Bidding to clinch the Ranji Trophy title for the 0th time, hosts Mumbai will face six-time champions Karnataka in a high-profile Elite Group A clash at the Brabourne Stadium on Thursday.
Published: Nov 16, 2011, 04:13 PM (IST)
Edited: Nov 16, 2011, 04:13 PM (IST)
Ajinkya Rahane’s inclusion has strengthened Mumbai’s batting line-up © AFP
Mumbai: Nov 16, 2011
Bidding to clinch the Ranji Trophy title for the 0th time, hosts Mumbai will face six-time champions Karnataka in a high-profile Elite Group A clash at the Brabourne Stadium on Thursday.
The two strong teams are tied at the top of the table with nine points apiece but Karnataka are ahead on the quotient.
In the past, the two teams have been involved in fierce contests. In their last meeting in the final of the tournament at Mysore two seasons ago, Mumbai prevailed by six runs in a thrilling battle.
Mumbai, who have captured the coveted title five times in the last eleven seasons, appear to have a slight edge in the batting department over Karnataka. The batting has been bolstered by the return of Ajinkya Rahane.
On the other hand the visitors have a clear advantage in bowling, particularly in the pace department. With captain R Vinay Kumar, Abhimanyu Mithun and Sreenath Aravind in their squad, all of whom have been picked for the country in recent years, Karnataka’s pace battery looks formidable.
Mumbai will rely on veteran Ajit Agarkar, who is set to play his first match of the new season, Avishkar Salvi and Dhawal Kulkarni to trouble the Karnataka batting.
In the spin department, Karnataka will bank on K P Appanna, who is coming off a superb 11-wicket haul in their previous match against Railways.
On the other hand Mumbai’s spin trump cards Ramesh Powar and Iqbal Abdulla looked listless on a batting-friendly surface at the Brabourne Stadium in their game against defending champions Rajasthan last week.
Mumbai got three points from the game against Rajasthan, despite allowing the latter to pile up a 500-plus score. They were helped by a superb batting display from Abhishek Nayar, who struck a double ton in his comeback game, Rohit Sharma (100) and an attractive 87 by Suryakumar Yadav.
“Both teams have 9 points. We can expect a good contest.We are high on confidence after our performance in the first two games. It’s good to see all our batsmen chipping in. Robin Uthappa played a crucial knock against Railways on Karnail Singh wicket which was low and slow,” the Karnataka captain said.
Kumar also singled out Appanna’s display. “Appanna has bowled well after coming in for Sunil Joshi.” He expected the Brabourne wicket for the match to aid the batsmen.
Mumbai captain Wasim Jaffer also foresees a keen battle and said the inclusion of Rahane and Agarkar has added meat to his side. “Both teams have been playing really well and a Karnataka-Mumbai match has always produced a good contest. This time it will be no different. Rahane will add to our batting strength while Agarkar has got lot of experience, he is a good bowler and a handy batsman too,” he remarked. (PTI)
