Powerhouses Mumbai, Karnataka renew rivalry

MUMBAI: Focus will be on Mumbai’s top-order when they square off against Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy at the KSCA Stadium, Belgaum, from Tuesday.

While Mumbai walked away with three points from their opening match against Railways, their top three batsmen —Jay Bista, Akhil Herwadkar and Ashay Sardesai — failed to impress and the domestic giants had to depend on the middle-order to get them into a strong position.

Mumbai coach Vinayak Samant sounded a bit concerned when quizzed about the top-order but was confident of them coming good against Karnataka. “Openers will have to stay at the wicket for 20-25 overs as initially runs are not that important. They have been spoken to and our plan is to fight it out because Karnataka is a tough side,” said Samant.

“It’s very important for us to seize the momentum in the first innings. Then we will decide the future course on how the match is positioned in that particular session,” he added.

The matches between Mumbai and Karnataka have always been intense and it will be no different this time as well. Their last meeting was in the quarter-finals last season with Karnataka winning by an innings and 20 runs, and Mumbai will be eager to avenge that defeat. Mumbai lost quick wickets in the first innings, folding up for 173, and never recovered thereafter.

Another area of concern will be the spin department that has been Mumbai’s grey area for a long time. If left-arm spin duo of Shams Mulani and Karsh Kothari are once again fielded, they will have to do much better than just one wicket they took in 32 overs they bowled between them against Railways.

But there were positives as well that helped Mumbai take the first innings.

Suryakumar Yadav and Siddhesh Lad proved that they remain the team’s mainstays in batting with their 129-run fourthwicket stand in the first innings.

Former skipper Aditya Tare, who had a point to prove after a patchy last season, stamped his authority with a century in the second essay.

And the biggest of them were the efforts of all-rounder Shivam Dube and pacer Tushar Deshpande.

Dube scored a debut ton to rest the fears, for the time being, of who will fill the all-rounder’s spot left vacant by the departure of Abhishek Nayar. Dube was preferred over Akash Parkar, who had replaced Nayar last season, and he didn’t disappoint.

While Dube will retain his spot, Deshpande will sit out due to a hamstring pull. It will be a big setback for Mumbai as Deshpande carried his good run from Vijay Hazare Trophy into the first match, picking up six wickets. Right-arm medium pacer Badre Alam is expected to replace him in the starting XI.