheless with a frail Net Run Rate (NRR) of -0.305.
The match scheduled this afternoon however would be quite demanding for J&K as a struggling Uttar Pradesh unit, which has lost both of its two matches it played so far, may come all guns blazing to go ahead to salvage its prestige and honour amid presence of several celebrated international cricketers including; Suresh Raina, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shivam Mavi, Priyam Gargh, Ankit Rajpoot and Karan Sharma.
Despite a good show put by Parvez Rasool-led Jammu & Kashmir bowling unit in the second match to restrict Tripura on 93, the batting woes especially at the top may haunt the team against a much-solid pace attack, laced with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shivam Mavi and Ankit Rajpoot.
Nonetheless Jammu and Kashmir still holds an edge for it has already secured a win against a so-far winless team besides its seemingly better acclimatization to the match venue – KSCA Cricket Ground Alur – where the team is playing its third consecutive match.
A win from here could fairly open up chances’ for Jammu and Kashmir to stride ahead in the tournament and at the same time may eventually shut any opportunity of advancement for Uttar Pradesh.
Given a win in the last match, Jammu and Kashmir is likely go with an unchanged playing XI, featuring; Ahmed Banday, Shubham Khajuria, Shubham Pundir, Parvez Rasool (C), Abdul Samad, Suryansh Raina(WK), Aquib Nabi, Abid Mushtaq, Mujtaba Yousuf, Ram Dayal, Puneet Kumar.
The match will start at 12:00 PM this afternoon, with no major weather disturbance predicted. (GNS)
