The rise of the young kid on the block, Prithvi Shaw, has warmed the cockles of many a heart in Mumbai’s cricketing circles and more so in the Mumbai squad, which saw him in action for the first time in many years at Rajkot last week.
Captain Aditya Tare admitted he had not watched Shaw bat in the last three seasons and so when he scored a century against Tamil Nadu in the Ranji semifinals, Tare and coach Chandrakant Pandit felt the problem of finding a sound opening batsman had been solved before the final against Gujarat, set to start at the Holkar Cricket Stadium here on Tuesday.
Nayar factor
While Tare, Pandit and the selectors will be pleased with finding an opening pair that can be relied upon to deliver, they are also happy that the seasoned Abhishek Nayar has deployed all his means in the knock-out matches.
After entering the field with various combinations, Mumbai has managed to find the right men for the business-end of the tournament that it has won 41 times; absent though is seamer Dhawal Kulkarni. The selectors have added left-arm spinner Vishal Dabholkar to give Tare a choice between Vijay Gohil and Dabholkar.
INDORE - MADHYA PRADESH – 09/01/2017 : Gujarat's R P Singh, at training ahead of Ranji Trophy final 2016-17, cricket match between Mumbai Vs Gujarat, at Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore (MP), on January 09, 2017. Photo : K. Murali Kumar.
The penultimate First Class match of the season promises much because there is a new challenger in Gujarat, which has flaunted its batting potential and depth in no uncertain terms. It has not been weighed down by the reputation of opponents and captain Parthiv Patel has said that the West Zone team is no pushover.
Gujarat has banked on its batting force right from the start. Openers Priyank Panchal and Samit Gohil have had triple centuries to their credit this season. They are followed by fearless stroke-players like Bhargav Merai, Manprit Juneja and Parthiv himself.
Mumbai’s Shardul Thakur could ask questions of their technique and nerve but, as they have repeatedly proven against a variety of bowlers in the league, they should not be found wanting.
Gujarat will not have fast-bowler Jasprit Bumrah to share the new ball with left-arm seamer R.P. Singh as he has been chosen for the limited-over series against England.
In his absence, Parthiv may prefer Chintan Gaja, who coach Vijay Patel said was similar in bowling style to Abhishek Nayar. Rush Kalaria, who had hurt his bowling shoulder, turned his arm over at the nets on Monday after undergoing treatment in Bengaluru.
The captains will pick the team after having a look at pitch; the ground staff gave it a crop on Sunday and watered it. There is grass cover too. The seamers have thrived here and the batsmen who make runs will be a satisfied lot.
Mumbai is in quest of its 42nd title and Gujarat its first, entering the final after 66 seasons. The teams went through their practice sessions with the intensity characteristic of the eve of a big match.
The teams (from):
Mumbai: Aditya Tare (capt/wk), Akhil Herwadkar, Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Siddhesh Lad, Abhishek Nayar, Shardul Thakur, Balwinder Singh Sandhu, Tushar Deshpande, Vishal Dabholkar, Royston Dias, Sufiyan Shaikh, Vijay Gohil, Akshay Girap, Eknath Kerkar and Praful Waghela.
Gujarat : Parthiv Patel (capt/wk), Priyank Panchal, Samit Gohil, Bhargav Merai, Manprit Juneja, Rujul Bhatt, Chirag Gandhi, Hardik Patel, Chintan Gaja,, R.P. Singh, Rush Kalaria, Ishwar Chaudhary, Dhruv Raval, Karan Patel and Mehul Patel.
Umpires: Anil Chaudhary and Nitin Menon; Third umpire: K. Srinath;
Match Referee: Manu Nayyar .
