Harbhajan rested, Uday Kaul to lead Punjab in Ranji tie against Railways

Chandigarh: In the absence of Harbhajan Singh, who has been advised rest for pain in his shinbone, Uday Kaul will lead Punjab in their Ranji Trophy Elite division match against Railways at PCA cricket stadium. Following his dismal performance in the West Indies and the Lord’s Test in England earlier this summer, Harbhajan has been left out of the national team. Since then he has missed the five-match ODI series against England and three-match Test series against the West Indies at home. He has also been ignored for the five-match ODIs against the Windies, and did not have a great run in the previous three Ranji matches. Punjab will be playing their fourth match at home tomorrow and Harbhajan would be replaced by Taruwar Kohli. Harmeet Bansal would replace Sandeep Sharma, while Ravi Inder Singh would be in for Sarul Kanwar. Punjab have six points from three outings with one win, one loss and a draw. While they managed only a point from their first game against UP in which they conceded the first innings lead, in the second game they registered an eight-wicket win over Orissa to gain five points but lost the third match by an innings against Saurashtra. Railways, meanwhile, have earned three points from an equal number of outings with a draw and two losses. [caption id=“attachment_142655” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“The off-spinner is going through a bad patch of form. Reuters”]  [/caption] Rohtak: Ganguly to lead Bengal- Leadership skills will be put to test as a jittery Bengal side take on hosts Haryana in a Ranji Trophy Elite Group match on a challenging Bansi Lal Cricket Stadium. Statistically there is not much to choose between Haryana and Bengal with the former on five points being a notch above the visitors who have four in their kitty. But there will certainly be difference in the mindset of Bengal and Haryana players. While the hosts managed a creditable three points against Baroda in an away game, Bengal couldn’t even manage three points against Madhya Pradesh after scoring 494. New Delhi: Ashish Nehra and Irfan Pathan to face-off- It will be a battle between two immensely talented but currently out-of-favour left-arm swing bowlers as Ashish Nehra and Irfan Pathan square off when hosts Delhi take on Baroda in a fourth round Ranji Trophy Elite Group encounter at the Feroz Shah Kotla. On paper, Baroda are favourites as they now top Group B with eight points from three matches while Delhi have had an unimpressive run so far with only four points from three matches including an innings defeat against Gujarat. With Nehra and Pathan on either sides, the batsmen may have to answer a few probing questions on a strip, that has a reputation of being dodgy at times for its two-paced nature. Jaipur: Skipper Kanitkar out of crucial tie against UP- Defending champions and hosts Rajasthan were dealt a blow ahead of their crucial Ranji Trophy Elite group A match against Uttar Pradesh when captain Hrishikesh Kanitkar was ruled out due to a shoulder injury. Kanitkar has aggravated his shoulder injury he had sustained while fielding in the last match against Mumbai and would have to sit out of the game at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium. He was uncomfortable during the practice session yesterday and opted out fearing a longer lay off. PTI