Rajkot: Having beaten Saurashtra in the league stage, Punjab would be aiming for an encore when the two sides ssquare off in the Ranji Trophy semifinals from Wednesday at the SCA stadium, Khandheri.
Punjab captain Harbhajan Singh said he was hoping the team would continue to play good cricket.
"We have done well and therefore we are in the semifinal of the Ranji trophy and I am hoping that the team will once again play good cricket against Saurashtra," Harbhajan said.
In the league match, Punjab had defeated Saurashtra but the Punjab skipper said he would not be taking the hosts lightly.
"We had done well in the previous match but Saurashtra too is a good side having reached the semi-final," he said.
Punjab batting would revolve around Jivan Jyot Singh, Mandeep Singh and Taruvar Kohli while Harbhajan Singh, Sandip Sharma, Manpreet Singh and Bipul Sharma would spearhead the bowling attack.
While Saurashtra will have the advantage of playing at home, they will miss the Services of Ravindra Jadeja and Cheteswar Pujara as the two are serving for the national side.
Saurashtra will miss Jadeja and Pujara who had done well in the league matches but players like Arpit Vasavada, Sheldon Jackson and Kamlesh Makwana are in good form.
Vasavada and Jackson alongwith Sagar Jogiyani and seasoned Sithanshu Kotak would shoulder the batting responsibility, while pacers Siddharth Trivedi and Jaydev Unadkat would be spearheading the bowling department.
Teams:
Saurashtra: Jaydev Shah (Capt), Sagar Jogiyani, Sitanshu Kotak, Sheldon Jackson, Arpit Vasavada, Rahul Dave, Kamlesh Makwana, Jaydev Unadkat, Siddharth Trivedi, Saurya Sanandiya, Dharmendra Jadeja, Sandip Maniar, Vishal Joshi, Chirag Pathak and Harsh Anghan.
Punjab: Harbhajan Singh (Capt), Mandeep Singh, Jivan jyot Singh, Ravi Inder Singh, Taruvar Kohli, Imitozz Singh, Gurkeet Mann, Uday Kaul, Siddharth Kaul, Sandip Sharma, Manpreet Singh, Sarabjeet Singh, RajVinder Singh, Karan Goel and Bipul Sharma.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, January 15, 2013, 17:57