Karnataka captain Devdutt Padikkal (left) with India and Mumbai opener Yashasvi Jaiswal on the eve of the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal at the MCA-BKC ground on Thursday.
Credit: Photo/G Krishnan
Mumbai: The two teams that have won the Ranji Trophy title the most number of times lock horns in an exciting Ranji Trophy quarterfinal, starting Friday at the MCA-BKC ground, about 21km from the Wankhede Stadium, which is gearing up for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup starting Saturday.
Between them, they have 50 Ranji Trophy titles in 90 previous seasons -- Mumbai have won a record 42 titles while Karnataka are a distant second with eight. They have been runners-up on six other occasions each. These numbers emphasise Mumbai and Karnataka's pedigree and a contest between these two giants is one of the high-octane clashes in the domestic circuit.
Mumbai won the last of their 42 titles two seasons ago under Ajinkya Rahane. Karnataka lifted the last of their eight titles 11 seasons ago, in 2014-15 under R Vinay Kumar.
Karnataka made it to the quarterfinal at the expense of Saurashtra in Group B with a sensational win against Punjab last week, with the newly-appointed captain Devdutt Padikkal leading by example with a sparkling, unbeaten 120.
Continuing his roaring form in the white-ball format this season, the 25-year-old Padikkal not only battled against the Punjab bowlers but also the fading light in Mohali. Had they played one more over and not met the target of 250, they would have missed the bus.
The left-handed batsman's determined innings that helped Karnataka meet the target in just 28 overs and the subsequent celebrations showed how badly they wanted to win the Ranji Trophy this time.
“Yeah, definitely,” Padikkal said here on Thursday when asked how badly he wanted to win the elusive title this year.
“Every year when we play Ranji Trophy, we play to win it. Not much has changed this time either. Obviously, getting to the quarterfinal now, we know it's a good opportunity for us. We have a really good side. There is a really good mix of youngsters and guys who are experienced. Hopefully, we can do it this year.”
Karnataka also have the services of experienced Test batsman in KL Rahul and Karun Nair, back after missing the previous game due to a split webbing, while Mayank Agarwal, relieved of the captaincy, can fully focus on his batting and contribute in a big way.
Padikkal will lean heavily on the wicket-taking abilities of the lanky Prasidh Krishna and the wily leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal as the red soil here will suit them at different phases of the game.
Karnataka are well aware that it is not going to be easy against Mumbai in Mumbai. Test opener Yashasvi Jaiswal’s presence will boost Mumbai, who fret over the availability of Sarfaraz Khan, who has been in the hospital for viral fever.
While the Mumbai think-tank is confident Sarfaraz will be available, they have the necessary backup plans should he miss out.
That has been Mumbai’s story this season with players including captain Shardul Thakur missing out due to injuries or some away on national duty. In all, 21 players turned up for Mumbai this season.
Only stand-in captain Siddhesh Lad – also the fifth-highest run-getter in the country (737 runs at 92.12 with five hundreds) – Sarfaraz, his brother Musheer Khan, wicketkeeper Akash Anand and medium-pacer Tushar Deshpande played in all seven league matches.
Teams (from): Karnataka: Devdutt Padikkal (c), Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul, Aneesh KV, Karun Nair, Smaran R, Shreyas Gopal, Kruthik Krishna, Venkatesh M, Vidyadhar Patil, Prasidh M Krishna, Mohsin Khan, Shikhar Shetty, Shrijith KL and Vidwath Kaverappa.
Mumbai: Shardul Thakur (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Musheer Khan, Akhil Herwadkar, Siddhesh Lad, Sarfraz Khan, Aakash Anand, Hardik Tamore, Sairaj Patil, Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Tushar Deshpande, Mohit Awasthi, Omkar Tarmale, Divyansh Saxena and Suryansh Shedge.