Struggling Bengal to face youthful Hyderabad Ranji brigade

While regular skipper Tiwary has been ruled out for about six weeks with a back injury, Dinda is a part of the Indian squad in the ongoing Nagpur Test.

In their absence, a completely off-colour struggling Bengal outfit under Laxmi Ratan Shukla will look to avoid relegation with just two more league matches left.

Bengal have put up a disastrous show in the ongoing season with both their batsmen and bowlers failing to seize the initiative. They are yet to register a single victory in the six matches they have played so far. With three losses they are placed at seventh position in the nine-team table.

After a humiliating 270-run loss against Saurashtra in the previous round, Bengal will have a tough task at hands as far as the lifting of morale of the team is concerned.

On the eve of the match, Bengal have brought in uncapped Naved Ahmed in place of Tiwary and Sayan Sekhar Mondal for "injured" Sourav Sarkar.

The decision came a day after the selectors opted to retain the same squad that played in Saurashtra and minutes after CAB chief Jagmohan Dalmiya's close-door meeting with the players to discuss about their woeful show this season.

While naming Shukla the skipper, the CAB had yesterday announced the same team that toured Saurashtra but only to change it on the eve of the match.

Although Hyderabad are in no better position than Bengal, occupying the eighth place with four draws and a loss, they would look to turn it around with three league matches left. MORE TAP SUS CM

CM