Karnataka brace up for Mumbai test

Cricket Ranji Trophy: Vinay's men look to lift their game in nervy battle

 This is a story told often in sports without ever losing its charm -- the past master vs new powerhouse. The Ranji Trophy semifinal match between Karnataka and Mumbai, beginning here on Wednesday at the M Chinnaswamy stadium, offers the perfect specimen.

Mumbai have won the premier Indian domestic tournament 40 times. Nobody is even to close to that record as Karnataka and Delhi are placed a distant second with seven titles each. But this season that started with an embarrassing defeat against Jammu and Kashmir has been one of struggles for Mumbai.

They also witnessed a change at the helm midway through the season with Aditya Tare taking over from Surya Kumar Yadav. Fortune also played a massive hand in them qualifying for the knockout phase -- travails of other teams carrying them forward more than their own effort. It was evident even in their quarterfinal win over Delhi.

A good second innings effort from Delhi could have ended Mumbai’s campaign, but the former imploded spectacularly. Now, they are up against defending champions Karnataka, easily the most balanced and consistent team in the Indian domestic circuit over the last two seasons.

Since their defeat to Orissa in 2012-13 season, Karnataka had remained undefeated for 25 straight matches winning almost everything on their path, and few teams have managed to cobble together such a streak.

Yes, they had their own moments of desperation this season but had managed to discover a man for each of those crisis. Their three-pronged pace attack -- skipper R Vinay Kumar, S Arvind and Abhimanyu Mithun -- has shared exactly 100 wickets among them this season, giving little space for the opposition to settle down.

Shreyas Gopal fitted easily into the role of an all-rounder -- taking 22 wickets with his leg-spin and making 629 runs at a healthy 69.88. The way Shreyas fused talent and grit throughout this season was quite remarkable.

For a good while, Shreyas was the lone centurion in Karnataka ranks. They would have been in some deep troubles had Shreyas and CM Gautam not made some doughty runs down the order. But just as the whispers about the lack of runs from their top-order began to gather noise, the likes of Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey and R Samarth produced some three-figure knocks to add meat to Karnataka’s batting.

The return of KL Rahul, who was away on national duty in the first phase of the season, too contributed to it. Rahul has garnered 633 runs from just three matches at 105.50 and stopping him would be high on Mumbai bowlers’ wishlist for this match.
Pacer Shardul Thakur has been the most impressive Mumbai bowler with 40 wickets from nine matches, and once again the visitors will look up to him for a mighty effort.

Adding gravity to the occasion is the fact that, this match will be the first semifinal between the two sides in Bengaluru after the 1981-82 season when Karnataka under GR Viswanath took a first innings lead over Sunil Gavaskar’s Mumbai. But beyond history and statistics, the occasion will test the nerves of both the teams. Both of them have also shown this season that they can master tough situations. So, who will emerge winner this time?

The entry will be free.In the  other semifinal at Kolkata, also beginning on Wednesday, Tamil Nadu take on Maharashtra.