Duleep Trophy, Match 1 Preview: Pink ball set to make an entry

The 2016/17 edition of the Duleep Trophy is surely going to be a groundbreaking event. For the first time, a match will be played in Greater Noida. For the first time, a match will be played without the East, West, South, Central, and North Zones. And, more importantly, for the first time since its inception in 1961, the four-day Duleep Trophy encounter will be played with a Pink Ball under lights. That said, the players from India Green and India Red will be making history on the first day of the first match of the Duleep Trophy.

Pitch Conditions

The pitch conditions will be an alien one and one that supports the usage of the pink ball. Since this will be the first ever domestic match played at this venue, it is unclear the kind of pitch that will be laid out for this one.

Team Analysis

India Green

Among the two sides that will be contesting the first match of the Duleep Trophy, India Green seems to be having the edge. With players boasting of solid domestic and international experience, it is clear that they will be favorites as well at the start of the tournament.

The key players in the squad for India Green will definitely be skipper Suresh Raina, who has surprisingly been left out of the squad that will play West Indies in a T20I series in Florida. However, the fact remains that he will be looking to make a mark in the longest format and be considered for selection once again.

Robin Uthappa, Shreyas Iyer, Ambati Rayudu, Harbhajan Singh, and Ashok Dinda will be among the other players in the squad who will be looking to make a mark.

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India Red

In contrast with their opponents in the opening fixture, India Red will be expected to field a much younger and inexperienced unit. Although the side will be led by former Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh, most of the other players have had little or no international experience.

However, the fact of the matter remains that they are a young and exciting squad, a team that is possible of pulling off an upset in the grander scheme of things. In Murugan Ashwin, they will have a spinner more than capable of picking up ten or more wickets in the match.

Their squad will be completed by Abhinav Mukund, Abhimanyu Mithun, Nathu Singh, and Gurkeerat Singh Mann, all players who are more than capable of making the cut for the Indian squad in the near future.

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Playing XI (Probable)

India Green: Suresh Raina (C), Parthiv Patel (WK), Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu, Ian Dev Singh, Jalaj Saxena, Harbhajan Singh, Shreyas Gopal, Ankit Rajpoot, Ashok Dinda, Sandeep Sharma

India Red: Yuvraj Singh (C), Ankush Bains (WK), Abhinav Mukund, KS Bharat, Sudip Chatterjee, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Murugan Ashwin, Abhimanyu Mithun, Nathu Singh, Ishwar Pandey, Arun Karthik

Match starts at 14:00 IST

Telecast on Star Sports

StAttack

• This is the first time since 1961 that the Duleep Trophy will be played with a pink ball and under lights.

• Piyush Chawla has the most number of wickets for a non-retired bowler in the Duleep Trophy. He needs 11 more wickets to complete 50 wickets in the tournament. If he completes this, he will become only the 31st player to do so in the history of the competition.

• Similar to Piyush Chawla, Robin Uthappa has the most runs in the trophy by a non-retired batsman with 1287 runs to his name in just 16 matches. Only three batsmen – Wasim Jaffer, Anshuman Gaekwad, and Vikram Rathour have crossed the 2000-run mark.

• This also happens to be the first time that India Red, Blue, and Green will take part in the Duleep Trophy.

• In the series of firsts, The Greater Noida Sports Complex is set to host its first ever domestic game.