Close battle expected in summit clash

Rival captains Parthiv Patel of Gujarat and Railways' Murali Kartik are expected to play lead roles when the two teams meet in the final of the Ranji Trophy Plate League at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.

Parthiv has led Gujarat's batting from the front, besides keeping wickets, with 563 runs at an average of over 56 per innings in the six matches he's played so far. He is the key player in the batting line-up alongside left-hander Niraj Patel, who has been Gujarat's highest run-scorer with 566 runs in the season.

The two, along with opener Nilesh Modi and Bhavik Thaker, would be expected to help their side pile up a competitive score against an experienced Railways attack.

Parthiv last played for India in 2004, but his impressive performances had seen him named among the 24 probables for the tour to Australia. However, he missed out on the reserve wicketkeeper spot to Dinesh Karthik. A good showing would help Parthiv stake a claim for a place in the triangular series in Australia.

Kartik, on the other hand, is a certainty for the Indian ODI squad, but his aim would be to spin his team to a victory. Doing duty for India has meant that Kartik has only played one match - the semi-final against Kerala - so far. However, Sanjay Bangar has led the team well in Kartik'a absence; his 27 wickets at 17.44 make him the leading wicket-taker for his side.

Bangar has also scored 267 runs from six matches at 38.14, in a line-up where all batsmen have contributed. Harshad Rawle, Mahesh Rawat, Sanjib Sanyal and Karan Sharma have all amassed over 300 runs - with averages over 60 - in the tournament. The bowling consists of new-ball bowlers Harvinder Singh, who like Bangar has played for India in the past, and Santosh Saxena, besides Bangar and the left-arm spin of Kartik.

For Gujarat, the leading wicket-taker has been offspinner Mohnish Parmar, with 31 wickets at 14 apiece. However, if the wicket favours the quicker bowlers, the side has got Ashraf Makda, Amit Singh and Siddharth Trivedi, with all three having done well so far this season. The trio shared 19 of the 20 Madhya Pradesh wickets to fall in the semi-final that Gujarat won, and a repeat performance could well put their team on the path to victory.