Laxman hopes to seal final berth with win against Lanka A

Kolkata, Nov 3 (UNI) South Zone Captain V V S Laxman hopes to continue with the momentum they have in the Duleep trophy and register an outright win against Sri Lanka A to assure themselves a berth in the final.

Talking to reporters here today after a longish session at the nets, Laxman said, '' Ususally the momentum is not there and neither is the cohesiveness. But in our case we played like a well packed unit and hope to continue so here tomorrow. '' Hinting at Batting first and putting up a tall order for Sri Lanka A, Laxman said, '' We will first aim at taking a first innings lead and if after that we see a glimmer of a chance, we will go for an outright win. But we know that the Sri Lanka A side is a very strong team and has five to six test cricketers in their ranks and so we are taking this game very seriously. '' He informed that Laxmipati Balaji was not in the team due to a back injury and Anil Kumble by virtue of being selected in the national squad.

Sreesanth did not come with the team but is expected here tonight.

Asked how does he motivate himself to play domestic tournaments, he said, '' There is a lot to give to the youngsters of the side. You teach them, share your experience and enrich their knowledge. It also helps you keep match fit. '' South Zone demolished West Zone in their first game by 250 runs, while Sri lanka A won their first match against West by 179 runs.

So whoever gets points out of this tournament moves into the final of the Duleep Trophy.

The Sri Lankan side is also a strong one with Thilan Samaraweera leading from the front. They have other players like Jehan Mubarak, Chamara Silva, Upul Chandana, Rangana Herath and Michael Vandort.

Dhammika Prasad, a raw fast bowler, has also caught the eye with fiery pace and precise line and length. South Zone will also miss L Balaji and D reddy will take his place.

Teams: South Zone: V V S Laxman (Captain), Dinesh Karthik (WK), Y Venugopal Rao, Robin Uthappa, A T Rayaudu, S Badrinath, C Raghu, S Sreesanth, D Reddy, P Ojha, Arjun Yadav, Yo Mahesh, Md Ibrahim Khaleel, Y Gnaneshwar Rao, Swapnil Asnodkar.

Sri Lanka A: Thilan Samaraweera (Captain), Kaushal Silva (WK), Jehan Mubarak, Michale Vandort, Mahela Udawattee, Malintha Warnapura, Chamara Silva, Upul Chandana, Rangana Herath, Akalanka Ganegama, Dhammika Prasad, Jeevan Medis, Tharanga Lakshitha, Ishara Amarasinghe, Kosala Kulasekara.

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