Bhubaneswar: Orissa will look for improvement in all departments of the game and aim for victory against Rajasthan, when the two sides meet in their Group-B Ranji tie at Patiala, starting Saturday.
Orissa’s performance this season has lacked consistency. So they will strive to achieve that against Rajasthan who so far have bagged nine points from four matches with one win, one loss and two drawn games. Orissa on the other hand are just a place below at fifth in the league table with eight points from three games. However, they will take heart from their second innings performance against Delhi when the batters held on resolutely to force a draw.
No doubt, the Orissa batsmen will have to be wary against the Rajasthan bowling attack led by Pankaj Singh. The lanky pacer has already picked up two five-wicket hauls in an innings in the four matches his side have played. The Patiala pitch is known to aid fast bowlers and so Pankaj will no doubt be a force to reckon with.
Former skipper Biplab Samantray has been the Orissa batting mainstay this season while opener Sandeep Patnaik have got runs at crucial junctures including a century. Biplab has so far got 237 runs in three matches with three half centuries, but if Orissa are to thrive as a batting unit, he will have to convert those 50-plus knocks into hundreds. Subhransu Senapati (198 runs) and skipper Govind Poddar (173 runs) have performed well in patches, but it is high time they convert their starts into something substantial.
In the bowling department, pacer Suryakanta Pradhan (11 wickets) and spinner Dheeraj Singh (10 wickets) have impressed, but the main strike bowler Basant Mohanty is still struggling for form. The Patiala pitch may just be the catalyst for him to fire.
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