It's billed as the clash between two India stars Cheteshwar Pujara and Umesh Yadav, but the final of the Ranji Trophy will witness the class of veteran Wasim Jaffer, who remains a force to reckon with in India's domestic cricket.
And the 40-year-old once again threatens to overshadow his young rivals as Vidarbha defends the title against Saurashtra, which get one more attempt to lift their elusive trophy starting Sunday.
Jaffer's reflexes may have gone down but sheer class and improved fitness have meant that he has scored 1003 runs to his name before the final.
Statistically, he is the only second to Milind Kumar (1331), who freelanced for Sikkim but if things are put in perspective, in spirit he has again been the premier performer in the national championship.
Advertisement
Saurashtra do have an edge with Pujara in their line-up but Jaffer's flair has the power to negate it. He has been Vidarbha's batting mainstay this season with four centuries, including a double ton.
India's hero during the Australia Test series, however, downplayed his presence.
"It's not that Saurashtra will have an edge because of my presence. This team has got some exciting youngsters like Harvik (Desai) and Arpit (Vasavada). This team has done well for some time as a unit," Pujara told PTI after a net session.
"If we play like the way we did in the quarterfinals and the semifinal, we have a good chance," said Pujara, who has anchored two tough chases against Uttar Pradesh in the quarter-finals and Karnataka in the semi-finals.
Advertisement
The final will be a test of batting depths as both sides have capable willow wielders till No 9.
Saurashtra coach Sitanshu Kotak and captain Jaydev Unadkat echoed the same sentiment, underlining that someone or the other has raised his hand in different situations.
Sheldon Jackson (838 runs) and former India U-19 Desai (763 runs) have been the batting mainstays for Saurashtra when Pujara was on national duty.
"It's about those 11 guys. It has been a dream season for us. We won some great games in the knockouts and even before that Saurashtra played one of the best games ever. It's one more game and we are looking for a fairytale end," said Unadkat.
Ditto for defending champions Vidarbha. The run-chart, led by Jaffer, has at least eight such batsmen, who have 30-plus average and five of them figuring in 10 matches.
Their ever-dependable skipper Faiz Fazal (786 runs) and young Akshay Wadkar (680 runs) have made telling contributions in team's superb run with three centuries each.
The defending champions have the edge in bowling with Umesh in their ranks but Saurashtra skipper Jaydev Unadkat could also prove to be a handful if he gets some help from the track.
Umesh, who has a great track record on flat decks, has picked up 21 wickets in the last two matches. He straightaway made an impact after coming back from Australia, troubling Uttarakhand and Kerala in the quarters and semi-finals respectively.
Advertisement
Against Kerala in the semi-finals, he singlehandedly won the match with a 12-wicket haul.
Along with Umesh, there is current India A regular Rajneesh Gurbani, Yash Thakur, Suniket Bingewar and India U-19 World Cupper Aditya Thakare to challenge Pujara and co.
Gurbani has not had made a big impact as he has struggled to pick wickets. However, captain Fazal defended the bowler saying that his contribution cannot be ignored in any way even though he has picked only six wickets.
"The score-sheet would not say he has performed well but he has been doing an important role," he said.
With 44 wickets left-arm spinner Aditya Sarvate has been a vital cog this season for the defending champions.
Advertisement
Saurashtra do not have many options as far bowling is concerned as they have relied heavily on Unadkat and slow-left arm orthodox bowler Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, who has been an architect of their good run with 52 wickets in 10 matches.
Left-arm medium pacer Chetan Sakariya has come up well and they need someone like Kamlesh Makwana to perform at the big stage.
Match Starts at 9:30 AM IST.
(With PTI inputs)
