Vijay Hazare Trophy QFs: Mumbai drop Sarfaraz; Karnataka opt to bowl

Mumbai made a positive start against Karnataka in their Vijay Hazare Trophy quarterfinal on Monday, with openers Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Ishan Mulchandani settling in well and putting together a steady opening partnership.

The duo looked fluent at the crease, rotating the strike comfortably while also finding the boundary with regularity to keep the scoreboard moving.

Raghuvanshi showed intent early, timing the ball crisply through the off side, while Mulchandani complemented him by punishing loose deliveries and keeping the pressure on the Karnataka bowlers.

MUMBAI 28/0 in 8 overs vs Karnataka

Mumbai (Playing XI)

Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Musheer Khan, Siddhesh Lad(c), Hardik Tamore(w), Shams Mulani, Sairaj Patil, Suryansh Shedge, Tanush Kotian, Ishan Mulchandani, Mohit Avasthi, Onkar Tukaram Tarmale

Karnataka (Playing XI)

Mayank Agarwal(c), Devdutt Padikkal, Karun Nair, Smaran Ravichandran, Krishnan Shrijith(w), Abhinav Manohar, Shreyas Gopal, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Vidyadhar Patil, Abhilash Shetty, Vidhwath Kaverappa

Saurashtra (Playing XI):

Harvik Desai(w/c), Vishvaraj Jadeja, Prerak Mankad, Chirag Jani, Ruchit Ahir, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, Ankur Panwar, Sammar Gajjar, Prasanta Rana, Aditya Jadeja, Chetan Sakariya

Uttar Pradesh (Playing XI):

Abhishek Goswami, Aryan Juyal(w), Priyam Garg, Rinku Singh(c), Rituraj Sharma, Sameer Rizvi, Prashant Veer, Vipraj Nigam, Vineet Panwar, Zeeshan Ansari, Karan Chaudhary

Karnataka won the toss and elected to bowl first against Mumbai in their Vijay Hazare Trophy quarterfinal clash, but the spotlight quickly shifted to a surprise selection call from the Mumbai camp — the omission of in-form batter Sarfaraz Khan.

Sarfaraz had been one of Mumbai’s standout performers in the tournament, arriving at the knockout stage in ominous touch. The right-hander scored 303 runs in six matches at an impressive average of 75.75, playing a series of impactful knocks that underlined his growing stature in white-ball cricket.

However, his absence from the playing XI raised eyebrows, especially given the high-stakes nature of a quarterfinal encounter against a strong Karnataka side.

No official clarification was offered at the toss, leaving the reason behind Sarfaraz’s exclusion unclear.

Poor start from Uttar Pradesh

Chetan Sakariya draws first blood. He dismisses wicketkeeper-batter Aryan Juyal for a duck. A loud LBW call and he has been given OUT.

Uttar Pradesh 20/1 in 5 overs vs Saurashtra

Saurashtra, meanwhile, recovered strongly after losing two of their first three matches, winning their final four games to seal a place in the last eight.

Their batters appear to be hitting form at the right time, while pacer Chetan Sakariya has also found good rhythm heading into the knockout clash.

In the other quarterfinal, Uttar Pradesh will start as favourites against Saurashtra after finishing the league stage unbeaten — the only team across the four groups to achieve the feat.

However, Uttar Pradesh will be without Dhruv Jurel, who has joined the Indian ODI squad following a side strain suffered by Rishabh Pant. Jurel was in sensational form during the league phase, amassing 558 runs in seven innings and proving virtually unstoppable.

Sarfaraz, too, has been pressing his case by seamlessly carrying his explosive T20 form into the 50-over format.

In Mumbai’s surprise defeat to Punjab in their final league match, Sarfaraz struck the fastest fifty by an Indian in men’s List A cricket.

Although the result had no bearing on qualification, it served as yet another reminder to the selectors of his exceptional talent in the shorter formats.

Karnataka’s only defeat in the group stage came in their final league outing on January 8, but they will back themselves to bring their best against Mumbai in a high-stakes knockout encounter.

Padikkal has been in sublime touch, topping the tournament’s run charts with 640 runs from seven innings, including four centuries and a half-century.

If he continues to pile on runs, it will be difficult for the selectors to overlook him as attention gradually shifts towards the 2027 ODI World Cup once the T20 showpiece concludes in a couple of months.

In-form batters Sarfaraz Khan and Devdutt Padikkal will be keen to continue their stunning run when domestic heavyweights Mumbai and Karnataka clash in the Vijay Hazare Trophy quarterfinals on Monday.

The second quarterfinal, featuring Uttar Pradesh and Saurashtra, will also be played at the Centre of Excellence on the same day.

Hello and welcome to the LIVE coverage of Vijay Hazare Trophy Quarterfinals matches.

In the first quarterfinal, Mumbai will face Karnataka

In the second quarterfinal, Uttar Pradesh will take on Saurashtra