All eyes on Prithvi as Mumbai, Maha clash

NEWDELHI: Teen sensation Prithvi Shaw and the immensely talented Shreyas Iyer are expected to hog the limelight when a formidable Mumbai take on Maharashtra in a quarter-final encounter of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, here on Wednesday. Fresh from his U-19 exploits, Prithvi blew hot and cold during the group league phase of the championship with two half-tons and 153 runs to his name while Iyer has just landed from South Africa having been part of the XI in last three ODIS.

With national selectors expected to be in attendance at the Airforce ground in Palam, Prithvi would like again showcase his skills while Shreyas would like to consolidate his case with another good show.

With Mumbai’s most consistent player during the season — Siddhesh Lad (368 in 6 matches) and IPL specialist Surya Kumar Yadav (295 runs in 6 matches) in good form, Aditya Tare’s men will be hoping to put up a comprehensive show. For Mumbai, a successful Vijay Hazare campaign will be a consolation for their indifferent show in the Ranji Trophy, and Maharashtra despite not having big names in their ranks can prove to be a difficult hurdle.

Their performances in the group league stages have been quite identical for both the sides.

Maharashtra had 18 points from six games with four wins and Mumbai also registered equal number of wins but lost two matches to end on 16 points. For Maharashtra, onus will be on the batting trio of Ruturaj Gaikwad (317 runs), Naushad Sheikh (196 runs) and Rahul Tripathi (185).

“We are pretty confident that we have the firepower to do well against Mumbai. If you look at the group stage, we have beaten all the teams comprehensively. All the top-order batsmen have been amongst runs,” senior player Ankit Bawne said.