Mumbai, Karnataka set for high-stakes Ranji quarterfinal

Mumbai: Devdutt Padikkal has played enough domestic cricket to understand the importance of not letting Mumbai batters settle. That is exactly what he expects from his Karnataka bowling unit when two of the most successful sides in Ranji Trophy history lock horns in the quarterfinals at the MCA ground in BKC from Friday.“They always come up with guys who can bat long, and that’s something we must be aware of. We need to get those early wickets because once they get set, it’s very hard to get them out,” said Karnataka skipper Padikkal, who expects the likes of Prasidh Krishna and Shreyas Gopal to go hard from word go.

His task may have become a tad easier with Mumbai once again forced to rejig their batting order. While they will be boosted by the return of Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top of the order, the 42-time champions are fretting over the fitness of Sarfaraz Khan, who was hospitalised with viral fever on Thursday.

The team management will take a call on his participation before the toss.Mumbai will also be without Suved Parkar, who scored fifties in the last two matches and was involved in a crucial partnership with Siddhesh Lad that helped the home side take a first-innings lead against Delhi in their last group game. The right-handed batter broke his finger and had to undergo surgery.If Sarfaraz fails to take the field, Jaiswal and Lad will have to carry the line-up on their shoulders.

In his only match this season, Jaiswal scored a century and a fifty against Rajasthan, while Lad has displayed the best form of his career, scoring 737 runs in seven matches at an average of 92.12, including five centuries—only the third Mumbai batter to achieve the feat in a Ranji season after Rusi Modi and Sachin Tendulkar.While Mumbai are left scratching their heads to get their batting line-up right, Karnataka’s spirits must be lifted by the return of Karun Nair, their top scorer this season with 614 runs in six matches at an average of 87.71, including two centuries and as many fifties.

Add to that the presence of India batters Devdutt Padikkal, KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal, who will make life difficult for the Mumbai bowlers led by Shardul Thakur and supported by Tushar Deshpande, Shams Mulani and Tanush Kotian, who returns after injury.

Youngster R Smaran has also enjoyed a fabulous season, scoring 605 runs to be Karnataka’s second-highest run-getter so far.Whatever final XIs the two teams put out, there will be no let-up in intensity in the middle, as has been the case in the past, and both skippers vouch for it.Mumbai have not been able to field the same XI consistently, but captain Shardul, who himself returns to action after sitting out a couple of matches due to a niggle, feels that whoever comes into the side will be ready to tackle the challenge.“You want the same set of players playing throughout the year, but sometimes there are forced changes. At the end of the day, our preparation for the knockouts—for the big occasions—starts in the off-season, with 30–35 players going through the grind for nearly three months.

So whoever comes in is expected to perform,” said Shardul.Padikkal, meanwhile, wants Karnataka to carry forward the momentum from their final group game against Punjab, where he led from the front with an unbeaten 120 off 85 balls as the eight-time champions chased down a 250-run target in just 27.5 overs.“Every single player stepped up for us against Punjab. Moving into the knockouts, it’s important that all those characters come out, stand up and do well for the side,” said Padikkal, who will hope to guide Karnataka to their first Ranji title since the 2014–15 season.