Mumbai have edge over UP

Bengaluru, June 13: Record champions Mumbai, who are back to their ruthless best, face a high on confidence Uttar Pradesh in what promises to be an intriguing semifinal of the Ranji Trophy, beginning here on Tuesday. The in-form Mumbai batters will be up against a varied UP attack, which will be bolstered by the addition of pacer Mohsin Khan.

The 41-time Ranji champions made it to the last four with a world record 725-run hammering of Uttarakhand and will aim to carry the momentum into the game. UP decimated Karnataka by five wickets.

Mumbai will once again rely on their batters to set the tone. All eyes would be on Prithvi Shaw, who will have to be at his best against Mohsin and Co.

The two other big impact players are Yashasvi Jaiswal and an in-form Sarfaraz Khan who would be oozing with confidence after their hundreds in the last game.

Sarfaraz has pummelled opposition attacks into submission at will. And thus it will indeed be a challenge for the UP bowling unit to stop him.

Mumbai will however, be forced to make a change as wicket-keeper Aditya Tare has been ruled out due to an injury and Hardik Tamore could make the playing XI.

UP also have a relatively inexperienced batting line-up and are reliant on one or two batters. Their toporder would need to fire in unison and skipper Sharma will have to lead from the front.

Two other batters who can make an impact are Priyam Garg and Rinku Singh.

But the others like Aryan Juval, Samarth Singh, Dhruv Jorel would need to stand up and take greater responsibility.

While Mumbai would be keen to get a step closer to their 42nd title, UP have the wherewithal to pull off a major upset.