With the home advantage, Mumbai, which will be without the services of Suryakumar Yadav, hopes to put its campaign back on track after its defeat against Saurashtra in the last outing.
The formidable rivalry between Mumbai and Tamil Nadu will once again make for an exciting contest when the two teams square off in a Ranji Trophy Elite Group B fixture at the Brabourne Stadium on Tuesday.
With the home advantage, Mumbai, which will be without the services of Suryakumar Yadav, hopes to put its campaign back on track after its defeat against Saurashtra in the last outing.
The Mumbai team management is likely to bring back Armaan Jaffer in place of Suryakumar, to bolster the batting department, which also features some prominent names in captain Ajinkya Rahane, Prithvi Shaw, Sarfaraz Khan and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Out of India reckoning, Rahane has had a decent campaign so far, hammering a double-century against Hyderabad, before scoring just 24 and 16 in the previous game. Ahead of the important game, Mumbai’s captain believes there is no ‘self-doubt’ in the team after the Saurashtra debacle, stating that ‘attitude on the field is the most important thing, whether we win or lose. is,” he emphasizes.
Mumbai may abandon the three-spinner strategy and play an extra sailor to make the most of the conditions on a fairly grassy surface.
Tamil Nadu sits in sixth place with six points, while the home side leads with 13 points from his three games. However, captain Baba Indrajit is less concerned about being an ‘outsider’ and wants to play a particular style of cricket against Mumbai.
With Washington his Thunder out, Tamil Nadu added Shahrukh Khan to the squad. The young captain claims the team has no plans to play safe cricket. “This is a very important game. We know we are at the bottom of the table while some teams have won overall. We have to wait and see,” Indrajit said.
“I don’t want to feel the pressure from day one and push for the overall win. The game doesn’t work that way. The first two days are crucial and if the conditions allow us to extend our lead further, we can expect to win the overall…”
So far in the tournament, Tamil Nadu’s batting division has revolved around Indrajit, his brother Aparajit and N. Jagadeethan, and looking to the future, the captain and team’s management are looking to other players. I’m sure the players will rise as well. R. Saikishore and Sandeep his Warriors head the bowling department and ahead of the big game, the visiting team wants to make sure plans are executed.
After braving the cold in Delhi wearing woolen caps for their final game, the Tamil Nadu players are back in sunny and comfortable Mumbai, where Indrajit says it “feels like home.” happy. And in the next four days, he’s about to turn the tide on homely terms!