RANJI TROPHY | Weather, the major threat as Mumbai opens its title defence at Baroda

CRICKET | The title-holder will be bolstered by the return of Shreyas Iyer and the current form of captain Ajinkya Rahane

Less than eight months ago, Baroda stretched Mumbai to the hilt before conceding the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal on the first innings lead. Mumbai is set to start its title defence as the teams open a new Ranji season at a plush new venue — the much-awaited Vadodara International Cricket Stadium in Kotambi on the outskirts of Gujarat’s arts and cultural capital.

Two of the three architects of Mumbai’s win last season’s will be missing in action. Musheer Khan — who marked his return to First Class cricket with a classy double hundred in the first innings — and Tushar Deshpande — whose 120 in the second innings was the highest Ranji tally for a No. 11 batter — have been sidelined with injuries.

Despite their absence, Mumbai will be favourite to end up as a better team over the next four days, with Shreyas Iyer’s addition and captain Ajinkya Rahane striking form in the Irani Cup tie last week. More than Krunal Pandya’s unit, dodgy weather may end up robbing Mumbai of full points in the opening round of the season.

A week of dry heat has suddenly turned into a wet spell since Wednesday night. While Baroda preferred to rest on the eve of the match, all of Mumbai’s pace bowlers preferred to take a break during Thursday’s optional practice session.

A couple of spells of drizzle meant the groundstaff covered the pitch right after Rahane and Mumbai head coach Omkar Salvi had a close look at the surface.

Mumbai will be without Sarfaraz Khan’s services, with the Irani Cup double-century maker set to join India’s Test squad in Bengaluru. It will result in either Siddhesh Lad or Suryansh Shedge getting a look in, while Ayush Mhatre is set to continue as opener despite Angkrish Raghuvanshi’s addition to the squad.

For Baroda, head coach Mukund Parmar and Krunal will have their task cut out to prune the 18-member squad into a balanced XI. Considering the dicey weather, both the XIs will be finalised on the morning of the match.

Published - October 10, 2024 06:54 pm IST