TN looking for outright win in Ranji tie against Andhra

Chennai, Nov 30 (UNI) After a none-too-impressive showing in the lung-opener against Delhi, former champions Tamil Nadu will be looking for an outright win against Andhra in the Elite Group A Ranji Trophy match at the M A Chidambaram stadium here tomorrow.

Though playing at home might give Tamil Nadu the edge, the four-day contest assumes significance as the hosts need to iron out some loose ends to gear up for bigger matches ahead.

Skipper S Badrinath, ignored by the National selectors again after his stupendous showing in the domestic season, would be keen to put behind the disappointment and concentrate on the game.

As he did it against Delhi with a skipper's knock, Badrinath would again like to lead from the front to ensure Tamil Nadu gets full points, weather permitting. Chennai had been experiencing on and off rains during the last two days, though the rain gods mercifully stayed away today, bringing smiles on the faces of the two teams.

Coach W V Raman exudes confidence of a good showing but was wary of Y Venugopala Rao of Andhra, who had a decent outing in the first game. 'I am looking for better performance from the team. It is important to forget what happened at Delhi (Tamil Nadu lost on first innings) and get back into the scheme of things', Raman told UNI.

'Andhra had a good start to their campaign and by no means can we take them lightly', he said, striking a note of caution.

'We are hoping to have a good game', he said, adding, the pitch at the M A Chidambaram Stadium looked nice, good and firm.

Andhra are cock-a-hoop, having travelled to Chennai in high spirits with a commendable outright win against Haryana for a good start in the Group. Coach Madhukar said ''the team did well against Haryana. We carry the confidence to tomorrow's match.'' He said the toss was not a worrying factor for the team.

''Whatever the result of the toss, we will play with confidence. The wicket looks to be a green top,'' he said.

But the team is not unduely perturbed, he said.

Skipper Venugopal Rao said as most of the Andhra players play in the senior division league, the team was familiar with the conditions.

''We want to play good cricket. Only this got us results in the firt match'', he observed.

The teams: Tamil Nadu (From): S Badrinath(Capt), M Vijay, S Vidyut, S Anirudha, Hemang K Badani, R Satish, K Varun Kumar, S Sharath, V Yo Mahesh, R Naresh, R Jesuraj, R Prasanna, Aashish Kapoor, C Suresh and G Vighnesh.

Andhra (From): Y Venugopala Rao (Capt), Arjun Kumar, M Faiq, Y Gnaneswar Rao, D Kalyana Krishna, Y L Kishore, A J Pradeep, M S K Prasad, R V C Prasad, K N Prasad Reddy, W Balasaraswati Reddy, V M Sai, K S Shahabuddin, A S K Varma.

UNI