Maharashtra face defending Ranji champions Vidarbha

Maharashtra face defending Ranji champions Vidarbha

Pune: Maharashtra face a daunting task in their Ranji Trophy opener against Vidarbha at the MCA Stadium here starting on Thursday. It would be a stern test of the skill and character of the home side as they square up against the reigning Ranji Trophy champions.

Maharashtra have fond memories of facing the Nagpur-based team in recent years. In the five meetings since 2010, they have beaten Vidarbha thrice while losing once. 

The Surendra Bhave-trained unit have begun the 2018-19 season on a bright note with a sparkling performance in the limited overs-Vijay Hazare Trophy. 

Ranji Trophy would present a different challenge for the two-time champions though, as last three years they’ve failed to go through the league stages.

Bawne to lead
Maharashtra on Sunday announced Ankit Bawne as the captain for the upcoming season.

Bawne was the leading run-scorer for Maharashtra in the 2018–19 Vijay Hazare Trophy, with 328 runs in seven matches. In October, he was named in India A’s squad for the 2018–19 Deodhar Trophy. 

Alongwith Bawne, opening batsman Swapnil Gugale and Rahul Tripathi would be the mainstays of Maharashtra’s batting. It remains to be seen if veteran Harshad Khadiwale gets the nod to play Vidarbha.

In bowling, Maharashtra would depend on Anupam Sanklecha, Samad Fallah and Nikit Dhumal to come up with the goods.

Vidarbha’s able leader
For the visitors, batting would be key and in Faiz Fazal, they have someone who would lead from the front. Fazal scored 912 runs last season, only Mayank Agarwal got more run than him. He will be supported by Ranji Trophy’s all time leading scorer Wasim Jaffer and Off spinner Akshay Wakhare, Rajneesh Gurbani and Aditya Sarwate
 
Maharashtra Squad for Vidarbha: Ankeet Bawane (Captain), Swapnil Gugale, Jay Pande, Naushad Shaikh, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rahul Tripathi, Rohit Motwani (Wk), Chirag Khurana, Satyajeet Bachhav, Anupam Sanklecha, Nikit Dhumal, Samad Fallah, Mukesh Choudhary, Ashay Palkar, Harshad Khadiwale.

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