Rest start as favourites

nagpur: baroda skipper connor williams said it was a big match for his team. it could turn out to be a small one though. for rest of india start overwhelming favourites for the five-day irani trophy tie against ranji champions baroda at the vca stadium here starting on saturday. baroda begin on back foot on many counts. problems within their association meant they failed to host this match.so no home advantage. no zaheer khan, as well. the left-arm paceman is recovering from an injury and getting ready for the test series in zimbabwe. further damage is done by the absence of jacob martin (in south africa) and ajit bhoite (injured). the rest of india are no pushovers, either. led by skipper vvs laxman, they bat deep. openers vinayak mane and aakash chopra are in good nick and left-hander dinesh mongia is capable of playing big knocks while hrishikesh kanitkar, who has always succeeded when selectors are watching. the nca-trained gloveman ajay ratra is not just a class act behind the wickets, he can bat also. as per their bowling, off-spinner sarandeep singh has the credentials to become a top-flight performer and will be complemented by seasoned left-armer rahul sanghvi. yere goud and rashmi ranjan parida's all-round capability gave the rest of india flexibility. and not to forget the pace quartet of debasis mohanty, shalabh sriwasava, surendra singh and t yohannan. baroda coach vinit wadkar's perception that the rest ``will play as individuals'' seems more wishful than anything else. for baroda, paceman rakesh patel and experienced nayan mongia are expected to play the key roles. wadkar said ``mongia has to rise to the occasion.'' he said he was hoping for the best when asked about baroda's chances. teams (from): rest of india: vvs laxman (capt, hyderabad), aakash chopra (delhi), vinayak mane (mumbai), dinesh mongia (punjab), hrishikesh kanitkar (maharashtra), yere goud (railways), rashmi ranjan parida (orissa), ajay ratra (wk, haryana), rahul sanghvi (delhi), sarandeep singh (punjab), shalabh sriwastava (uttar pradesh), t yohannan (kerala), surendra singh (jammu and kashmir) and debasis mohanty (orissa). baroda: connor williams (capt), nayan mongia (wk), satyajit parab, tushar arothe, himanshu jadhav, umang patel, hrishikesh parab, rakesh patel, valmik buch, irfan pathan sr, irfan pathan jr, hardik parmar, rakesh solanki, milap mewada.